Packaging firm Smurfit Kappa has announced it is on its way to meeting its ‘ambitious’ 2020 sustainability goals, according to its tenth annual sustainability report.
It reports that in the decade since it started measuring its sustainability impact, the company has reached full Chain of Custody certification for its entire raw material supply chain.
As well as this, it has cut CO₂ emissions by 23% and the quality of its discharge water has improved by 32%. Both of these figures are on track for its 2020 target of 25% and 33% respectively.
The company’s report measures year-on-year progress, with a focus on five major areas: Forest, Climate Change, Water, Waste and People.
Its findings in these areas are:
Forest: Over 90% of packaging supplied to customers is Chain of Custody certified
Climate Change: 22.9% reduction of fossil CO₂ emissions per tonne of paper produced (against 2005 baseline)
Water: Completed mill-specific water risk assessments in eleven paper mills and managed a 31.9% reduction in relative amounts of COD in discharge water (compared to 2005)
Waste: 13.3% reduction in waste sent to landfill
People: Health and Safety: Reduced the Lost Time Accident (LTA) frequency rate by 10% in 2016, and implemented over 1,000 follow-up actions as a result of the MyVoice employee survey
Decade Of Investment
Smurfit Kappa is celebrating over ten years of investment in social and scientific projects, aiming to support the communities it operates in.
It has invested over €30 million into various charitable projects, like investing in school facilities and raising awareness of flora and fauna protection schemes.
Tony Smurfit, Group CEO of Smurfit Kappa, said, “Smurfit Kappa is playing its part in creating a sustainable future by building a profitable business based on sustainable principles. We will continue to pioneer innovative ways to be sustainable to create value for both our customers and shareholders.”
Steven Stoffer, Group Vice President of Development, with responsibility for sustainability within Smurfit Kappa, added, “Compared to other packaging materials, paper is the most sustainable, therefore sustainability is within the very DNA of our company.
“These latest results are a testament to the contribution everyone at Smurfit Kappa makes to reach our ambitious goals. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made over the past decade, and very pleased to be on track to meet our 2020 sustainability goals.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
