Rexam, Carlsberg Celebrate First Ever Cradle-to-Cradle Certification for Beverage Can

Rexam sayd it is “delighted” that Carlsberg has received the first ever Cradle to Cradle certification for a beverage can, having been awarded a bronze level certification from the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute for cans supplied by Rexam into the UK market. The certification is part of Carlsberg’s Circular Community initiative. The Rexam cans are the first of any of Carlsberg’s packaging to receive a certification and the award marks the first time a beverage package has been certified by the Institute.

Rexam was a founding partner of Carlsberg’s Circular Community initiative back in 2013. The community uses the Cradle-to-Cradle design framework and sees Carlsberg working with its suppliers to encourage innovation and quality in the industry, in pursuit of zero-waste.

Rexam’s beverage can, supplied to Carlsberg in the UK, was assessed on five sustainability aspects, including material health, material reutilisation, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness. The assessment results reinforce Rexam’s key belief in the can as a packaging format that is highly optimised for a sustainable, circular economy.

Speaking about the award, Matthew Rowland Jones, European Sustainability Manager at Rexam said: “The Bronze Certification marks an important step in our joint sustainability journey with Carlsberg. We are thrilled to be part of a collaboration that sees cans supplied by Rexam awarded the first Cradle-to-Cradle certification of its kind. There is still a way to go to encouraging consumers to recycle cans, so focusing on consumer involvement in the recycling process will continue to be a focus for us moving forward.”

Simon Hoffmeyer Boas, Corporate Communications and CSR Director at Carlsberg said: “As a founding member of the Carlsberg Circular Community we are thrilled to celebrate this collaboration with Rexam, who played a key role in helping us secure the certification. We will continue to focus on improvement and cooperation with Rexam as an innovative supplier, to optimise our beverage can packaging in the future.”