Global sustainable packaging
Sustainability deals with global and regional issues concerning emissions, ecology and social responsibilities, Ardagh’s sustainability pillars. In 2020, we launched our new Sustainability Strategy to reinforce our commitment to the circular economy. As part of our strategy, we have mapped out ambitious commitments and targets for the next decade. Our targets continue to focus on CO₂ reduction and maximising the use of recycled materials.
Both metal and glass are permanent materials and are therefore infinitely recyclable without any loss of properties. As part of functional engagements with our customers, our team addresses key sustainability challenges such as climate change, water stewardship and responsible sourcing. Below, please find our latest sustainability news along with our 2020 environmental data including 2030 targets.
Coverage of plants with certified management systems 2021 – 2023
Environmental
e.g. ISO 14001
Health & Safety
e.g. ISO 45001
Energy
e.g. ISO 50001
Quality and Food Safety
e.g. ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000
Sustainability news
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AGP and CAP Glass invest in recycling
Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America (AGP-North America), an operating business of Ardagh Group, announced a new long-term partnership with CAP Glass …
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AGP-Africa adds Smart Trucks to fleet
Ardagh Glass Packaging-South Africa (Ardagh) has introduced five cutting-edge Smart Trucks to enhance its logistics capabilities. These Performance-Ba…
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AGP-California powered by solar energy
Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America (AGP-North America), an operating business of Ardagh Group, celebrated the completion of the 13 megawatt (MW) DC …
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International Day of Education 2025
Now up and running in more than 40 Ardagh communities on three continents, Ardagh for Education has engaged more than 650 schools, upskilled more than…
Our sustainability pillars
Ecology
Emissions
Social
Our sustainability strategy is based on taking a proactive approach to our three ‘Pillars of Sustainability’ – Ecology, Emissions and Social. We aim to minimise our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduce our ecological impact and support our people and our communities.
We take sustainability seriously and we strive to achieve change and implement initiatives to be rewarding on all levels. We are committed to adopting Science-Based Targets.
We are also rated B by CDP for climate change and water management and A- for supplier engagement. We actively promote and support community engagement across our organisation, with a particular focus on educational development in all communities in which we operate.
We track, monitor and measure our sustainability progress to ensure we deliver on our commitments.
Sustainability accreditations
*Ratings for Ardagh Glass Packaging
Policies and standards
Ardagh is committed to conducting its activities with the highest standards of integrity and business practice in all dealings with its stakeholders. We are committed to complying with all applicable laws and to operating in an ethical, sustainable and honest way. The below policies guide our business and those with whom we work.
Code of Conduct | Environment Policy | H&S Policy | Social Sustainability Policy | Employment Policy
Responsible Procurement Policy | Responsible Procurement Guide
Sustainability Associations
Protecting our environment
Material consumption (metric ton) 2021 – 2023
6,971,093
Material melted
2022 – 7,997,337 | 2021 – 7,877,016
5,819,153
Material packed
2022 – 6,717,960 | 2021 – 6,630,186
47,717
Raw steel used
2022 – 64,162 | 2021 – 66954
685,427
Raw alu used
2022 – 660,857 | 2021 – 633,253
Energy consumption (MWh) 2021 – 2023
Electricity consumed
3,606,987
Ardagh Group
2022 – 3,836,619 | 2021 – 3,756,878
Fossil fuels consumed
10,792,110
Ardagh Group
2022 – 11,742,210 | 2021 – 11,616,619
2,685,416
Glass
2022 – 2,947,704 | 2021 – 2,926,110
921,571
Metal
2022 – 888,916 | 2021 – 830,768
10,792,110
Glass
2022 – 10,970,191 | 2021 – 10,884,994
815,866
Metal
2022 – 772,018 | 2021 – 731,625
Water withdrawal (m3) Ardagh Group 2021 – 2023
7,899,794
m3 municipal water supply
2022 – 7,206,209 | 2021 – 6,488,834
2,046,933
m3 groundwater
2022 – 1,765,288 | 2021 – 1,944,682
315,115
m3 surface water
2022 – 772,018 | 2021 – 731,625
10,261,843
Ardagh Group
m3 total water withdrawal
2022 – 9,252,770 | 2021 – 8,988,141
Greenhouse gas emissions (metric ton CO2e) 2021 – 2023
Scope 1 Emissions
2,836,224
Ardagh Group
2022 – 3,022,259 | 2021 – 2,966,053
Scope 2 Emissions
1,420,493
Ardagh Group
2022 – 1,473,185 | 2021 – 1,422,026
Scope 3 Emissions
4,205,502
Ardagh Group
2022 – 5,382,724 | 2021 – 5,016,969
2,671,204
Glass
2022 – 2,866,237
2021 – 2,818,014
165,020
Metal
2022 – 156,021
2021 – 148,038
1,191,355
Glass
2022 – 1,262,007
2021 – 1,224,857
229,138
Metal
2022 – 211,178
2021 – 197,169
1,730,576
Glass
2022 – 2,293,285
2021 – 2,248,019
2,474,926
Metal
2022 – 3,089,439
2021 – 2,768,950
Total greenhouse gas emissions (metric ton CO2e) 2021 – 2023
8,462,219
Ardagh Group
Scope 1+2+3
2022 – 9,878,167 | 2021 – 9,405,048
Operational Waste (metric ton) Ardagh Group 2021 – 2023
88,542
Total waste
2022 – 96,275 | 2021 – 107,296
Recycled Waste
Disposed Waste
Share of Hazardous Waste
Our employees Ardagh Group 2021 – 2023
19,784
Number of direct Employees (Globally)
2022 – 20,469 | 2021 – 16,116*
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Employees covered by formal
collective agreements
concerning working conditions
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Employees represented in formal
joint management-worker health
& safety committees
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Employees covered by formally-
elected employee
representatives
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Employees received regular
performance and career
development reviews
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Male – 84%
Female – 16%
22% of line managers are female
25% of the global workforce are minorities
94% of employees are permanent
Accident reporting Ardagh Group 2021 – 2023
0.47
Lost time accidents
2022 – 0.50 | 2021 – 0.56*
*2021 excluding AGP-A
1.30
Recordable accident rate
2022 – 1.45 | 2021 – 1.59*
*2021 excluding AGP-A
26.2
Severity rate
2022 – 36.9 | 2021 – 34.8*
*2021 excluding AGP-A
1
Fatalities
2022 – 0 | 2021 – 0*
*2021 excluding AGP-A
Cases/100 full-time employees
Sustainable supply chain 2023
Contracts with sustainability
clauses
Critical category suppliers with a
CSR risk analysis
Procurement category managers
trained in prevention of human
exploitation
Suppliers who shared data on
conflict minerals
Building a sustainable future
We recognise that emissions, ecology and social sustainability are closely linked and that the long-term economic performance of Ardagh has an impact on our employees, local communities, customers, suppliers, investors and other stakeholders. That’s why we continually invest in systems and processes that improve the efficiency of our operations, reduce costs and increase competitiveness. One initiative, for instance, promotes customer and supplier partnership programmes in order to strengthen relationships along the supply chain.
Another initiative led us to develop a sophisticated process of preheating our glass raw materials to give energy savings of up to 15%. The system, which heats the batch to 300°C, cost in the region of €2m per site and so far has been introduced in five facilities, with a further three planned over the coming years. This investment in environmentally friendly systems forms part of our long-term sustainability strategy.
Targets for 2030
Permanent materials are classified as materials that once produced can be infinitely recycled or reused without any loss of quality
