Partner Profile

Ball Corporation
Location	Broomfield, CO
Goal	Ball Corporation pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 16 percent per production index from 2002 to 2012.
Environmental Web Site
Company Description Ball Corporation is one of the world's largest suppliers of metal and plastic packaging to the beverage and food industries, with 13,200 employees in the U.S. and Europe. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. In 2005, Ball reported sales of $5.7 billion, with approximately $5 billion coming from its North American Packaging Segment and $700 million from its Aerospace and Technologies Segment.
Reasons for Joining Climate Leaders Ball joined Climate Leaders to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment. "Ball Corporation respects the environment and values the communities in which our facilities operate. We have a long history of continuously improving our operations to increase efficiency and minimize environmental impact. We are pleased to partner with EPA through the Climate Leaders program and demonstrate our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," says Tad Nordstrom, Manager of Energy Risk Management. For Ball, the management of greenhouse gas emissions has become a business priority, to understand change and risks, and respond with actions that create opportunity and value. Climate Leaders served as a catalyst for Ball to begin managing its greenhouse gas emissions by providing a structured approach that is easy to follow and helped the company to quickly and efficiently develop a management infrastructure at a low cost.
GHG Reductions Before Joining Climate Leaders Prior to joining Climate Leaders, Ball did not have a preexisting greenhouse gas reduction program or formalized energy-efficiency goals. Ball did have, however, several energy-efficiency initiatives. While these initiatives reduced Ball's greenhouse gas emissions, Climate Leaders participation has added a system around which Ball can build its efficiency efforts. Formalizing the identification of greenhouse gas emission sources, collecting and verifying activity data, and quantifying the associated emissions has been a valuable first step in managing Ball's greenhouse gas reductions.
Approach to GHG Management Ball used a bottom-up approach to setting a reduction goal. Plant managers — working with Ball's corporate engineering and purchasing departments — were asked to identify opportunities for greater efficiency. A quantitative and qualitative summary of these opportunities, along with the probability of implementation, was used to estimate possible reductions. As a result, Ball Corporation set a goal with Climate Leaders to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 16 percent per production index from 2002 to 2012. For Ball, the best opportunity for greenhouse gas reductions is by focusing on greater energy efficiency during the manufacturing process. Generating the compressed air used to manufacture plastic and aluminum containers is the single largest source of energy usage in Ball's plants. Consequently, reducing the amount of compressed air needed on the production line presents the greatest opportunity for efficiency for Ball.
Progress Towards Goal Completion Participation in Climate Leaders has resulted in top management commitment and resources to incubate a greenhouse gas management program. Ball has implemented several measures to achieve its greenhouse gas goals, such as: • Conducting compressed air audits at plants to identify opportunities for greater efficiency; • Retrofitting process equipment to use significantly less compressed air; and • Installing new can conveyance technology that uses significantly less electricity than conventional designs. The measures implemented to date are producing operating cost savings and improved manufacturing efficiency and product quality. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Ball is also evaluating opportunities to use less carbon-intensive energy sources.

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