Operational environmental protection

Production

Ball Packaging Europe endeavours to minimise the environmental impacts of beverage can production. At our twelve plants, energy consumption and the CO₂ emissions arising from this directly (natural gas combustion) and indirectly (electricity consumption) play a significant role.

We are also working to reduce water consumption, waste and the so-called "volatile organic compounds".
We have introduced environmental management systems in accordance with the international environment management standard ISO 14001 at all our plants. These help us to implement our environmental strategy and to continually improve our environment performance.

Our carbon footprint

Electricity and natural gas consumption causes CO₂ emissions. These constitute one of the six green house gases which contribute to climate change. Since 2003, Ball Packaging Europe has significantly reduced power and gas consumption for each 1,000 units produced.

For instance, between 2003 and 2008, electricity consumption decreased by 25 percent. Over the same period we were able to reduce natural gas consumption by 27 percent. As a result of these successes we were able to massively reduce the CO₂ emissions which we generate.

Fig. 1: Consumption of electricity and natural gas per 1,000 cans produced (Basis 2003)

In 2007, we started to install an energy information system with computer-based monitoring and an appropriate reporting system at all our plants. This system enabled us to better understand the amount of energy consumed in the complex production processes, to identify the most energy intensive processes and to assess potential savings.

Constant monitoring reveals anomalies in energy consumption promptly allowing us to implement the required measures straightaway. The system also permits us to compare the energy efficiency of identical processes at the various plants in order to identify optimal processes which can then be used throughout the entire company. The visualisation of the energy data will also help to promote energy and environmental awareness within the company.

Numerous small-scale and larger energy saving projects contribute to our success. For instance, we are currently working intensively to optimise our compressed air systems. As a result we anticipate savings of some five million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per annum. We are also optimising our thermal after-burner systems. For example, we upgraded these systems at our plants in Bierne (France) and Weißenthurm (Germany) in 2008 and reduced gas consumption there by 1.2 million kWh. Consequently we emit some 2,500 tonnes less CO₂ per annum.

Water: not just as a product in a can

Scientists, politicians and industry all agree. In the near future, one particular topic will influence the environmental debate to a similar degree to which climate change does at present: the increasing shortage of drinking water.

Ball Packaging Europe uses most water to wash the cans after they have been formed from aluminium and steel sheet. In doing so, we convey the water from the final washing stage (the cleanest water) back to the upstream washing stages and consequently reduce water consumption considerably. From 2003 to 2008, we reduced our water consumption by around 30 percent, saving important resources.
 

Fig. 2: Water consumption per 1,000 cans produced

Waste or resource?

Waste management plays a central role at our production facilities. Material consumption and quantities of waste are important indicators for the efficiency of our production processes. By optimising the amount of material used, we simultaneously reduce the amount of waste.  Waste reduction, re-utilisation and recycling contribute to lowering disposal costs and protecting the environment, e.g. by preserving resources. We are endeavouring to return all waste to material recycling to the extent that a functioning secondary market exists.

Volatile organic compounds

Our plants emit various different gases which are subject to statutory regulations. In this context, the emission of volatile organic compounds which arise due to the evaporation of organic solvents in beverage can varnishes and during the drying of such varnishes is of particular importance. In the presence of UV light and nitric oxides, VOCs form ozone, the so-called summer smog.

For a long time now, Ball Packaging Europe has been using regenerative thermal oxidizers to treat exhaust air in order to comply with the statutory regulations relating to air pollution.

Since the mid 1980s, we have been working to reduce volatile organic compounds, in particular by switching to water-based can varnish and using thermal after-burner systems which destroy at least 95 percent of the bound volatile organic compounds from the varnishes.

To do this we have invested in the best available technology in order to configure the process as efficiently as possible.
The conflict of objectives of these environmental aspects arises from the fact that the CO₂ emissions are increased by the additional natural gas consumption required to operate these systems.

Technological progress and co-operation with our suppliers are required to reduce volatile organic compounds even further.
For example, in 2008 we modified the machines which apply the can base varnish at our plant in Bierne. In doing so, we reduced varnish consumption and the amount of volatile organic compounds emitted at this site by more than 5 percent.