Crown Supports Drive for Sustainability and Recycling

Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East is supporting Hydro, the third largest integrated aluminum supplier in the world, in its efforts to raise awareness for the material's sustainability benefits with consumers.

As part of the campaign, Hydro is giving away 600,000 specially designed beverage cans during promotional events at university campuses and communities across Germany and Norway. Manufactured by Crown, the cans will carry a series of creative messages relating to sustainability and recycling and their positive impact on the environment.

The beverage cans, filled with sparkling water, can be chilled easily providing a source of refreshment, according to the company. The beverage can offers a 100% light and gas barrier, extending shelf life and keeping products tasting fresh, says Crown.
 
Beverage cans are infinitely recyclable with no loss of material quality. Campaign messages 'Forever Young', 'Built to Last' and 'I'll Be Back' demonstrate this fact by showing how consumers can come into contact with aluminum so many times during their lifetime. Recycling also reduces the need for virgin materials, which decreases both energy use and CO2 emissions. This is highlighted by further messages such as 'Energy Bank' and 'Hydro Power'.

"We are delighted to be part of Hydro's initiative to educate consumers on the merits of aluminum and the beverage can," says Caroline Archer-Reed, Marketing Director, CROWN Bevcan Europe & Middle East. "The can is the most recycled drinks pack in the world, and with its inherently large printing area, it is the ideal promotional tool for communicating these important messages to the public. Once cans are collected for recycling, they can be recycled and back on the shelf within 60 days".

"While recycling initiatives have been in place in Europe for many years, as leaders in the aluminum industry and stewards of the environment, we believe greatly in the power of continued public education about the importance of recycling," says Hanne Haugen, Head of Brand Management, Hydro. "Not only does recycling reduce the amount of waste in our landfills, reuse leads to a reduction of energy utilization and lower greenhouse emissions."

To complete the cycle, Hydro has teamed up with a recycling partner in Norway to set up collection bins at all promotion locations. Hydro will donate 1 Krone to the Red Cross for each Crown can that is collected and recycled during events.

The first Hydro promotion was held on 28 August 2008 at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. More events will take place well into 2009 in select cities across Norway and Germany.

Source: Crown Holdings, Inc.