(Credit: Pixabay)Crown Holdings hit a clean energy milestone by now operating all 14 of its beverage can plants in the US and Canada on renewable energy. It is the first metal packaging manufacturer to achieve this milestone, which is the result of a 15-year wind power Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Longroad Energy. With the VPPA in effect and all of Crown's manufacturing facilities in the U.K. already completing a similar transition, 27.5% of the company's global operations are now using renewable electricity.
This is one step in Crown's plan to employ 60% renewable electricity by 2030, 90% by 2040 and 100% by 2050—targets established in Crown's Twentyby30 initiative, a comprehensive sustainability program that addresses climate issues among other areas of urgent global concern. The action also supports Crown's Twentyby30 goal to decrease Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within its global operations, targeting a 50% combined reduction in absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The transition reflects Crown's commitment to the RE100, which is led by The Climate Group and CDP and focuses on accelerating the transition to zero carbon grids at global scale.
Relying on a Texas-based wind farm, the VPPA generates more than 440,000 MWhs of electricity, helping prevent over 310,000 metric tons of carbon emissions each year. The renewable power offsets 100% of the energy usage within Crown's US and Canadian beverage plants, which account for over 20% of the Company's global Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
Crown Holdings says the VPPA makes the company the first in its industry to complete an energy transition for all US and Canadian beverage can manufacturing facilities.
