Anhui Biopin IOT Group

  Alcoa Corporation, Ball Corporation, and Unilever PLC have announced the first-ever use of ELYSIS® carbon-free aluminum smelting technology in consumer personal and home care packaging—a milestone revealed ahead of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), where global leaders will convene to advance cross-sector climate solutions.   This groundbreaking collaboration marks the first application of ELYSIS technology—an innovative smelting process that eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions by producing oxygen instead of CO₂—in the personal and home care segment. The resulting aerosol can combines 50% ELYSIS primary aluminum with 50% post-consumer recycled content, creating one of the lowest-carbon packaging solutions available in the market today.   The initiative serves as a model for value chain collaboration to accelerate low-carbon innovation, aligning with global decarbonization goals and rising consumer demand for sustainable products. Renato Bacchi, Alcoa’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, emphasized the tangible impact: “By partnering with Ball and Unilever, we’re bringing low-carbon aluminum into everyday products, demonstrating how material-level innovation delivers real sustainability benefits. We’re proud to collaborate across the aluminum value chain to reduce carbon footprints and make a difference in daily life.”   Ramon Arratia, Ball Corporation’s Chief Sustainability Officer & Vice President of Public Affairs, noted the dual significance of the project: “This combines higher recycled content and low-carbon primary aluminum—both critical to decarbonizing aluminum packaging and the sector overall. It’s packaging innovation paired with essential supply chain collaboration.”   The debut of ELYSIS-enabled aluminum in personal and home care packaging signals a pivotal moment for the aluminum and consumer goods industries. Together, Alcoa, Ball, and Unilever are proving that cross-industry collaboration can unlock new applications for breakthrough technologies in established markets, driving meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions and advancing the global low-carbon transition.  

    Sonoco (NYSE: SON), a global leader in sustainable packaging, has announced the integration of its metal packaging and rigid paper container businesses across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC) into a single unified division: Sonoco Consumer Packaging EMEA/APAC. This move strengthens the company’s ability to serve FMCG brands with a broader product portfolio, faster access to solutions, and a more seamless cross-market customer experience—positioning Sonoco as the only global packaging partner to offer both rigid paper and metal packaging solutions under one organization, providing brands a single source for future-ready, multi-material consumer packaging.   The unified business will deliver one-stop access to Sonoco’s full consumer packaging expertise, spanning metal solutions (including food cans and ends, closures, aerosol cans, and promotional packaging) and paper-based options. This integrated approach ensures consistent support for regional and global brands, deeper insights into cross-category customer needs, and material-agnostic, fit-for-purpose guidance. By aligning capabilities, Sonoco aims to enhance service quality, boost operational efficiency, and take a more holistic approach to helping customers launch responsible, high-performance packaging.   Howard Coker, Sonoco’s President and CEO, noted that uniting the consumer packaging capabilities marks a key step in refining customer service. “By bringing together two high-performing packaging platforms, we strengthen our ability to deliver relevant, responsible, and innovative solutions that meet FMCG brands’ evolving needs,” he said, reaffirming the company’s commitment to its purpose: “Better Packaging. Better Life.”   Seàn Cairns has been appointed President of Sonoco Consumer Packaging EMEA/APAC to lead the unified division. With over 30 years of experience in metal and paper packaging—including 17 years at Sonoco—Cairns brings a track record of leadership: he most recently served as President of Rigid Paper Containers (since 2022) and previously drove growth as Vice President and Managing Director for RPC Europe, pioneering innovations like all-paper cans and paper bottom-end technology. He began his career at Crown Metal Packaging EMEA (now Eviosys), advancing from factory management to business unit leadership roles.   Cairns expressed pride in his new role, stating that uniting the metal and rigid paper packaging businesses creates a stronger platform to support customers with greater agility, more solutions, and forward-thinking innovation. “As the only global supplier offering both rigid paper and metal packaging, we’re uniquely positioned to recommend the right solution for each product and market—helping our customers grow so we grow with them,” he added.   The unified division combines industry-leading sustainability credentials under one customer-focused business: Sonoco holds EcoVadis Platinum status, a 100/100 score for Environment in metal packaging, and has won awards like Sustainable Packaging Business of the Year and Sustainable Brand of the Year for rigid paper containers. With approximately 8,250 employees across 65 plants in 20 countries in EMEA and APAC, the business ensures production proximity to customers worldwide. It remains focused on circular design, recyclability, supporting customers through regulatory changes, and investing in technology and innovation to deliver future-ready packaging solutions.

As the beverage industry grapples with decoupling growth from environmental impact amid global decarbonization efforts, aluminum has emerged as a key solution—thanks to its 70% global recycling rate and infinite recyclability without quality loss. At Climate Week NYC 2025, the sector set a bold target to boost global can-to-can recycling from 33% to 62%, a goal central to HEINEKEN’s sustainable packaging strategy as the brewing giant addresses packaging’s role as its largest Scope 3 carbon emission source.​   Launched in 2024, HEINEKEN’s circularity strategy focuses on three pillars: expanding reusable packaging, maximizing recycled content, and ensuring recyclability by design. The company aims to hit ambitious 2030 targets: 43% of volumes in reusable formats, 50% recycled content in bottles and cans, and 99% recyclable packaging. Alexander Cramwinckel, HEINEKEN’s Global Circularity Lead, emphasized aluminum’s critical role: “Its infinite recyclability makes it uniquely suited to the closed-loop systems we need to build, reimagining our entire value chain approach to packaging.”​   To reach the 50% recycled content goal for cans, HEINEKEN is partnering with suppliers to optimize can-to-can recycling systems, prioritizing high-quality segregated can streams and advocating for extended producer responsibility legislation that supports true closed-loop recycling over downcycling. Consumer participation remains pivotal, with Kantar’s 2025 data highlighting psychological and practical barriers to recycling—challenges HEINEKEN is tackling by simplifying returns, drawing inspiration from deposit return systems in Denmark (93% 2024 return rate) and Romania (78% rate, up from 35% in two years) that drive consistent participation.​   Technological innovation is another cornerstone of HEINEKEN’s strategy, with investments in advanced sorting technologies like Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and AI-powered systems to precisely separate aluminum alloys, unlocking recyclable material even from unsorted municipal waste. “Technology investment is fundamental to hitting industry recycling targets,” Cramwinckel noted, adding that recycled aluminum cuts energy use by 95% vs. primary production, delivering economic and environmental benefits.​   HEINEKEN’s vision focuses on transforming beverage packaging through a holistic circular approach, with aluminum at its core. “The future of sustainable beverage packaging is circular, and aluminum cans can lead the way,” Cramwinckel said. “Through tech investments, supportive policies, and consumer-centric systems, we can build the closed-loop infrastructure that defines the industry’s net-zero future.”