The importance of recycled aluminum in Coca-Cola’s supply chain thanks to Novelis

Leading provider of sustainable aluminum solutions, Novelis announced the signing of a new long-term contract with Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company, which is the contract agent for The Coca-Cola Company’s authorized North American bottlers (“CCBSS”). For its sustainable solutions, it has become one of the leading suppliers and the new contract demonstrates its commitment to the famous brand.

As part of the agreement, Novelis will supply aluminum foil to Coca-Cola’s authorized U.S. suppliers. These include the manufacturing facility currently under construction in Bay Minette, Alabama and expected to be operable after 2025. Through this agreement, Coca-Cola’s North American packagers have agreed to purchase a key volume of aluminum can sheet for several years under CCBSS and Novelis.

“This new long-term contract builds on a decades-long relationship between Novelis and the Coca-Cola system, and further strengthens Novelis’ position as the leading supplier of aluminum for beverage cans. This contract validates our investment in expanding rolling and recycling capacity in North America and solidifies a strong future for sustainable aluminum as the beverage packaging material of choice.”said Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis.

The contract includes an agreement for closed-loop recycling, highlighting both companies’ commitments to sustainability. Through closed-loop recycling programs, Novelis directly recovers manufacturing scrap generated during the can manufacturing process, recycles it and turns it into new can sheet, which is then converted into new beverage cans. In addition to this continuous loop, Novelis recycles more than 80 billion used beverage cans per year into new aluminum for beverage containers. These efforts result in products with lower carbon emissions, as recycling aluminum consumes approximately 95% less energy than manufacturing primary aluminum, resulting in 95% lower carbon emissions.

Dan Coe, Chief Procurement Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, stated that. “the evolving role on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company and our bottlers is to build a resilient domestic supply chain, enabling long-term sustainable growth. We recognize Novelis as a leader in sustainability, committed to supporting our World Without Waste 2030 goals.”

The multinational has also estimated that over the next ten years the use of aluminum beverage can sheet will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2022 to 203. Demand growth is driven by consumer preference for more sustainable products and a variety of sizes, as well as more types of beverages packaged in cans, including water, energy drinks, soft drinks, beer, wine, hard alcoholic beverages and ready-to-drink cocktails.
Novelis’ new low-carbon facility in Bay Minette will be the first fully integrated aluminum manufacturing and recycling plant built in the United States in nearly 40 years and is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs. With an initial capacity of 600,000 tons of finished products for the North American can and automotive markets, it will be powered by renewable energy, use recycled water and operate as a zero-waste facility.