As global consumption continues to rise to meet the growing population, food and beverage manufacturers face an ongoing conundrum: How do we continue to safely and efficiently deliver the essential goods people rely on while becoming more environmentally responsible?

For many CPG companies, the answer is in a substrate that is already right in front of them: metal.

Aluminum and steel cans are infinitely recyclable—meaning if they successfully make their way through the recycling stream, they can be transformed into new products and recycled over and over again without any loss of properties.

What that offers to CPG companies and to the industry as a whole is the possibility to evolve from a linear consumption model to a circular economy that minimizes landfill waste and keeps valuable resources available for years to come—important steps to take in the race to shrink environmental footprints and slow the pace of climate change.

In addition, as consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability in their own purchasing habits and lifestyles, metal can provide products in a package they can feel good about.

Working to spread awareness about metal as an environmentally responsible packaging solution, as well as the importance of effectively recycling that packaging, is Crown Holdings. As one of today’s largest producers of aluminum and steel packaging, the company helps to serve countless consumers worldwide with food and beverage products on a daily basis.

While those goods require protective packaging that utilizes materials and resources, Crown chose to build the core of its business around food and beverage cans due to their unparalleled inherent benefits—sustainability included.

The beverage can itself is able to be transformed from a used, recycled can to a new can on the shelf in just 60 days—and, when recycled, saves 95% of the energy that would have been required for production from raw materials. In addition, the average beverage or food can reflects high recycled content levels.

For both metals, at least 70% of all materials ever produced are still in use today. What this reveals is that not only is metal recyclable, but it is actually recycled in practice and has remarkable value and opportunity in the food and beverage industry when it is safely diverted from landfill.

That fact is not lost on many brands today, with more and more new beverage products in particular being introduced in cans to take advantage of their sustainability profiles and their other benefits like product protection, efficient distribution and strong branding opportunities.

Despite this growing preference for cans, Crown has identified areas of improvement in the life cycle for cans and continues to pursue strategies for increasing product stewardship and education around recycling.

The company recognizes that as strong as the can stands on its own, its maximum potential as a sustainable, responsible, circular packaging option cannot be reached without the help of all players across the supply chain to recapture every used can and send it back into production.  

To that end, Crown is helping to lead several recycling-centric initiatives, some of which include:

• Conducting comprehensive research with industry partners to identify regions where recycling can improve, set new goals for those areas and develop levers to raise rates;
• Driving recycling education and events with brands, consumers and communities;
• Hosting and participating in industry-wide forums on recycling rates, recycled content averages, proactive policy ideas for recycling and sector decarbonization methods;
• Contributing to can capture equipment funding for material recovery facilities;
• Striving to reduce its own operational footprint by improving resource preservation and cutting down on its own waste through the goals of its Twentyby30™ sustainability program.

As it continues these efforts, Crown works to reinforce one core message: Aluminum and steel cans are the most sustainable packaging options available to brands and consumers—and with stronger recycling streams, the opportunity for an effective circular economy and more climate-friendly industry is within reach.

The more that cans are utilized and responsibly returned to the supply chain, the closer we come to a healthier environment long-term.