Global recycler of aluminum beverage cans Novelis has reported a rise in the recycled content of its products from 33% to 39% in the first year since announcing its goal to achieve 80% recycled content by 2020.
The US-based company released its second annual sustainability report highlighting a 19% reduction in energy intensity, which is halfway to its goal of 39% by 2020. A 11% reduction was achieved in water intensity, almost halfway to the company's goal of 25%, a 7% cut down in greenhouse gas emissions and an 18% improvement towards its goal of reducing waste to landfill to zero.
Novelis president and CEO Phil Martens said a growing percentage of people feel like purchasing products that lower their personal carbon footprint and expect the companies and technologies behind the products to operate in a sustainable manner.
"By dramatically increasing the amount of recycled content in our aluminum sheet and applying innovation to our product development, we enable consumers to make sensible, environmentally sustainable purchasing choices," Martens added.
Novelis has announced investments of about 810,000mt of increased global recycling capacity in the past three years in Germany, Korea and Brazil, and further plans to establish a new beverage can procurement organization in North America.
