Chairman’s Sustainability Awards

Taking Global Action

Making meaningful strides on our sustainability journey requires the commitment and support of every Crown employee around the world. At the Corporate level, we focus on establishing a roadmap for sustainability and implementing initiatives that can extend across our global network. At the plant level, our teams make critical contributions to our advancement toward greener, leaner operations and exemplify good corporate citizenship in our local communities.

We developed the biennial Chairman’s Sustainability Awards program to recognize and celebrate the manufacturing facilities that have shown outstanding leadership and innovation in the three dimensions of sustainability. Many of the initiatives highlighted by the program since its inception have been scalable to other facilities, amplifying their impact on our overall sustainability efforts.

The 2019 awards include recognition of plants in our Transit Packaging Division for the first time.

Our winning plants have innovated on the shop floor and in manufacturing processes, gone above and beyond to support their employees and made valued contributions to their local communities. The successes achieved by our 2019 winners inspire our future progress and help raise our standards of how we can contribute to sustainability on a global level.

Metal Packaging Plants

Environmental Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Must demonstrate excellence in environmental conservation by minimizing the impact of the Company’s operations, reducing material consumption or improving recycling or reuse.

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Results Achieved:

The beverage can plant set out to reduce the amount of waste it sent to landfill by 20% and minimize its carbon footprint by decreasing vehicle movements, electricity and water and material consumption by the end of 2017. Its “Go Green” program, which focused on improving efficiency and reducing overall waste, led to a 65% decrease in the facility’s landfill contribution and a 12% decrease in its carbon footprint. These waste management practices also received recognition from numerous customers, who visited the facility to observe the improved operations.

The program also achieved a significant 8% reduction in water usage, crucial in this water-scarce region.

Economic Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Must display a significant, measurable reduction in the Company’s use of resources, including freight, energy, fuel and water.

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Izmit, Turkey
Results Achieved:

The beverage can facility pledged to help regulate the quality of the community’s groundwater, which serves as a source of drinking water, helps to grow local food and recharges nearby lakes, rivers and wetlands. As part of this project, the plant implemented a new cleaning system to improve water pH levels. The facility also reduced energy consumption from 81,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) to 6,300 kWh after investing in energy-monitoring software and a high-tech cooling tower replacement, as well as installing solar panels to minimize the impact of its energy usage.

Social Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Must exhibit a significant impact on the well-being of the workforce and/or the local community.

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Acayucan, Mexico
Results Achieved:

The beverage packaging plant first initiated a “Development and Equity of Women” campaign in 2017 to connect women in the surrounding rural community, including the spouses of Crown employees, with health and wellness education. The program invited more than 100 participants to attend sessions on subjects ranging from breast cancer and cervical cancer prevention to diet and dental care. In 2018, the campaign grew to include business and social aspects, offering entrepreneurial classes and hosting discussions on gender inequalities and violence. The facility also focused on safety, reducing its serious injuries rate to zero in 2018 by implementing safety training for emergency brigades, creating new training plans, executing inspections and reinforcing risk prevention signage.

Divisional Excellence in Social Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Must showcase an overall commitment to one or more aspects of sustainability, implementing programs to affect regional impact.

The Winner: Brazil
Results Achieved:

The inaugural Divisional Excellence Award in Social Sustainability goes to our Brazil operations, which as a group has developed and executed multiple community-focused initiatives such as providing initial workforce training to students, offering flute classes to children without access to extracurricular activities and teaching judo to students in need of a safe physical outlet. Crown Brazil’s series of projects aims to spark creativity and instill discipline through healthy, engaging activities that many children may otherwise not have been able to access. After kick-starting these programs in Teresina, Estância and Cabreúva and receiving positive feedback from community participants, the division is considering expanding efforts to additional regions.

Transit Packaging Plants

The Transit Packaging plants were judged on their overall contributions to sustainability. The winners demonstrated an ability to excel in a diverse range of activities.

Winner: Virton, Belgium
Results Achieved:

This stretch film facility invested in a reclaim line, which enabled 90% of its waste to be re-processed and upcycled into usable material. Through product eco-innovation, they also helped one major customer reduce its environmental footprint by 60%.
The team has also made significant progress across multiple ESG metrics over a three-year period: 62% reduction in CO₂ footprint, 45% reduction in water usage and US$50,000 in waste disposal savings.
A voluntary agreement with the plant’s local region to reduce energy consumption by 7.2% in five years as part of a commitment to Horizon 2020 set a precedent for other facilities to follow.

Winner: Sriracha, Thailand
Results Achieved:

This facility has won numerous external awards, including an Employee Relations Excellence at Provincial Level award in 2018 from the Thai Department of Labour Protection and Welfare and an Environment and Safety Governance Award for work in the local community.
Employee well-being is prioritized with programs that support breastfeeding and annual health checkups.
The team has decreased energy usage by 70% by rationalizing its fan-cooling systems.

Winner: Bangalore, India
Results Achieved:

The facility, which manufactures dunnage air bags and inflation tools, developed multiple programs to assist local communities in need, both economically and socially. To help support its neighbors, the plant supported a project for free midday meal assistance for students, benefiting 1,000 children, and also invested in upgrading nine schools, including seven preschools—a project that benefited nearly 500 children.

The plant also offered free health checkups for all (330) plant employees and a Safety Week celebration to highlight the facility’s progress and encourage a continued focus on safety.

Runners-Up

Rudraram, India
Results Achieved:

The plant, which manufactures predominantly steel strapping and strapping seals, established a wide range of sustainability goals including reducing material usage and conserving energy. The facility achieved a year-to-year reduction of 256 tons per year of scrap from steel strap production, a year-to-year decrease of 14 tons per year in scrap from strap seal production and a corresponding reduction of 500 tons in carbon footprint. Multiple initiatives to reduce energy usage, such as improving insulation in the lead circulation pump, the removal of worn or unused pipelines and the installation of air consumption meters, have reduced energy consumption by 16 units per ton of strap produced. The plant’s new method of reusing wood for pallets is also saving an estimated 225 trees annually, which is significant in India where deforestation is a problem.

Silvassa, India
Results Achieved:

A producer of plastic packaging supplies including strapping, corner protectors and wrapping film, the facility’s “Leading the Way Toward Zero” initiative aimed to minimize the use of “prime” materials and energy, among other goals. By plugging leakages, replacing light sources and making equipment modifications, the plant reduced average consumption per ton of production from 784 units in 2016 to 750 units in 2018. Non-prime material usage has increased for a range of strapping and board products, with contrax strap now incorporating 35% more non-prime material than in previous production years. Beyond decreasing its footprint, the facility has led community-focused programs including on-site blood donation camps, dental checkups and tree planting activities.

Florence, KY, U.S.
Results Achieved:

The facility, which produces packaging supplies such as plastic strapping, developed a Closed Loop Recycling Program that contributes to internal sustainability accomplishments and assists customers pursuing similar goals. The full-circle system, recognized with a 2018 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Green Supply Chain Award, operates by collecting and recycling polyester beverage containers, polyester strapping and other recyclable materials. Through the initiative, customers can return their used plastic strap to the plant, enabling them to reduce their own packaging supplies waste and disposal costs. Internally, the facility marries this returned strapping with other recycled materials. As a result, it can reduce its dependency on new raw material consumption and produce strap containing up to 85% recycled content.

Chairman’s Sustainability Awards

Taking Global Action

Metal Packaging Plants

Environmental Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Dubai, United Arab EmiratesResults Achieved:

Economic Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Izmit, Turkey Results Achieved:

Social Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Acayucan, Mexico Results Achieved:

Divisional Excellence in Social Sustainability Award

Award Parameters:

The Winner: Brazil Results Achieved:

Transit Packaging Plants

Winner: Virton, Belgium Results Achieved:

Winner: Sriracha, Thailand Results Achieved:

Winner: Bangalore, IndiaResults Achieved:

Runners-Up

Rudraram, India Results Achieved:

Silvassa, India Results Achieved:

Florence, KY, U.S. Results Achieved:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Results Achieved:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Izmit, Turkey
Results Achieved:

Metal Packaging Plant Winner: Acayucan, Mexico
Results Achieved:

The Winner: Brazil
Results Achieved:

Winner: Virton, Belgium
Results Achieved:

Winner: Sriracha, Thailand
Results Achieved:

Winner: Bangalore, India
Results Achieved:

Rudraram, India
Results Achieved:

Silvassa, India
Results Achieved:

Florence, KY, U.S.
Results Achieved: