O-I's 2022 Sustainability Report Boasts Closed-Loop Glass Recycling Efficiencies

Container glass manufacturer O-I Glass demonstrated progress in recycled content, energy efficiency and glass circularity efforts in its 2022 Sustainability Report.

The Ohio-based company boasted that its closed-loop recycling programs preserved more than 152,000 cubic meters of landfill space, 116,000 tons of raw materials and the energy equivalent to power 4,300 homes on an annual basis. 

O-I CEO Andres A. Lopez and Randy Burns, chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer, commented on the capabilities of glass as a sustainable material, saying that its few basic ingredients and localized supply chains make it favorable for packaging, architecture and other uses.

" It is already widely recycled and has been for decades," they stated in the report. "Glass is an infinitely recyclable material, inert, and does not raise ocean pollution, waste and food contact issues of other materials. In contrast, others depend on far-flung global supply chains, present waste problems if not recycled, or need future invention to be widely recycled or recyclable at all. Glass has none of these challenges – today or tomorrow."

The company's sustainability scorecard showed its 2021 progress in the areas of recycled content, emissions, energy, waste and water.

As part of its long-term sustainability goals, O-I Glass took steps to reach its 2030 target of 50% average recycled content. In 2021, total external cullet by tons packed reached 38% on average. The company stated that it is "taking a tailored approach to increase recycled content rates across its enterprise network as rates vary significantly by geography."

 Scopes 1 & 2 (marketbased) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions showed a 13.5 percent reduction from the company's 2017 base year -- a total of 6.1 million tons of CO2. O-I has an approved SBTi target to reduce GHG emissions 25 percent by 2030. with an interim target of 10 percent by 2025. 

Renewable energy is a pillar in our strategy to lower carbon emissions. Our goal is to reach 40% renewable electricity use by 2030 and to reduce total energy consumption by 9%. Global renewable electricity volume was 27% for 2021, a 14% increase from 2020.

O-I Glass touted its focus on becoming a Zero Waste organization. The company released a Sustainability Roadmap "to help prevent waste, increase recycling, and create systems to accurately report and identify waste streams."

The company added that, "currently, all regions track waste in various databases. We are working to integrate all regions into this system."

With the goal of lowering its global water usage 25 percent by 2030, O-I took action at 26 plants were in "high and extremely high water-stressed areas," through its creation of a Water Reduction Roadmap aimed at monitoring and data standardization.

Progress in additional key areas including Supply Chain Sustainability, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, R&D Transformation, Health & Safety and Social Impact were provided in 2022 Sustainability Report as well.

Other highlights in O-I's Sustainability report include upgrading furnaces with gas-oxygen technology, advancing lightweighting of glass packaging, creating more resilient supply chains, and partnering with stakeholders to advance glass circularity.