Craft Brewers Conference 2014 is going strong in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado this year. The growth in the industry has brought with it unprecedented opportunities and numerous but certainly not unsurmountable challenges. One of the challenges is sustainability and a company known as Novelis is ready to tackle the packaging question head- on with new aluminum can and a new partnership.
Craft breweries are known for their commitment to sustainable practices and for their desire to reduce pollution and waste whenever possible. One change that took time to catch on but is now expanding quickly is the movement to cans for basic packaging. Cans offer many advantages to bottles and one of the advantages is the ease of recycling. Novelis has developed a can for the 21st century and it takes the concept of sustainability to a new level. Known as Evercan, this new design in beer packaging is the first can made from a minimum of 90 percent recycled aluminum. Recycling uses far less energy than producing cans from raw aluminum and other materials and with 90 percent or more of the metal coming from previously recycled cans, a craft brewery can keep its carbon footprint to a minimum.
A New Partnership
Novelis took its first step toward a better tomorrow when it announced today, April 9, 2014, at the Craft Brewers Conference, its plans to partner with a craft brewery for the first time. The brewery selected for the first ever Novelis Evercan union is Red Hare Brewing Company, a craft brewery located in Marietta, Georgia. Novelis President and CEO Phil Martens is highly optimistic in regards to the newly formed partnership and the future of beer packaging.
“This introduction marks the commercial availability of the world’s first certified high-recycled content aluminum beverage can,” said Martens. “Working with Red Hare, we have developed a proven supply chain to deliver this industry-first offering to consumers, setting an example that other beverage companies are sure to follow.”
Red Hare Brewing Company founder Roger Davis expressed similar sentiments.
“Novelis’ evercan aluminum is a perfect fit for Red Hare,” noted Davis. “The independent certification of the closed-loop recycling process behind evercan strengthens our commitment to employing the best in sustainable business practices, making evercan a natural extension of the Red Hare brand.”
Red Hare Brewing Company is strongly committed to sustainability and Novelis’ evercan aluminum is an obvious extension of the brewery’s pledge to reduce its environmental toll whenever possible. Red Hare was the first craft brewery in Georgia to package its beer in aluminum cans and its move has inspired other breweries to do the same, exchanging glass for metal whenever possible. Today, roughly one- seventh of all craft breweries in the nation package their product in cans and this proportion is certain to increase in the coming years.
Greener, Cleaner Planet
Aluminum recycling saves about 95 percent in energy costs compared to making aluminum cans from scratch. Any business that uses cans, whether for beer or a different beverage, owes it to themselves and the planet to reduce energy usage as much as possible. Novelis is the global leader in aluminum recycling technology and its partnership with Red Hare Brewing is only the beginning of a commitment- a commitment that expands far and wide and aims to slowly move industries at all levels in a recycled direction. Novelis wants to increase the recycled content of its products in all of its global operations to 80 percent by the year 2020 and it plans to form more Evercan business partnerships in the coming years as it strives for a greener, cleaner planet Earth.
Look for Red Hare Brewing beer packaged in Evercan aluminum sleeves starting in May, 2014.
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