Packaging giant DS Smith has pledged to make all of its packaging products reusable or recyclable by 2025.
In its annual Sustainability Review, the company set out what it describes as nine 'ambitious' goals across its plastics, recycling, packaging and paper divisions.
It has also committed to using 100% recycled or chain-of-custody-certified papers by 2020, in order to aid its clients in meeting their zero-deforestation targets.
One of its pledges is to ensure that all of its suppliers comply with DS Smith's sustainability standards by the year 2025.
It will also decrease its CO2 emissions by 30% per tonne of production by 2030, compared to a 2015 baseline. The results of the new targets will be reported in 12 months.
Further Commitments
The company said that it had created new goals after reaching most of its existing energy, waste and water targets earlier than anticipated.
'The pledges reflect DS Smith's commitment to redefine packaging as consumer habits and expectations shift rapidly,' the company wrote in a release.
The 2018 report also revealed the firm's progress in regards to previous targets and commitments. The company said that more than 70% thereof have been completed or are on track, with many being integrated into the newly announced targets.
In the last 12 months, the company has reached 95% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification across relevant sites in its packaging and paper divisions; improved its EcoVadis business sustainability score, ranking in the top 5% of all companies assessed; and has kept building onto its network of PackRight and Impact centres, which work with clients to design brand packaging that eliminates excess and streamlines logistics processes.
Commenting on the report, group chief executive Miles Roberts said, "Innovative packaging has a key role to play in helping to address a number of global sustainability challenges – ensuring more efficient use of resources, optimising last-mile delivery in increasingly urbanised societies, and reducing food and product waste as populations grow.
"More needs to be done to ensure that the positive role of good, sustainable packaging is not forgotten. With increasing scrutiny of the role of packaging, we all need to do more to help tackle some of the challenges associated with ‘bad packaging’ by working within our industry, with government, local authorities, brand owners, retailers, recyclers, reprocessors and consumers," Roberts concluded.
The packaging company has launched other eco-friendly initiatives in recent months, such as trialling methods to recycle the ubiquitous disposable coffee cup in December 2017.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
