YARDLEY, PA - How can we as an industry leverage our global workforce to contribute to a more sustainable world? At Crown Holdings, its commitment to product innovation has enabled the company to grow in ways that benefit customers and shareholders while minimizing the impact on the environment. The company recently published its 2019 Sustainability Report detailing its environmental, social, and governance achievements from fiscal years 2017 and 2018 and previewing focus areas for its next set of sustainability goals.

“We are very proud of the strides we have made in the last two years to become an even more sustainable company,” said John Rost, Ph.D., Vice President, Global Sustainability, and Regulatory Affairs. “These achievements were made possible by the inspiring efforts of our global team as well as the fundamental benefits of our primary product-metal packaging. As a material, metal supports the circular economy, protects our customers’ products by delivering outstanding shelf-life, and provides an unparalleled return on investment at every level.”

Highlights from the 2019 report include:

Making Progress Against 2020 Sustainability Goals (as of December 31, 2018)

• Achieved 94 percent of its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, with a 9.43 percent decrease in GHGs per billion standard units (versus 2015 levels). Absolute emissions have decreased by 1.7 percent even as total production has increased by 8.4 percent
• Decreased energy consumption by 6.23 percent in its metal packaging plants, surpassing its goal of 5 percent reduction in usage per billion standard units (versus 2015 levels)

Reducing Environmental Impact

• Aluminum consumption is on a four-year downward trend, even as the company has increased production of beverage cans by almost 10 percent in that period
• In 2018, several of Crown’s European sites achieved zero waste to landfill and less than 10 percent of total waste generated across the Division’s 61 locations was sent to landfill
• The Florence, Kentucky (U.S.), operation of the company’s Transit Packaging Division produces plastic strap made from nearly 90 percent recycled material, significantly reducing dependency on new raw material consumption

Using Renewable Energy

• 6.7 percent of Crown’s global operations are currently using renewable electricity
• 100 percent of Crown’s U.K. facilities have been powered by direct supply of renewable electricity since 2018
• 100 percent of electricity in U.S. and Canadian beverage can plants will be matched with wind power generation as of July 1, 2020

Investing in Employees and Communities

• Crown’s Toluca, Mexico, beverage can plant partnered with customers to donate 2.3 million cans of water in the aftermath of the devastating 2017 earthquake in Mexico City
• The company’s Acayucan, Mexico, beverage packaging plant initiated programs to educate women in the surrounding rural community about health and wellness and provided entrepreneurial-focused classes
• Crown’s Brazilian operations implemented several initiatives that contributed to the educational development of local public school students and provided safe, healthy extracurricular activities. Programs included workforce training, music lessons, and Judo classes
• The company’s Transit Packaging facility in Bangalore, India, supported 1,000 students with free mid-day meal assistance and invested in upgrading nine schools, including seven preschools
• Each May, in conjunction with National Women’s Health Week, Crown provides access to on-site mammograms at its corporate headquarters in Yardley, Pennsylvania (U.S.). To date, the unit has conducted over 800 screenings

To further elevate its commitment to sustainability, Crown is laying the groundwork for its next set of sustainability goals. According to a press release, focus areas will include climate, resource efficiency, circularity, social change, product stewardship, and governance and ethics. Goals will formally be announced in early 2020 and progress toward them will be reported annually. The company is already making headway in several of these areas:

• Crown joined RE100 in 2019, pledging a total transition to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2050
• The company committed to the Science-Based Targets Initiative, which requires it to set specific goals for reducing GHG emissions. These targets, to be announced in 2020, will align with global temperature limits set by the Paris Agreement of 2015
• Crown recently announced plans to reduce water usage in its global operations by 20 percent from 2019 levels by the end of 2025. These efforts will decrease the company’s water usage by over 500 million gallons annually

Though it has traditionally followed a biennial reporting schedule, Crown will release its next report in early 2021 to formally wrap up its 2020 sustainability goals and provide insight into its new objectives.

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Crown Holdings