BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) today issued its third sustainability report, detailing the company's economic, social and environmental sustainability progress achieved during 2010 and 2011. The report is available online at www.ball.com/sustainability.

"Becoming more sustainable means thinking long term, which is a hallmark of Ball's history and a key component of our Drive for 10 vision that we introduced in 2011," said John A. Hayes, Ball's president and CEO. "Our latest report identifies our progress and our future goals, both driven largely by measuring and improving our sustainability performance within our facilities, and by broadening our scope to collaborate with customers and suppliers to determine opportunities that provide the greatest sustainability impact within the supply chain of our products."

Ball established six corporate sustainability priorities that build on past sustainability efforts and are covered in detail in the report: innovation, operations, talent management, recycling, supply chain and community. Other highlights include:

Economic Sustainability

• Ball generated more than $1 billion in free cash flow in 2010 and 2012 combined to support the company's efforts to be economically sustainable. Ball's total investment in its business was $694 million, which helped to create jobs in local communities and position the company well for the future.
• Ball's comparable diluted earnings per share grew nearly 16 percent in 2011 versus 2010, and the company's stock generated a total return of nearly 6 percent for shareholders.

Social Sustainability

• Ball improved its safety record by reducing the company's total recordable incident rate by 27 percent, achieving far lower levels than industry peers as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The company launched the Ball Foundation to take a strategic approach to its charitable giving. Overall, Ball contributed more than $6.5 million to communities around the world.

Environmental Sustainability

• Ball exceeded its global, 10-year greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal of 16 percent two years early, through continuous efforts to improve energy efficiency.
• The company increased the percentage share of the total waste from its facilities worldwide that is recycled from 37 to 47 percent.

Ball's sustainability reporting and the company's responses to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework are available online at www.ball.com/sustainability. Ball issued its first sustainability report in 2008 and its second report in 2010. The company expects to issue its next sustainability report in 2014. Online data will be updated regularly between reports.

Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ approximately 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in foreign exchange rates or tax rates. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

SOURCE Ball Corporation