O-I Glass Partners for Sustainability

O-I embraces the opportunity to collaborate with other companies and engage directly with policymakers and trade associations to positively influence sustainability public policy. We are active members of a number of industry, packaging, recycling, and public policy organizations around the world. Through decades of activity and leadership in these organizations, we seek to advance the interests of rigid packaging on various strategic issues and mitigate risks to our business and sustainability strategies. 

As a leader in the packaging industry, O-I also remains committed to providing leadership and advocacy to certain industry associations. We take pride in the leadership roles we hold globally in important industry education and advocacy groups. Presently, we are privileged to hold leadership roles in the U.S. glass industry association, Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), and the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE), as well as organizations that seek to advance environmental and recycling policies, advocate industry standards and educate on the benefits of glass. O-I’s President, Business Operations and O-I Europe chairs the supervisory board as President for FEVE while also serving on the organization’s board of directors. Our Chief Sales and Marketing Officer is Chairman of the FEVE Market Place Committee. The Managing Director of our Americas North business unit is the chair of the Board of Trustees for GPI, and our Chief Sustainability Officer is on the board of the Container Recycling Institute. 

We are members of glass industry associations in virtually every country in which we do business. In some countries, we also participate in organizations that promote recycling and waste reduction. Some of the significant organizations to which we belong or support are listed as follows. 

North America

• American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) and the Packaging Consortium (PAC/PAC NEXT): advocates for industry standards, higher recycling rates, and quality material availability for end-market use, and educates packaging professionals on the benefits of glass. 
• California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA): seeks to advance glass container-related manufacturing policies in California.
• Container Recycling Institute (CRI): advocates for industry standards, higher recycling rates, and quality material availability for end-market use.
• Glass Recycling Foundation (GRF): a new nonprofit organization, focused solely on funding glass recycling initiatives, the Glass Recycling Foundation is working to ensure all glass containers are continuously recycled to the highest and best use, maximizing economic, environmental, and social benefits. Our VP of Global Sustainability sits on the GRF board.
• The Southeast Recycling Development Council (SERDC) works to unite industry, government, and non-government organizations to promote sustainable recycling in the Southeast (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia). Our VP of Global Sustainability sits on the SERDC board.
• U.S. Glass Recycling Coalition: brings together a diverse membership of companies and organizations to improve glass recycling capacity and activities, consisting of glass manufacturers, haulers, processors, materials recovery facilities, capital markets, end markets, and brands that use glass to showcase their products.

Latin America

• ABIVIDRO (Associação Técnica Brasileira das Indústrias Automáticas de Vidro): also known as the Brazilian Technical Association of Glass Automatic Industries. It seeks to promote and enhance the use of glass and the flow of information from all sectors of the supply chain. O-I holds a board position with ABIVIDRO.
• CEMPRE (Compromisso Empresarial para a Reciclagem): a nonprofit association that promotes recycling through publications, technical assistance, and seminars. O-I supports CEMPRE organizations in Latin America, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. O-I sits on the CEMPRE board.
• Vidrio Mejor Planeta: O-I supports a digital EcoCommunity operating in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. It works to promote environmental awareness around the recycling process. Vidrio Mejor Planeta discloses the infinite recyclability and other benefits of glass in compliance with Ecuadorian extended producer responsibility law. Recent activities have included community waste collection in Medellin. 

Europe

• The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN): recognized as “The Voice of the Industry for Packaging and the Environment” and is a pan-European cross-sectoral industry body dedicated exclusively to resolving the environmental challenges facing packaging supply chains in an active and cooperative manner.
• Food Packaging Forum: a nonprofit foundation that provides independent information on issues related to food contact materials and health, and it also aims to establish a stakeholder dialogue on health and food packaging.
• Glass Futures: is creating the Global Centre of Excellence to make glass the low carbon material of choice. It brings together a global supply chain, with common problems, to enable a revolutionary change in glass manufacturing. O-I’s VP Global Technology is a board member.

To learn more about our partnerships to advance sustainability, read our sustainability report.