Novelis Inc. signed a new long-term contract with Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company (CCBSS), which is the contracting agent for The Coca-Cola Company’s authorized North American bottlers. Under the agreement, Novelis will supply Coca-Cola’s North American bottlers with aluminum can sheet for The Coca-Cola Company’s family of brands. This includes supply from Novelis’ plant in Bay Minette, Alabama, which is currently under construction and expected to begin commissioning in 2025. Under the agreement, The Coca-Cola North American bottlers have committed to purchasing a confidential volume of aluminum can sheet over a multi-year period.
“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 provider of aluminum for beverage cans,” said Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis. “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.”
The contract includes an agreement for closed-loop recycling, highlighting both companies’ commitments to sustainability. Through closed-loop recycling programs, Novelis directly takes back the manufacturing scrap generated during the can making process, and then recycles it and converts it into new can sheet, which is then made 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 packaging. These efforts result in lower-carbon products, as recycling aluminum is approximately 95% less energy intensive than making primary aluminum, resulting in 95% less carbon emissions.
Novelis expects demand for aluminum beverage can sheet to grow at a 3% compounded annual growth rate from 2022 to 2031. This demand growth will be driven by consumer preference for more sustainable products and size variety. Additionally, the rise in demand will grow due to more beverage types being packed in cans, including water, energy drinks, soda, beer, wine, hard seltzers, and ready-to-drink cocktails.
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, thus enabling sustainable long-term growth. We recognize Novelis as a leader in sustainability, committed to supporting our 2030 World Without Waste Targets.”
Novelis in Bay Minette
Demonstrating the strength of the aluminum beverage packaging market, the majority of the Bay Minette plant’s capacity for beverage can is already contracted. This new low-carbon facility in Alabama will be the first fully integrated aluminum manufacturing and recycling plant built in the U.S. in nearly 40 years and is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs. Boasting an initial capacity of 600,000 tons of finished goods 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. Additionally, Novelis is working toward a goal of achieving net carbon neutrality at the facility.
About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is driven by its purpose of shaping a sustainable world together. A global leader in the production of innovative aluminum products and solutions, it is also the world’s largest recycler of aluminum. The company’s ambition is to be the leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions and to achieve a fully circular economy by partnering with suppliers and customers in the aerospace, automotive, beverage can and specialties industries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis had net sales of $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2023. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an industry leader in aluminum and copper, and the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai. For more information, visit novelis.com.