Crown Holdings' Sustainability Progress with ASI Standards: Enhancing Due Diligence, Biodiversity, and Transparency
Jennifer Bogs, Director of Global Sustainability at Crown Holdings Inc., highlights how the ASI Standards have been instrumental in advancing Crown's sustainability initiatives, particularly by enhancing the Twentyby30™ program. This progress has been achieved through more rigorous due diligence, comprehensive biodiversity planning, and increased transparency within the aluminum supply chain.
Raising Our Standards
Crown is deeply committed to responsible business practices. As members of ASI, the leading organization for responsible aluminum sourcing, we've set higher standards not only for ourselves but also for our customers and suppliers throughout the supply chain. This membership has driven us to scrutinize ASI Standards more closely, resulting in improved transparency, due diligence, and risk management planning.
Enhancing Due Diligence, Biodiversity, and Collaboration
ASI membership has transformed our approach to business, prompting the implementation of changes aligned with ASI Certification. Biodiversity, a relatively new focus in sustainability, has seen significant advancements through increased due diligence and the development of detailed biodiversity plans. For instance, alongside the IBAT desktop assessment, we enlisted a biodiversity expert to conduct our first on-site visual assessment of biodiversity impacts in two regions, leading to the creation of effective mitigation strategies.
ASI's influence has prompted us to broaden our due diligence efforts, with our legal and procurement teams ensuring that the necessary checks and balances are in place for the aluminum supply chain. We’ve conducted a more thorough review of human rights impacts through regional Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs), allowing us to probe deeper into our operations and address previously unexplored questions. These HRIAs will also guide other areas of our company, such as evaluating materiality from an external perspective. Our collaboration within the company has strengthened, with executive leadership and broader teams being educated on biodiversity and supply chain due diligence.
The ASI Standards' balanced approach has been enlightening, ensuring that no single principle, such as climate, is prioritized at the expense of others like water and biodiversity. This holistic view aligns with Crown's Twentyby30™ sustainability program, where we emphasize water goals as much as climate goals, underscoring the interconnectedness of sustainability issues.
Advancing Our Sustainability Programs
Crown's sustainability goals and programs are far-reaching, covering areas like climate, renewable energy, emissions reduction, water conservation, circularity, safety, and diversity. Our Twentyby30™ Best Practices Program has made significant strides, fostering increased information sharing and learning across our numerous plants. This program has enabled us to replicate successful projects, such as those yielding energy and water savings, across different sites.
We've also made progress in renewable energy procurement and water replenishment. As members of RE100, we aim for 100% renewable energy. Our water replenishment efforts include projects that restore 100% of the water consumed back to the original region, achieved through grassroots initiatives and collaborations with NGOs. For example, in Brazil, we are working on conserving trees, strengthening water systems, and supporting regenerative agricultural projects.
Crown actively engages in charitable giving through our plants, which nominate local charities that resonate with their communities. Additionally, we collaborate with industry partners like the Can Manufacturers Institute and Metal Packaging Europe to improve recycling rates globally and advocate for better recycling legislation.
ASI's role in elevating our program cannot be overstated. It has reinforced our commitment to responsible and ethical sourcing, as outlined in our Twentyby30™ sustainability program. We've made significant progress in assessing our core suppliers and plan to extend this assessment to the rest of our suppliers. Furthermore, we've made headway in identifying and managing chemicals of concern, ensuring the safety of our products for customers.
Commitment to Continuous Improvement
While we're proud of our achievements, we remain dedicated to further enhancing our performance. On the climate front, we're exploring new and existing technologies to meet our goals, increasing renewable energy procurement, installing solar panels at various locations, and reducing reliance on gas.
In the area of water management, we've established company-wide water quality standards and continue to implement global water replenishment projects. Circularity is another key focus, with efforts to set targets, engage locally to influence legislation, and boost recycling rates through increased collection equipment and support for informal recycling initiatives.
We are proactive in identifying and mitigating safety risks, striving to reduce the number of injuries at our sites. To enhance diversity, we continue to educate employees and review our hiring policies to ensure inclusivity.
Our commitment to improving performance and creating positive impacts remains steadfast as we look to the future.
Raising Our Standards
Crown is deeply committed to responsible business practices. As members of ASI, the leading organization for responsible aluminum sourcing, we've set higher standards not only for ourselves but also for our customers and suppliers throughout the supply chain. This membership has driven us to scrutinize ASI Standards more closely, resulting in improved transparency, due diligence, and risk management planning.
Enhancing Due Diligence, Biodiversity, and Collaboration
ASI membership has transformed our approach to business, prompting the implementation of changes aligned with ASI Certification. Biodiversity, a relatively new focus in sustainability, has seen significant advancements through increased due diligence and the development of detailed biodiversity plans. For instance, alongside the IBAT desktop assessment, we enlisted a biodiversity expert to conduct our first on-site visual assessment of biodiversity impacts in two regions, leading to the creation of effective mitigation strategies.
ASI's influence has prompted us to broaden our due diligence efforts, with our legal and procurement teams ensuring that the necessary checks and balances are in place for the aluminum supply chain. We’ve conducted a more thorough review of human rights impacts through regional Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs), allowing us to probe deeper into our operations and address previously unexplored questions. These HRIAs will also guide other areas of our company, such as evaluating materiality from an external perspective. Our collaboration within the company has strengthened, with executive leadership and broader teams being educated on biodiversity and supply chain due diligence.
The ASI Standards' balanced approach has been enlightening, ensuring that no single principle, such as climate, is prioritized at the expense of others like water and biodiversity. This holistic view aligns with Crown's Twentyby30™ sustainability program, where we emphasize water goals as much as climate goals, underscoring the interconnectedness of sustainability issues.
Advancing Our Sustainability Programs
Crown's sustainability goals and programs are far-reaching, covering areas like climate, renewable energy, emissions reduction, water conservation, circularity, safety, and diversity. Our Twentyby30™ Best Practices Program has made significant strides, fostering increased information sharing and learning across our numerous plants. This program has enabled us to replicate successful projects, such as those yielding energy and water savings, across different sites.
We've also made progress in renewable energy procurement and water replenishment. As members of RE100, we aim for 100% renewable energy. Our water replenishment efforts include projects that restore 100% of the water consumed back to the original region, achieved through grassroots initiatives and collaborations with NGOs. For example, in Brazil, we are working on conserving trees, strengthening water systems, and supporting regenerative agricultural projects.
Crown actively engages in charitable giving through our plants, which nominate local charities that resonate with their communities. Additionally, we collaborate with industry partners like the Can Manufacturers Institute and Metal Packaging Europe to improve recycling rates globally and advocate for better recycling legislation.
ASI's role in elevating our program cannot be overstated. It has reinforced our commitment to responsible and ethical sourcing, as outlined in our Twentyby30™ sustainability program. We've made significant progress in assessing our core suppliers and plan to extend this assessment to the rest of our suppliers. Furthermore, we've made headway in identifying and managing chemicals of concern, ensuring the safety of our products for customers.
Commitment to Continuous Improvement
While we're proud of our achievements, we remain dedicated to further enhancing our performance. On the climate front, we're exploring new and existing technologies to meet our goals, increasing renewable energy procurement, installing solar panels at various locations, and reducing reliance on gas.
In the area of water management, we've established company-wide water quality standards and continue to implement global water replenishment projects. Circularity is another key focus, with efforts to set targets, engage locally to influence legislation, and boost recycling rates through increased collection equipment and support for informal recycling initiatives.
We are proactive in identifying and mitigating safety risks, striving to reduce the number of injuries at our sites. To enhance diversity, we continue to educate employees and review our hiring policies to ensure inclusivity.
Our commitment to improving performance and creating positive impacts remains steadfast as we look to the future.
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