Crown Demonstrates Commitment to Sustainability with Launch of First Formal Report

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Nov 29, 2011, 04:39 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown) (www.crowncork.com), a leading supplier of metal packaging products worldwide, today announced the release of its first sustainability report. Titled "Creating an Infinitely Bright Future," the report combines industry and internal data with focused case studies to highlight how the company is addressing the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environmental and social – through its innovations, operations and people.

"Crown has embodied the values of sustainability over many decades, and our operations are based on safety, innovation and efficiency. Our World-Class Performance program, which is built on effective management and resource conservation, provides the framework for all of our sustainability efforts," said John Conway, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Crown. "Launching our first sustainability report allows us to proactively communicate the strides we've made and foster an open dialogue with all of our stakeholders on this important topic."

Based upon fiscal years 2007 through 2010, the 32-page report uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines as its framework. The contents of the report have been self-declared at application level C, indicating that the company reported on all required profile disclosures as well as at least 10 Performance Indicators.

The full report can be downloaded at www.crowncork.com/sustainability. Highlights include:

Metal is 100% recyclable, recycled at high levels and can be continuously reused with absolutely no degradation in performance or quality.
Food and beverage cans are made from steel and aluminum produced on average with more than 50% recycled material.
Crown is making more containers with fewer resources. For example, during the reporting period:
- Propane usage has decreased by 14%, natural gas by 8% and electricity by 2%.
- Based on these energy reductions, it is estimated that direct greenhouse gases have been reduced by 8%, while indirect emissions are down by 2%.
- Waste-to-landfill levels have been reduced by 15%.
In 2010 alone, Crown's worldwide operations recycled an excess of 350,000 tons of metal.
Crown's patented SuperEnd® beverage ends reduce metal use by 10% and make beverage cans even more environmentally friendly. To date, over 300 billion SuperEnd® beverage ends have been produced, saving an estimated 73,500 metric tons of aluminum, 1,200 metric tons of coatings, and 600,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. That's equal to the annual emissions from more than 110,000 automobiles.
Investing in employee education, health and safety is a fundamental value at Crown. Employees have access to a variety of mandatory and voluntary training programs in classrooms, online and on-the-job.
Crown is also committed to the communities in which it operates and supports a number of charitable and local causes, primarily by investing in education initiatives.
- The company's John F. Connelly Scholarship Fund has awarded US$3 million to over 1,400 children of Crown employees worldwide since 1992.
- Crown actively supports The Curtis Institute (Philadelphia, PA), Brunel University (United Kingdom) and King Alfred's Academy (Wantage, UK) with financial donations, student sponsorships, the creation of special design and technology projects and more.

About Crown Holdings, Inc.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com.

For more information, contact:

For editorial inquiries: Michael F. Dunleavy, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations; Tel: (215) 698-5051; Email: [email protected]

For investors: Thomas A. Kelly, Senior Vice President Finance, Tel: (215) 698-5341, or Ed Bisno, Bisno Communications, Tel: (212) 717-7578.

SOURCE Crown Holdings, Inc.