Crown Honors its Transit Packaging Operations for Exceptional Sustainability Achievements

In recognition of the overall sustainability contributions of its Transit Packaging Division, Crown Holdings, Inc. has honored three facilities with a Chairman’s Sustainability Award. Three additional plants were recognized as runners-up for their efforts. The six Transit Packaging facilities join three of Crown’s metal packaging plants and the company’s Brazilian operations, which were recognized for excelling in sustainability activities during the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.

Crown’s stretch film facility in Virton, Belgium was awarded for its investment in a reclaim line that enabled 90 percent of its waste to be reprocessed and upcycled into usable material. The plant also utilized eco-innovation to help a customer reduce its environmental footprint by 60 percent. The team also made significant progress across multiple ESG metrics over a three-year period, including a 62 percent reduction in its CO₂ footprint, a 45 percent reduction in water usage and waste disposal savings of $50,000. The plant has also set a precedent by committing to a voluntary agreement with its local region to reduce energy consumption by 7.2 percent within the next five years through the Horizon 2020 program.

The company has also honored its Sriracha, Thailand facility, which has received multiple external awards including an “Employee Relations Excellence at Provincial Level” award from the Thai Department of Labour Protection and Welfare and an “Environment and Safety Governance Award” for work in the surrounding community. In addition to prioritizing wellness-focused initiatives for its employees, including starting a project supporting breast-feeding and providing annual health checkups, the plant has minimized its overall environmental impact by rationalizing its fan-cooling systems to reduce energy usage by 70 percent.

Finally, Crown’s Bangalore, India facility, which manufactures dunnage air bags and inflation tools, received a Chairman’s Sustainability Award for developing multiple programs to assist local communities in economic and social need. The plant supported over 1,500 students through initiatives to provide free midday meal assistance and to invest in upgrading nine schools, including seven preschools. The plant also offered free health checkups for its 330 employees and implemented a “Safety Week” celebration, highlighting internal progress and encouraging a continued focus on safety.

Crown also acknowledged three runners-up in the Transit Packaging Division for their notable contributions in sustainability:

• Rudraram, India for achieving a year-to-year reduction of 256 tons per year of scrap from steel strap production, a year-to-year reduction of 14 tons per year in scrap from strap seal production and a corresponding reduction of 500 tons in carbon footprint;
• Silvassa, India for creating community-focused initiatives and minimizing its use of energy and “prime” or “virgin” plastic materials; and
• Florence, Kentucky (U.S.) for leading an internal closed loop recycling system that reduces customer waste and enables the plant’s strapping products to contain up to 85 percent recycled content.

“Our winning Transit Packaging plants have excelled in innovations on both the shop floor and through advanced manufacturing processes,” said John Rost, vice president of global sustainability and regulatory affairs at Crown. “They have gone above and beyond in supporting their employees, their communities and our overall goals for sustainability. We are proud of our winners and runners-up for surpassing expectations and for their valuable contributions to on our ongoing sustainability journey.

For more information, visit sustainability.crowncork.com.