Social Impact

We are collaborating with customers, associations, suppliers, and local leaders to achieve 100% availability of glass recycling in the communities where we operate. A community-based recycling program that incentivizes recycling. “With direct donations to local organizations based on the amount of recycled glass through G4G, we are creating social impact and sustainable relationships with every community in which we live and operate,” said Elizabeth Hupp, Community Relations. This program works towards six of our 10 global sustainability goals. We are currently developing a pilot program in several of our U.S. plant locations.

We look for activities that lift the human spirit, provide community support, and contribute to O-I’s visibility. Our work includes supporting parks in our communities, national conservation organizations, and recycling education initiatives. In 2020 we donated $55,000 to alleviate Australian brushfires and remain committed to supporting the Red Cross and their disaster relief efforts, donating more than $10,000  in the United States last year. Our Foundation gave $236,000 in support of high schools, colleges, and universities.

Bettering the Toledo community, O-I’s birthplace and home of our global headquarters, is a constant element in our initiatives on social engagement. For over three decades, O-I has been a supporter of the Toledo Zoo, pledging $1 million over 10 years to support education programs and exhibits and sponsoring the newly renovated reef aquarium. We have additionally supported the Toledo Alliance of the Performing Arts and Toledo Museum of Art and the local Arts Commission, donating over $200,000 in 2020 to support glass-blowing demonstrations, educational programming, and virtual performances.

In 2020, O-I supported the Black is Beautiful beer project, which invited breweries to help fight racial inequality by donating proceeds from the sales of a designated Black is Beautiful beer. Our craft brewing customer, California-based Stone Brewing, used donated O-I bottles to package their Black is Beautiful beer. Stone Brewing released their version of Black is Beautiful in September and donated proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc (LDF).

At the end of 2019, O-I kicked off a very special event in Brazil, “There Will Be Girls In Science,” encouraging young women to consider careers in the STEM fields. The event was held at the University of Sao Paulo School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities and featured lectures and activities that allowed young women, aged 14 to 17 to learn about a broad array of science-based career options. O-I values participating in these events because of the role they play in achieving gender equity and empowering all women at every age.

O-I is a strong supporter of United Way, a global nonprofit with 1,800 community-based organizations that seek to help individuals and families achieve their potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. At our global headquarters in Ohio, O-I has been among the largest contributors to the local United Way campaign for many years. In 2020, our U.S. corporate employees generously donated $236,803, which O-I matched dollar-for-dollar. O-I employees additionally supported United Way Brazil in 2020 with $40,000 in giving and United Way Peru with $16,000. 

The COVID-19 crisis made clear the value and need for community and social engagement. We donated $50,000 for two COVID-19 relief funds and provided support to the Red Cross for antibody testing. In January 2021, O-I’s Charitable Foundation donated $50,000 to the Victory Over COVID-19 Through Vaccination (VProject). Despite the challenges posed by volunteering during a pandemic, our employee commitments and willingness to do so remained strong. Plants around the word offered their time, materials, and financial support to their communities.