At Ball Corporation, investing in our people - including their health - is a critical part of business. Ball pays for the majority of health care insurance for employees. To counteract the rising costs of health care and to encourage our employees to be healthy, Ball began a formalized wellness program for North American employees in 2008. In 2010, Ball expanded the program to Europe, where activities are tailored to individual locations depending on specific risk factors, such as smoking cessation.

We are committed to ensuring all employees have access to competitive, comprehensive coverage and to providing benefits that put our employees in charge of their own health care. We recognize that our employees’ health is personal and private and, while we support and promote healthy choices, employees are free to make their own decisions on participating in any aspect of the wellness program.

We held 45 wellness fairs in the U.S. in 2008, representing the majority of our facilities. Nearly 5,000 employees attended the fairs to participate in a health assessment and biometric screening. Biometric screenings take 30-45 minutes and provide employees with an individual health assessment. Employees had the opportunity to follow-up with a private health consultation, if needed.

In support of Ball’s wellness initiatives, our corporate and packaging headquarters buildings in Colorado became tobacco free in 2009. Smoking was previously prohibited inside the buildings. Now, no smoking is allowed anywhere on Ball’s property in Colorado. Employees who want to quit smoking are offered free tobacco cessation coaching.