MARKET LEADER Premier Website Lessons 15 June 2018

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Brands Crisis management, The future of business

Starting up
• What are companies doing to address the problem of pollution? Can you think of some
specific examples?
• Why do businesses choose to reduce their pollution?

Reading 1
Read the article quickly. Which statement best gives the main idea?

• Apple has announced that it will no longer do business with aluminium manufacturers that cause
dangerous pollution.
• Apple is investing in a joint venture that plans to produce aluminium in a way that doesn’t harm the
environment as much as current methods.
• Apple is working with two aluminium manufacturers to develop and produce a new type of metal that will
replace aluminium in Apple computers.

Vocabulary 1 – reducing pollution

Choose meaning of the words (1–9) in the article. Use your dictionary if necessary.

1 a not bad for the environment

b new, never seen before

2 a very inexpensive
b not producing pollution

3 a waste
b pollution

4 a amount of pollution produced

b amount of energy used

5 a coal, oil and gas power

b solar, wind and water power

6 a easy to replace
b difficult to find

7 a electricity produced using water

b fire produced using electricity

8 a a waste gas
b an important part of the air we breathe

9 a using very little energy

b causing a lot of pollution

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Apple looks to 1‘green’ metal for use in iPhone and MacBook

Apple has joined forces with two of the world’s biggest aluminium producers to develop a 2“carbon-free” metal it plans
to use in its iPhone and laptop computers.
The consumer electronics group is backing a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Alcoa that is seeking to commercialise
a new technology to eliminate 3greenhouse gas emissions from aluminium smelting*.
The move is the latest effort by Apple to reduce its emissions and shows how metals and mining companies are trying to
lower their 4carbon footprints to satisfy customer demands. Miners are also emerging as some of the key suppliers to
the electric car and 5clean-energy industries, which require metals such as aluminium, copper, lithium and cobalt†.
Apple announced last month that all of its facilities were now powered by clean energy, and has pledge to eventually
make all of its products from recycled or 6renewable materials.
“Apple is committed to advancing technologies that are good for the planet and help protect it for generations to come,”
said Tim Cook, chief executive, in a statement.
“We are proud to be part of this ambitious new project, and look forward to one day being able to use aluminium
produced without direct greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacturing of our products.”
Apple is investing C$13m (US$10m) in the joint venture called Elysis, which has attracted a further C$120m of funding
from the governments of Canada and Quebec. Canada is one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers and both Rio
and Alcoa have significant operations in the country. Alcoa and Rio will also invest C$55m to progress the
commercialisation of the technology.
Elysis, which was officially launched on Thursday at a ceremony in Canada, was born out of an effort by Apple
engineers to find a greener way of mass-producing aluminium.
While there have been some efforts to develop low-carbon aluminium, these have focused mainly on smelters that use
7
hydro-power.
The engineers found Alcoa had already designed a new process for smelting alumina, the raw material used to make the
lightweight metal.
Apple then brought in Rio, one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, to help accelerate its development.
In the traditional smelting process, in use for more than 100 years, a carbon anode is placed in a bath that contains
alumina and other materials. A strong electrical current is then passed through the bath to produce aluminium
Instead of using a carbon anode that is burnt during the smelting process, Elysis has designed a process that uses an
“advanced conductive material” that releases oxygen rather than 8carbon dioxide.
Elysis plans in 2024 to start licensing technology already in use at Alcoa’s technical centre in Pittsburgh. It will also
look to sell the new anode material. Alcoa and Rio each have a 48 per cent stake in the JV, with the rest owned by the
government of Quebec.
Analysts say the goal of producing completely carbon-free aluminium is still some way away. Many aluminium smelters
and alumina refineries, especially in China, rely on electricity from coal-fired power stations. In addition, the mining of
bauxite, the basic raw material used to make aluminium, can also be a 9carbon-intensive process.
Most of the world’s bauxite is mined in Guinea in west Africa, before being shipped to refineries to be made into
alumina.
* smelting – the process of heating rocks to remove metal from them
† copper, lithium and cobalt – metals used in industry

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Reading 2
True or false, according to the article?

1 Apple, Rio Tinto and Alcoa are competing against one another to develop a new metal.
2 Companies that buy metals are asking mining companies to reduce their pollution.
3 Apple said it is already using recycled material in more than half of its products.
4 Elysis is the investment company that’s backing the new manufacturing venture.
5 In the past, efforts to reduce pollution in aluminium production have targeted the smelting process.
6 Normally, the aluminium smelting process uses carbon, producing CO2 emissions.
7 The Quebec government has a two per cent stake in Elysis.
8 Most aluminium is likely to be ‘green’ by 2024.

Vocabulary 2 – words with the suffix -free

Use the words below to complete the expressions to match the definitions.

carbon duty error hands maintenance risk smoke trouble

1 ………………..-free – not having any problems or difficulties

2 ………………..-free – not producing CO2
3 ………………..-free – without any mistakes
4 ………………..-free – not requiring any regular service
5 ………………..-free – not including any import-export tax
6 ………………..-free – able to be operated without touching
7 ………………..-free – completely safe
8 ………………..-free – not allowing the use of cigarettes

Vocabulary 3 – words with the suffix -free

Complete the sentences with the expresses from Vocabulary 2.

1 Check your report carefully, because we want it to be ……………….. .

2 They had a lot of problems with their last car, but the new one has been ……………….. .

3 I want to arrive at the airport early do I can so some ……………….. shopping.

4 I always book a ……………….. hotel room, because I like fresh air.

5 Researchers are trying to find ……………….. alternatives to processes that cause pollution.

6 The outside of the house is ……………….. – you don’t need to paint it.

7 In her car, she uses a ……………….. phone to make and receive calls.

8 It’s a ……………….. investment, because you can’t lose your money.

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Grammar – passives
Complete the text with the correct form (active or passive) of the verbs in brackets.
1
Apple recently ……………….. (announce) that it will begin using “carbon-free” aluminium in some of its
2
products. The company ……………….. (back) a new joint venture that will develop the technology. In the
3
traditional aluminium production process, a piece of carbon ……………….. (place) in a bath that contains
4
alumina. Then, a strong electrical current ……………….. (pass) through the bath to produce aluminium. As a
5
result, carbon dioxide ……………….. (produce), causing air pollution. Recently, a new technique for
6
producing aluminium ……………….. (develop). The new process uses an “advanced material” instead of
7 8
carbon, and the process ……………….. (release) oxygen rather than CO2. The technology ………………..
(license) for use by other companies from 2024.

Further discussion
Do you think successful companies like Apple are doing enough to protect the environment?
Why or why not?

Group work
Work together to answer these questions.

1 The article says that before now, efforts to reduce pollution in aluminium smelting have focused on using
hydro-power. How does the use of hydro-power reduce emissions?
2 What other types of power have low emissions? Do they have any problems associated with them?
3 How many ways can you think of that Apple will benefit from the move to “carbon-free” aluminium?

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ANSWER KEY

Starting up
Possible answers:
• Manufacturing products that pollute less, for example Tesla motors and many other electric car
manufacturers; Trying to encourage consumers to reduce pollution through their actions, for example
Levi’s has encouraged customers to wash their jeans less often; Choosing cleaner ways to manufacture,
for example Nissan has installed systems in its factories to capture chemicals that pollute the
environment.
• To help sell their products; Because they want to reduce damage to the environment; Because
customers or shareholders demand it.

Reading 1
Apple is investing in a joint venture that plans to produce aluminium in a way that doesn’t harm the
environment as much as current methods.

Vocabulary 1
1 a 6 a
2 b 7 a
3 b 8 a
4 a 9 b
5 b

Reading 2
1 F 5 T
2 T 6 T
3 F 7 T
4 F 8 F

Vocabulary 2
1 trouble 5 duty
2 carbon 6 hands
3 error 7 risk
4 maintenance 8 smoke

Vocabulary 3
1 error-free 4 carbon-free
2 trouble-free 5 maintenance-free
3 duty-free 7 hands-free
4 smoke-free 8 risk-free

Grammar
1 announced 6 is produced
2 is backing / has backed 7 has been developed
3 is placed 8 releases
4 is passed 9 will be licensed

Group work
Possible answers:
1 Hydro-power is produced using flowing water, therefore it doesn’t produce any CO2 emissions.
2 Solar, wind, nuclear. Nuclear can be very dangerous because of radioactivity. The production of solar
panels causes a lot of pollution. Some people thing wind turbines are ugly and may harm birds.
3 It may improve their image with customers, which may support sales; That may in turn support the
company’s share price; They will probably make a profit on their investment; If they contribute to “saving
the planet”, then they will have customers for the future – if the planet isn’t saved, obviously the business
will be lost.

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Brands Crisis management, The future of business

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