Crown celebrates lightweighting milestone
Image: Crown
Crown Holdings is celebrating a 4% global average reduction in its standard 12oz (330ml) can weight, which was achieved in 2021 after several years of intensive development efforts by its R&D and customer technical services (CTS) teams.
Crown’s Twentyby30 sustainability strategy includes a commitment to dedicate at least half of Research & Development (R&D) efforts toward minimising the footprint of Crown’s products and manufacturing processes. The plan also strives to decrease GHG emissions by reducing packaging material use by making aluminum cans 10% lighter in weight by 2030 (compared to a 2019 baseline).
In 2021, the CTS team, composed of expert engineers offering training and production analysis support, was pivotal in ensuring these 12oz lighter-weight cans did not sacrifice performance or the critical barrier and strength properties that brand owners’ demand. Lightweighting efforts add to metal’s superior properties in terms of recyclability and the benefits are compounded as the material circulates through the process time and time again. Weight reductions allow Crown to produce more cans with the same amount of aluminium used previously for standard cans, which has a positive impact on GHG emissions through energy savings.
To celebrate these achievements, Crown’s own commemorative can, known as “Libra,” was born. Weighing less than 10 grams, it is a creative way to celebrate years of collaborative partnership with Crown customers, who helped the company achieve this lightweighting milestone by making their equipment available for full line filling and processing simulations with the CTS team. The commemorative cans were decorated using Crown’s advanced Accent variable printing technology and feature 24 different variations printed across two runs. They were produced in Crown’s plant in Kechnec, Slovakia.
All Crown employees in the EMEA region received a personalised “Libra” can as part of the celebration. The design also features a quick response (QR) code which links directly to a fun and engaging augmented reality experience about recycling, developed by Zappar. Players were challenged to recycle cans to score points and were able to take a quiz to test their knowledge about metal recyclability and increase education about the issue.
