UN World Environment Day: Amcor’s global EnviroAction program

United Nations World Environment Day exists to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire positive action from individuals, businesses and organizations worldwide. This year the theme is air pollution. Approximately seven million people die prematurely each year from air pollution, which is why urgent action is needed to reduce the level of damaging toxins and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world.

Tackling air pollution matters to Amcor, to our people, our customers, and our shareholders. We were the first global packaging company to pledge to develop all of our packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025. And we are just as committed to making significant reductions to our greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. With over 200 sites globally today, expanding by around 50 more once we complete the acquisition of Bemis, our success in this area can have a significant impact.

We monitor, manage and deliver change through our EnviroAction Program, which was launched in 2008. At every Amcor site, we are working to make our operations more efficient. We’re investing in production innovations, selecting less carbon-intensive raw materials (including moving from virgin resin to post-consumer recycled resin), and lightweighting our packaging to reduce the materials needed and overall weight. This is one of the biggest levers to drive reductions in our Scope 3 emissions (those emissions which occur from indirect sources that we do not own or control).

And we’re proud to say we’re delivering results: our Program has already achieved a 30% reduction in GHG emissions intensity from the 2006 baseline. This helps address one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that Amcor is committed to – SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

But our work doesn’t stop there. By 2030 we aim to reduce our emissions by 60% from the baseline. To hit this target, we continue to invest in research and development, preventative maintenance of our machines, and partnerships with raw materials manufacturers and other suppliers who can help Amcor on this journey.

2017 – 2019 EnviroAction targets

Towards zero waste-to-disposal

We understand that the amounts and types of waste resulting from our operations, as well as the ways in which they are ultimately disposed, have a significant environmental impact. Our long-term goal is to send zero waste to landfills or incineration without energy recovery. This reflects our vision that all waste that cannot be avoided leads to a benefit by replacing either virgin materials or fossil fuels. Amcor has already significantly reduced volumes of material sent to landfill and incineration, thanks to close cooperation with waste vendors and changes made to waste management infrastructure. In 2018, we recycled more than 76% of the waste from our sites. We also composted nearly nine tonnes of waste.

We have reduced the waste we send to landfill by over 80% since 2006, and 82 Amcor sites have been internally certified in our Zero Waste-to-Disposal program.

Achieving Energy 25 Steps

Our EnviroAction toolkit includes checklists to help sites reduce energy consumption, which in turn reduces direct GHG emissions. A number of Amcor sites have used the checklists to become ISO 50001 certified; an international framework for the supply, use and consumption of energy.

Related read: UN World Water Day 2019: Meet the people helping to reduce water use at Amcor

Amcor’s EnviroAction champions

Metrics for each site’s performance toward EnviroAction targets are tracked in our global EnviroChart database. Site champions enter energy use, water use, and waste production data each time they receive a bill, or on a quarterly basis. Progress toward our goals is reported annually in our GRI Sustainability Report and quarterly to Amcor’s Global Management Team.
These colleagues are vital to the success of our global Program and empowered to work with everybody on site to propose and deliver improvements at their location.

EnviroAction’s goals for the future

We’re committed to lowering our greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 60% by 2030.To stay on track across our global business, we have set an immediate goal to reduce tonnes CO2e emitted per production unit by 6% from 2016 to 2019.

June 2019 marks the end of our current three-year ‘EnviroAction Period’. In October, we will release our 2019 GRI Sustainability Report, which will contain an update on our EnviroAction program and performance.
Our aspiration to be the leading global packaging company means finding ways to constantly improve not only the design and sustainability of our products and services, but the impact of our operations on the environment. This means that all Amcor people working at the frontline of our business have an opportunity to make a difference – to preserve and enhance the environment, and to improve the quality of the air we all breathe.

Learn more about our EnviroAction achievements in detail in the Amcor 2018 Sustainability Review.