Originally published in Crown Holding’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report
Sustainability is not just about what we do—it is also about how we do it. We strive to reduce our impact across all our operations, supporting the drive for cleaner air, cleaner water and less waste. Our global workforce helps us make progress every day through their innovative thinking and by sharing knowledge across our network so we can collectively accelerate our sustainability performance.
A Fresh Take on Best Practices
Making meaningful progress against our ambitious Twentyby30™ sustainability goals requires the commitment and creative thinking of our global workforce. That is why in 2022, we refreshed our long-standing best practices program to incorporate the Transit Packaging Division and the full Twentyby30™ strategy. The Twentyby30™ Best Practices program is designed to facilitate the sharing of operational efficiencies gained at the plant level on a global scale to fully encompass the pillars of our sustainability strategy and better position us to meet our corporate goals.
We recently celebrated the outstanding achievements of several teams based in Brazil, Mexico and Thailand for their resourcefulness to enhance efficiencies and processes that can yield benefits to our customers worldwide while also increasing the sustainability of our operations.
Climate Action Winner: Estancia, Brazil (beverage can plant)
Our plant in northeastern Brazil reduced gas energy consumption by nearly 20% by enabling its boiler to heat water only when the temperature dropped below required levels. This eliminated the need to keep the boiler in constant operation, which was done even if the water was able to maintain the optimal temperature without additional heat.
Optimum Circularity Winner: Monterrey, Mexico (beverage packaging plant)
Employees in our Monterrey, Mexico plant designed ultrafiltration equipment to remove impurities often found in used lubricant. By eliminating these impurities, the consumed lubricant was able to be reused in the plant’s manufacturing processes.
Resource Efficiency Winner: Thailand (Crown TCP)
This beverage can plant reduced consumption of city water by 200 cubic meters per month by installing a reverse osmosis treated water system for use in plant toilets, watering the plant’s garden and cleaning pallets and roads.
Working Together Winner: Thailand (Crown TCP plant)
Our team in Thailand was also recognized for steps it took to enhance worker safety on the plant floor. Material lifting equipment, which can be managed by machine controllers on the ground versus forklift operators, was installed to feed packing materials into the facility’s palletizer. The implementation eliminated a high-risk task and allowed operators to perform tasks more securely and efficiently.
Never Compromise Winner: Brazil (Corporate Procurement Team)
Our Corporate Procurement Team in Brazil implemented a detailed and dedicated supplier evaluation program to strengthen relationships and increase engagement with key suppliers, aligning with Crown’s core Twentyby30™ objective to “Never Compromise.”
Leading by Example
Our annual Chairman’s Sustainability Awards offer another way for us to recognize the exemplary contributions made by our manufacturing facilities and operating divisions in three key categories: Environmental, Safety and Social Sustainability. By sharing these achievements, we hope to provide a source of inspiration for our global workforce and continually raise the bar for sustainability excellence within the Company.
Winners of the 2022 Chairman’s Sustainability Awards, which cover achievements in 2021, are as follows:
Committed to the Environment: Crown Vichisa (Mexico)
Our Chihuahua, Mexico beverage glass plant was recognized with the Environmental Sustainability Award for saving over 15.5 million gallons of water and improving the quality of the facility’s wastewater. The team achieved these results by implementing a series of improvements including repairing leaks in washer valves, eliminating hard water, reusing water from downstream operations and installing recirculation filters.
Promoting Workplace Safety: Dahej, India
Our Dahej, India plant, which is part of the Transit Packaging Division, received the Sustainability Award for Safety for its comprehensive approach to workplace safety and extensive track record of incident-free days – which stood at 2,342 days (or approximately 6.5 years) at the time of submission. The facility adopted numerous initiatives to safeguard employee safety, health and wellbeing, including medical check-ups, classroom and onsite safety trainings, administrative controls and oversight, internal and external safety audits and motivational programs such as monthly and annual staff awards.
Making a Positive Impact: Conroe, Texas (U.S.)
The Social Sustainability Award, which recognizes activities that significantly impact the well-being of the workforce and/or the local community, was awarded to our Conroe, Texas beverage can plant. The team continues to demonstrate a steadfast commitment to their community by participating in mentorship programs, food drives, job fairs and various volunteer opportunities.
Corporate Rankings & Recognition
Crown continues to be a leader in corporate responsibility, and we are very proud of the recognition we receive along the way. While delivering against our sustainability goals is our priority, the external validation of our efforts provides motivation to stretch further and accelerate our activities to become an even more sustainable Company. The following are some of the awards and distinctions we received throughout 2022.
Responsible Citizenship
For the second year in a row, we were featured in 3BL Media’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, including garnering a spot in the top 10 Materials industry companies. This ranking recognizes outstanding ESG transparency and performance among the 1,000 largest publicly-traded U.S. companies.
Our dedication to corporate stewardship was also recognized within Forbes’ inaugural World’s Top FemaleFriendly Companies list, as well as by Newsweek magazine with the publication of its fourth annual America’s Most Responsible Companies 2023 list. We scored within the top 15% of Newsweek’s corporate governance category, reflecting high marks for disclosure, transparency and economic performance. The ranking assesses more than 2,000 eligible U.S.-based organizations on more than 30 KPIs for performance in environment, social and corporate governance and evaluates public perception of the companies via an independent survey.
Furthermore, we were again ranked by Sustainalytics as a leader in the top 3% of the containers and packaging industry for our ESG performance. This was the third year in a row we were recognized within this percentile.
Powering a Renewable Future
For the second consecutive year, our North American Beverage Packaging business unit ranked within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Top 25 Green Power Partners from the Fortune 500 list, and the Company ranked within the top half of EPA’s Top 100 Partners across the U.S. The EPA cites this annual alternative energy usage, which for our U.S. beverage operations equates to nearly 400 million kWh, as a contributor to growing the voluntary green power market and reducing the negative impacts of air emissions, including those related to ozone, fine particles, acid rain and regional haze.
Raising our Sustainability Profile
In the last year, Crown has increased its presence at strategic industry events around the world, sharing our commitment to sustainability, championing metal as the optimal choice for sustainable packaging and elevating our position as a thought leader. Here are just a few of the places we have been.
Refreshing the International Beverage Can Market (The Canmaker Summit; Czech Republic)
Dr. Dan Abramowicz, Crown’s Chief Technology Officer, addressed leaders from the global metal packaging and filling community at this annual industry gathering. His presentation explored several innovations that are supporting beverage can growth versus competitive packaging formats and highlighted the inherent sustainability benefits of aluminum containers. This included a look at product design and process improvements that enhance quality and reduce costs, as well as innovations that enhance functional and visual appeal for increased differentiation on the retail shelf.
Supporting the Journey Toward a Circular Economy (Future Food Forum; Dubai, UAE)
Sandrine Duquerroy-Delesalle, Director, Sustainability & External Affairs at Crown, discussed challenges and opportunities companies face as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region shifts toward greener, more sustainable business models. The conversation yielded critical insights for food and beverage manufacturers, who can begin the transition to a circular economy through increased recycling, decreased emissions, heightened emphasis on resource conservation and consumer education. Sandrine discussed metal packaging’s key attributes, and how Crown is supporting global initiatives aimed at achieving circularity – a critical area of focus for these regions that are among the world’s most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Steps to Decarbonize the Aluminum Industry (Novelis Panorama Sustentabilidade; Brazil)
Pamela Moreno, Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability Specialist at Crown, joined a panel organized by aluminum manufacturer Novelis, the leading producer of flat-rolled aluminum products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum, to discuss strategies to minimize the carbon footprint of the material in the supply chain and enhance circularity. She shared the latest progress against our Twentyby30™ sustainability goals, including our use of renewable electricity and efforts to increase global recycling rates.
To learn more about Crown Holding’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit our sustainability webpage.
For full details about Crown Holding’s 2022 Sustainability Report, visit here.
