Ball achieves global first aluminum sustainability certification

09 Mar 2020 --- Ball Corporation has earned the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certification for all 23 of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) beverage can plants. The metal packaging supplier for beverages, foods and household products describes this accomplishment as a major sustainability milestone for the company. Ball is the first beverage can manufacturer to meet ASI's environmental, social and governance principles.

The certification accompanies a commitment to significant carbon reductions by Ball, which is now covering all of its operations in the European Union, Serbia and the UK with renewable energy. Ball previously announced agreements for 100 percent renewable energy covering all of its North America operations by 2021.

“We're extremely proud to be the first aluminum beverage can manufacturer to achieve ASI certification,” says Ron Lewis, President, Ball Beverage Packaging, EMEA. “With their infinite recyclability, aluminum cans are the fastest growing beverage packaging type in Europe. As consumers seek more environmentally friendly products, they can have confidence in aluminum's strong sustainability credentials such as responsible sourcing. The certification, combined with our renewable energy investments, demonstrates Ball's commitment to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.”

Aluminium Stewardship Initiative
ASI is a multi-stakeholder initiative that provides assurance of responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminum throughout its value chain. As consumers demand greater sustainability across packaged goods, the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative's scheme aims “to do for aluminum what the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) did for paper and wood,” making sustainability performance a mainstream, visible issue. 

Ball has achieved both ASI's Performance, and Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard certifications.

The ASI Performance Standard is a measure of how much effort Ball is making across its plants to assess, manage and disclose its environmental, social and governance impacts, the company says. These include issues such as life-cycle thinking, recycling, greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste management, biodiversity, business integrity and the human rights of both workers and local communities.

The ASI CoC Standard sets out requirements for the creation of a Chain of Custody for material that is produced and processed through the value chain. In Ball's case, it links verified practices – certified under the ASI Performance Standard – from mining and remelting to casting, rolling, can manufacturing and filling.

“We're responding to a greater desire from consumers, across Europe and around the world, for genuinely sustainable and infinitely recyclable packaging solutions,” comments Kathleen Pitre, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer at Ball. “We're working closely with our beverage customers to help them deliver on their sustainability commitments including on responsible sourcing practices.”

Ball earned the Aluminium ASI certification for all its EMEA beverage can plants.“We are very pleased to award ASI Certification to, Ball Corporation, the world's largest aluminum can maker and the first in its sector to have achieved this,” notes Dr. Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative. “The ASI's Performance Standard covers critical issues for the entire aluminum value chain. The program is focused on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of this important industrial metal. ASI Certification enables the aluminum industry to demonstrate responsibility and provide independent and credible assurance of performance. Supply-chain certification programs like ASI are becoming increasingly important for customers and stakeholders, who seek assurance that companies' sustainability practices are genuine.”

With 75 percent of the aluminum ever produced still in use today around the world, the metal has a vital role to play in creating a truly circular economy, Ball affirms. Ball is taking a lead on industry efforts to significantly increase the European recycling rate of aluminum beverage cans, currently at 75 percent. Recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy required for the production of virgin aluminum.

Recycling rates for aluminum beverage cans in the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland rose to a record high 74.5 percent in 2017, a 2.3 percent increase from 2016. Almost 31 billion cans were recycled in EU and EFTA countries in 2017, representing a total of more than 420,000 tons of aluminum. However, the recycling success rates of aluminum beverage cans varies significantly between some nations. For example, Germany and Norway boast recycling rates of 99 and 98 percent respectively, while Romania and Portugal lag at 36 and 43 percent respectively.

ASI's objectives:

• To define globally applicable standards for sustainability performance and material chain-of-custody for the aluminum value chain;
• To promote measurable and continual improvements in the key environmental, social and governance impacts of aluminum production, use and recycling;
• To develop a credible assurance and certification system that both mitigates the risks of non-conformity with ASI standards and minimizes barriers to broad scale implementation;
• To become and remain a globally valued organization advancing programs for sustainability in the aluminum value chain, which is financially self-sustaining and inclusive of stakeholder interests.

Edited by Joshua Poole