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How often do you think about water? Would you think about it more frequently if clean, safe water weren't easily available to you—or worse, not available at all?
On World Water Day, we encourage all to remember that water should never be an afterthought. The world's most crucial resource is at risk, and it's more important now than ever that we take our interactions with water—as corporations, as communities and as individuals—more seriously and strive to preserve its health and availability for generations to come.
Acknowledging our role in that responsibility, our water stewardship strategy includes several specific goals:
- Reduce water usage in our operations by 20% by the end of 2025
- Maintain a 100% track record of meeting local wastewater standards
- Ensure all employees have continued access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene
- By 2030, be replenishing 100% of water consumed from high scarcity watersheds back to those watersheds
While maintaining these objectives ensures water remains on our radar, action is key to keeping ourselves accountable for results. Since establishing these goals, we have taken steps on a corporate level to initiate progress, including becoming the first manufacturer in our industry to sign on to the UN’s CEO Water Mandate and Water Action Now’s Business Leaders’ Open Call for Accelerating Action on Water, both of which encourage industry-wide advancement toward stronger water stewardship. We also hosted our inaugural, internal Crown 2023 Water Summit (echoing the UN’s prominent 2023 Water Conference) to build employee awareness about our organization's water consumption and help kickstart proactive projects for usage reduction. Finally, we recently created an internal task force on water-related issues to keep our strategy on course.
Our teams around the world are also driving tangible progress. A few achievements include:
- Bridgeview, Illinois (U.S.) Transit Packaging plant: Saved 10 million gallons of water annually by recycling water from a strapping line
- Custines, France beverage can plant: Between 2020 and 2023, reduced water consumption by 32% (per thousand cans produced) through process improvements and optimization
- Hanoi, Vietnam beverage can plant: Reduced water consumption by 26% annually by optimizing washer settings
More examples of our efforts around water will be shared in our upcoming sustainability report. In the interim, read more about our water goals and ongoing activities through the Resource Efficiency pillar page for our Twentyby30™ program: https://www.crowncork.com/sustainability/twentyby30-goals/resource-efficiency
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