Crown Holdings unveiled its 2013 Sustainability Report, which showcases the environmental benefits of steel food cans and celebrates the culture of sustainability that has defined the company from its earliest days.
The new report is the company’s second review of developments in its sustainability efforts from an economic, environmental and social perspective. It reports that in 2012 alone, more than 1.3 million tons of tinplate steel – the equivalent of 21 billion steel cans – was recycled by the economy as a whole. Further enhancing steel’s sustainability profile is the fact that a package made of recycled steel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 75% over a package made with new steel, with each ton of recycled steel saving 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone, according to the Steel Recycling Institute.
“In addition to being 100% recyclable, steel can be used again and again with no loss in performance or quality, which contributes to the high recycling rate of steel food cans”, said Hella Gourven, marketing manager, CROWN Food Packaging North America. “The European Union recently listed metal as a Permanent Resource in new legislation, recognizing that steel cans never need to be downgraded to less demanding uses after recycling.”