Sustainability Across Atlanta : Novelis
I hope you found my inaugural post on Sustainability Across Atlanta featuring Belter Tech to be informative and engaging. After a busy school year, I’m sure I am not alone in looking forward to a well deserved break. As we get into the summer months, which are expected to be the hottest on record, staying hydrated is critical especially during outdoor activities. However, single-use plastic bottles for water and other beverages has contributed to an exponential increase in plastic waste ending up in landfills in the fifty years it has been available. While this is a critical problem to solve, basic access to safe drinking water is not always easy in many parts of the world. In this month’s article I will be featuring Novelis, one of the largest aluminum manufacturers in the world, which is working to make an impact on both of these concerns.
Headquartered right here in Atlanta, this multinational company employs more than 13,000 people worldwide including nearly 500 in the Atlanta metro area, and is making sustainability vital to its mission. “Novelis leads the industry in making aluminum the sustainable material of choice for beverage packaging, automotive, aerospace, transportation, building & construction” (Novelis). The company produces flat-rolled aluminum products on four continents, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Their customers in the beverage industry include some of the world’s largest companies such as Coca-Cola, Crown, Ball Corporation, Ardagh Group and ABInBev.
According to the non profit Ocean Conservancy, “every year 11 million metric tons of plastic waste enter our ocean, on top of the estimated 200 million metric tons that currently circulate in our marine environments”. Plastic bottles are the third most common type of waste found on shorelines, behind cigarette butts and food wrappers! If no changes are made in our behavior as consumers, the amount of plastic waste in our waterways could reach unsustainable levels. Novelis’ guiding principle is that aluminum as an infinitely recyclable material can have a positive environmental, social, and economic impact for years to come.
Novelis boasts an astonishing 61% recycled inputs across all its products, and has invested $700 million in its recycling capabilities over the past 10 years. As a byproduct of providing low carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions, Novelis has become the largest recycler of aluminum in the world, totaling 82 billion used beverage cans annually! Here are some fun facts about the benefits of using aluminum instead of plastic:
Just like glass, aluminum is infinitely recyclable
Recycling a single can saves enough energy to power a TV or computer for 3 hours
A recycled can is usually back on store shelves in as little as 60 days
While these metrics are impressive and an example for other organizations to follow, Novelis also prioritizes giving back. According to several international organizations including the UN, 5,000 children die every day from drinking unsafe water across the world. To help combat this situation, Novelis is a major supporter and premium sponsor of Canned Water 4 Kids, a wonderful initiative that provides access to clean drinking water to more than 950,000 children in communities across the globe.
This Wisconsin based nonprofit organization helps communities develop sustainable wells and water purification systems, and also provides emergency relief and clean water education. One of the ways they raise funds is by offering aluminum bottled waters for sale. 95% of money from sales of “CW4K” bottled water goes to support, fund, and deliver clean water initiatives that are helping children worldwide. To date, the organization has delivered 40 sustainable well and water purification projects worldwide, delivered 3.5 million cans of drinking water for emergency relief and has helped divert 5 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. Find out more at cannedwater4kids.org
There are several affordable aluminum bottled water and other beverages. So this summer when you reach for an aluminum can of your favorite beverage instead of a plastic bottle, you are helping the local economy by supporting Novelis’ products. Please also consider donating to CW4K to increase access to clean water across the globe.
Sources:
cannedwater4kids.org
oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/plastics-in-the-ocean/
