BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) today recognized its five most sustainable manufacturing plants of 2018, identifying those that demonstrated leadership through significant efficiency improvements, team safety and wellness enhancements, promotion of metal packaging's sustainability credentials, and engagement in their local communities.

Each plant will receive the 2018 R. David Hoover Sustainability Award, with which Ball honors the plant in each region of its Global Beverage Packaging and Aerosol Packaging businesses.

The winners of the 2018 R. David Hoover Sustainability Award are:

Global Beverage Packaging

• Tampa, Florida (Beverage Packaging North & Central America): The Tampa plant achieved zero total recordable incidents, decreased its normalized gas usage by 1 percent year-over-year, decreased waste generation by 16 percent, improved its year-over-year electricity efficiency, and demonstrated strong engagement in their local community through school outreach about the importance of recycling and the infinite recyclability of the aluminum can, as well as volunteering and contributing funds for various donation drives including school supplies, blood, canned food and to support families in need.
• Aguas Claras, Brazil (Beverage Packaging South America): The Aguas Claras plant achieved zero total recordable incidents, reduced its normalized thermal energy use by 3 percent and its normalized water use by 5 percent, and achieved a 4 percent reduction in its normalized electricity use. The plant also participated in Ball's annual recycling challenge, conducted environmental education for local schools and engaged in multiple campaigns to collect cans for the waste pickers cooperatives, as well as donation drives for food, milk, school supplies, clothing and shoes.
• Ludesch, Austria (Beverage Packaging Europe): The Ludesch plant attained zero total recordable incidents, achieved an 8 percent in reduction in its normalized water, decreased its normalized energy use by 1 percent and sent zero waste to landfill. The plant also raised awareness about the can's sustainability profile and promoted recycling efforts in the local community, and participated in local landscape cleanup and can recycling events.
• Taloja, India (Beverage Packaging Asia Pacific & AMEA): The Taloja plant also attained zero total recordable incidents, achieved a 3 percent reduction in its normalized water use and improved its water efficiency year-over-year, achieved a 12 percent year-over-year reduction in its normalized stationary combustion and reduced its normalized waste generation by 69 percent. The plant also participated in a number of sustainability-related initiatives, including school outreach, environmental cleanups and community partnerships with the Recycling Association.

Aerosol Packaging

• Devizes, England (All Regions): The Devizes plant reduced its total recordable incidents by 15 percent year-over-year, achieved a 5 percent reduction in its normalized gas use, reduced its use of normalized water by 5 percent and attained an 11 percent reduction in normalized waste generation. The plant also supported efforts to promote the can as the most sustainable package internally and externally, and participated in STEM outreach activities at local schools to support at-risk youth.

"We are honored to announce the recipients of the 2018 Hoover Sustainability Award, and we applaud their success in making Ball's products and operations more sustainable," said John A. Hayes, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "At Ball, sustainability and delivering long-term value for stakeholders go hand in hand, and these five plants have demonstrated leadership in achieving both. We're proud to offer the most sustainable packaging choice, and we look forward to continued collaboration with our plants around the world to drive operational excellence."

Ball established the annual R. David Hoover Sustainability Award in 2011 in honor of the company's former chairman, president and chief executive officer, who was a key driver in the development of the company's formal sustainability program.

Ball will release its 2018 sustainability achievements, as well as updated, third-party verified sustainability data, in May on www.ball.com. For more information about Ball's ongoing sustainability efforts, please visit www.ball.com/sustainability.

About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 17,500 people worldwide and reported 2018 sales of $11.6 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely," "positions" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates, including due to the effects of the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions in any country affecting goods produced by us or in our supply chain, including imported raw materials, such as pursuant to section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition and its integration, or the associated divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on our business relationships, operating results and business generally.

SOURCE Ball Corporation