ATLANTA and NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis, the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced a new commitment to convert all of its beverage can body sheet production to its evercan™ sheet, the world's first certified high-recycled content aluminum for beverage cans, by the end of 2017. Novelis President and CEO Phil Martens announced this new commitment today at JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Chief Sustainability Officers Summit in New York.
"The transition to a low-carbon, circular economy requires innovation and disruption to create measurable impact," said Martens. "Our plan to produce only evercan body sheet by 2017 is a bold move that extends our leadership in sustainability and is an important part of our long-term strategy to increase the recycled content in our products to 80 percent by the end of the decade."
This commitment means that all can body sheet produced by Novelis will be certified 90 percent recycled content, compared to the global industry average of 50 percent. Available worldwide, evercan sheet is produced in Novelis facilities in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. Novelis' evercan body sheet is priced at the same levels as standard beverage can sheet and there is no difference in quality, technical characteristics or run-speed at customer plants between evercan and standard sheet.
Novelis to Support Industry Transition
To encourage broad adoption across the market, Novelis will assist other aluminum manufacturers by sharing knowledge of the process to certify high-recycled content beverage sheet using the methodology of SCS Global Services (SCS), a recognized leader in environmental auditing that certifies evercan's high-recycled content.
"We understand that the shift to a certified, high-recycled content aluminum beverage can sheet represents a significant change for the industry with far-reaching effects," continued Martens. "Through an open-sourced platform, we are committed to working with beverage brands, can makers and other aluminum manufacturers to build the closed-loop, low-carbon economy of the future. Accomplishing this change is going to require all of these stakeholders to work together to make the use of recycled materials the standard for the beverage can industry and to increase recycling rates among consumers."
Certified Can End Sheet Now Available in North America
Novelis has also recently received certification from SCS for its high-recycled content can end sheet production in North America in addition to can body sheet. Can end sheet is used to form the tops of cans. The evercan end sheet will be available globally next year.
"Our can end certification is another step in our long-term commitment to sustainable packaging and further differentiates evercan in the marketplace," concluded Martens.
Research Demonstrates Consumer Demand for Sustainable Packaging
According to a survey by Forum for the Future, 62 percent of consumers say they would feel negatively toward brands that do not use sustainable packaging and 90 percent are prepared to boycott brands they consider to be acting irresponsibly. The survey also found consumers say changes in operations (e.g., sourcing material more responsibly and reducing the environmental impact of factories) should be the top priority for companies when it comes to sustainability efforts.*
Since 2011, Novelis has announced capital investments of close to $500 million that will double the company's global recycling capacity to 2.1 million metric tons by 2015. Recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy and emissions associated with the production of primary metal.
For more information about evercan sheet, visit novelis.com/evercan.
About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of aluminum. The company operates in 11 countries, has approximately 11,200 employees and reported revenue of approximately $10 billion for its 2014 fiscal year. Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and consumer electronics markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. The company is part of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For more information, visit novelis.com and follow us at facebook.com/NovelisInc and twitter.com/Novelis.
* Forum for the Future "Scaling Disruption Innovation in Sustainable Packaging," online survey of 3,031 people in the U.K., U.S. and Poland, conducted by Madano Partnership, Novelis and Forum for the Future, March 2014
SOURCE Novelis Inc.