DS Smith targets translucent fiber windows and G-force shock testing in £100M R&D boost
11 May 2021 --- DS Smith is announcing a £100 million (US$141 million) R&D and innovation package to accelerate its technologies and solutions for the circular economy.
The FTSE 100’s investment is spread over five years and includes creating a UK-based breakthrough technologies hub, new materials development to replace plastics and a pilot to gauge G-force shock in-home delivery packaging.
The increased investment underpins the e-commerce packaging specialist’s new circular economy-led sustainability strategy, which pledges to offer all customers fully recyclable packaging within two years and replace a billion pieces of supermarket and e-commerce plastic by 2025.
Material innovation
DS Smith’s accelerated investment in new materials development includes new fully recyclable, translucent packaging to replace plastic windows in sandwich and ready meal packs.
The company will also conduct new research into alternative natural fibers. The in-depth analysis of different fibers in recycled paper and corrugated solutions will focus on optimizing strength, resilience and recyclable properties.
The investment will also be put toward expanding its barrier technologies, such as its recent piloting of Touchguard, a packaging coating resistant to virus transmissions.
E-commerce waste prevention
Meanwhile, the British multinational will run real-world analysis of e-commerce home delivery supply chains, including measurement of the G-force impacts on packages in transit, to reduce waste and prevent damaged parcels.
DS Smith’s new material developments include recyclable, translucent windows for sandwich packs.New trials on strengthening natural paper fibers for optimizing box design and manufacturing materials will also help prevent waste.
The new technology enables the excess fiber to be removed from the packaging while improving its overall strength and resilience.
DS Smith will also ensure 700 of its designers are trained in circular design in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, providing all its customers with access to circular packaging expertise and services.
PackagingInsights recently journeyed inside DS Smith’s “Sweet Spot” e-commerce packaging design methodology with Gavin Mounce, E-commerce design manager and Alan Potts, design and innovations director.
Prototyping acceleration hub
Finally, the new investment will go toward creating “Unit 17,” a new prototyping and testing facility in the UK for developing breakthrough innovations.
This new facility will fast-track next-generation technology, working in partnership with the company’s 50 innovation centers and R&D partners.
“How we live our lives is changing fast due to many factors, and how we all take care of the environment is a top priority,” comments Miles Roberts, DS Smith’s CEO.
“We are now investing more than previous years to ensure we are leading this change and can offer customers packaging that has less impact on the environment.”
DS Smith designed a “Box to Box in 14 days” closed-loop recycling system for Laithwaite’s packaging.
“DS Smith makes sustainable packaging that is fiber-based and fully recyclable. We continue to focus on reducing our impact on the environment but importantly, we are able to contribute to wider society by providing circular packaging solutions and supporting our customers in transitioning to a circular economy.”
Now and Next
The company’s Now and Next sustainability strategy was launched in the autumn of 2020. It focuses on conventional targets like carbon emissions, water and waste to landfill reductions.
The strategy also targets cutting 250,000 lorry journeys from roads, replacing a billion pieces of plastic from supermarkets and online shopping and educating five million young people about the circular economy.
By Joshua Poole
