Ball Recognized for Progress on Sustainability, 2010 Metrics Show Further Improvement

BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- During 2010, Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) reduced its global energy use by 2 percent and waste-to-landfill by 6 percent, the company said today. All reductions are based on per unit of production. Eleven of Ball's manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe now send no waste to landfill, compared to six facilities in 2009.

Ball also announced that it has been selected for two sustainability and social responsibility indexes and is included in a list of companies that provides the basis of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.

"Our efforts focus on achieving economic, environmental and social sustainability – the triple bottom line," said John A. Hayes, president and chief executive officer. "We continue to invest in our businesses to create value for our stakeholders, and our sustainability efforts contribute meaningfully to our company's bottom line. We are gratified and honored to have been recognized by organizations that value so highly corporate responsibility."

Ball was recently selected for:

    --  The FTSE4Good Index Series, designed to measure the performance of
        companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility
        standards, has selected Ball as a member for the third consecutive year.
    --  The Calvert Social Index®, a broad-based, rigorously constructed
        benchmark for measuring the performance of US-based sustainable and
        responsible companies.
    --  SAM's annual Sustainability Yearbook, which recognized Ball as a member
        of the 2011 Bronze Class. SAM is an investment group focused exclusively
        on Sustainability Investing, and the SAM results provide the basis for
        the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.

"Our environmental and social sustainability priority areas are energy, waste, water, packaging, safety and talent management," said Gerri Walsh, who was named Ball's director of sustainability in February after guiding Ball's recycling strategy since 2003 and the company's sustainability reporting process since 2007. "We know that progress will come incrementally. We continue to improve our environmental and social performance on a global basis as we work toward our goals, and we expect to make more progress in 2011. We will provide additional details on our performance in our sustainability report next year."

The 2010 data excludes the impact of two aluminum slug plants acquired by Ball in July 2010. Data from those plants will be included in Ball's next sustainability report, due out in mid-2012.

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 more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2010 sales of more than $7.6 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; 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 current global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions; integration of recently acquired businesses; 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; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

SOURCE Ball Corporation