Rexam Recognizes World Environment Day with Sustainability Focus

CHICAGO, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As one of the leading global beverage can makers, Rexam recognizes World Environment Day through its commitment to sustainability and providing its customers with the most environmentally-friendly beverage package: aluminum cans.

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Raising awareness and involvement in aluminum can recycling is a big part of these efforts. Each year, the company participates in many local and national activities to promote recycling and raise money for local charities. This includes the Great American Can Roundup Industry Challenge, sponsored by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI). In this annual industry-wide competition, companies compete to recycle the most aluminum cans and donate the proceeds to charity.

Continuing its industry-wide support, Rexam's Chicago office at 8770 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago, Ill., will host a "Cans for Cash" recycling event on Saturday, September 7, 2013. The company will partner with United Scrap Metal to involve the local community, collect as many cans as possible and then donate the proceeds to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

Cans are the most valuable package to recycle, as American consumers earn more than $1 billion annually in recycling proceeds. And they are infinitely recyclable because aluminum is a permanent resource, with cans able to be recycled, smelted to can sheet, converted to cans again and back on retail shelves within 60 days. Also, a recycled can requires 95 percent less energy to produce and therefore has a 95 percent lower carbon footprint than one produced from raw material. These facts combine to make cans the most recycled beverage container in the world with a U.S. recycling rate of 65.1 percent, more than double the rate of other beverage packages. 

In addition to its extensive recycling efforts, last year Rexam launched a Sustainability Report – available at www.rexam.com – highlighting its extensive sustainability milestones. The report was awarded a grade A application level from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the most comprehensive sustainability reporting guidelines currently available. 

"World Environment Day is a great opportunity for us to recognize how important a role environmentally-friendly packaging plays in our efforts to improve the environment," said Rich Grimley, president and CEO, Rexam Beverage Can North America. "We remain committed to demonstrating that the beverage can is the most environmentally-friendly beverage package in the world, while supporting our customers in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint throughout the supply chain."

World Environment Day is an annual event that takes place every year on June 5^th and is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. The celebration began in 1972, and has grown to become one of the main vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages positive action.

About Rexam
Rexam is a global consumer packaging company. We are one of the leading global beverage can makers and a major global player in rigid plastic packaging for healthcare applications. We are business partners to some of the world's most famous and successful consumer brands. Our vision is to be the best global consumer packaging company.

We have 67 plants in 24 countries and employ 11,100 people. Our sales from ongoing operations in 2012 were in the region of $6 billion. Rexam is a member of the FTSE 100 and its ordinary shares are listed with the UK Listing Authority and trade on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol REX.

For further information, visit www.rexam.com.

SOURCE Rexam Beverage Can Americas Inc.