Novelis, producer of aluminum rolling products, has announced a new commitment to convert all of its beverage can body sheet production to its evercan sheet by the end of 2017.
This new commitment means that all can body sheet produced by Novelis will be certified 90 percent recycled content, compared to the global industry average of 50 percent. evercan is the company’s independently certified high-recycled content aluminum sheet for beverage cans. The product is priced at the same levels as standard beverage can sheet and there is no difference in quality, technical characteristics or run-speed at customer plants between evercan and standard sheet. Craft beer maker Red Hare became the first to adopt to product in April.
To encourage broad adoption across the market, Novelis will help other aluminum manufacturers by sharing knowledge of the process to certify high-recycled content beverage sheet using the methodology of SCS Global Services (SCS), which certifies evercan's high-recycled content.
Novelis has also recently received certification from SCS for its high-recycled content can end sheet production in North America in addition to can body sheet. Can end sheet is used to form the tops of cans. The evercan end sheet will be available globally next year.
According to a survey by Forum for the Future, 62 percent of consumers say they would feel negatively toward brands that do not use sustainable packaging and 90 percent are prepared to boycott brands they consider to be acting irresponsibly. The survey also found consumers say changes in operations (e.g., sourcing material more responsibly and reducing the environmental impact of factories) should be the top priority for companies when it comes to sustainability efforts.
In October, Novelis opened the world's largest aluminum recycling center, located adjacent to the company's rolling mill in Nachterstedt, Germany. The $258 million recycling center can process up to 400,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap annually, turning it back into high-value aluminum ingots to feed the company's European manufacturing network.