Smurfit Kappa upgrades Better Planet 2050 program with bolder environmental and workplace diversity goals

27 Jan 2021 --- Smurfit Kappa is upgrading its Better Planet 2050 sustainability targets in the environmental, social and economic spheres. 

The new targets focus on further reducing the company’s environmental footprint, increasing support for the communities in which it operates and improving its employees’ livelihoods.

“We have identified the areas that can make the biggest positive impact and make a real difference,” Steven Stoffer, group vice president of sustainable development at Smurfit Kappa, tells PackagingInsights.

“Overall, we have made significant progress since we started this journey some 15 years ago.” 

Boosted carbon and raw material goals
Smurfit Kappa’s first existing target was to reduce fossil CO2 emissions in its global paper and board mill system by 40 percent by 2030. 

The new target bumps that objective up to 55 percent. In an industry-first move, Stoffer adds that Smurfit Kappa is also striving for a 100 percent CO2 emissions reduction by 2050.

The company’s second existing target intended on 90 percent of deliveries to customers being Chain of Custody-certified, now expanded to 95 percent by 2025.

“[Chain of Custody certification] guarantees our customers that the raw material we use in our packaging all comes from a sustainable source and origin,” Stoffer explains.

Water and waste improvements
The new environmental objectives also address water and waste impacts:

• Water intake: At least 1 percent intensity reduction of water intake.
• Water quality: 60 percent intensity reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) content of water returned to the environment by 2025 (35 percent COD reduction already achieved).
• Waste: 30 percent intensity reduction in waste sent to landfill by 2025 (7 percent already achieved).

Social and economic sustainability
In terms of social and economic sustainability, Smurfit Kappa is also aiming to promote diversity, health and safety within its company structures. 

Smurfit Kappa has committed to zero fossil CO2 emissions by 2050.The new Better Planet 2050 targets advocate for creating more diverse workplaces and ensuring female gender representation across the company is above 30 percent.

The company will also pursue having 25 percent of women holding management positions across the company, which is a 2 percent annual increase for the next three years (until 2024).

Annually, Smurfit Kappa will aim to reduce its Total Recordable Injury Rate by at least 5 percent, having achieved reductions of 5 percent per year since starting in 2017.

Finally, the company is also committing to donate over €24 million (US$29 million) in the next five years to support community initiatives, building upon the extensive volunteer and community work done locally throughout the world.

The new donation target captures an ambition for a 20 percent increase in donations over the previous five year period.

Omnipresent transparency
To ensure these goals remain feasible throughout the upcoming years, Smurfit Kappa will continue to produce its annual Sustainable Development Reports (SDRs).

The reports detail progress made on sustainability targets for the past decade. “Since 2009, our SDR has been assured by a third-party auditor ensuring full transparency. The 2020 report is due to come out later this spring,” Stoffer adds.

In other company sustainability reporting, Smurfit Kappa found that 83 percent of packaging businesses see sustainability as a “business opportunity to be exploited.” 

A survey from last May showed how eco-concerns from UK consumers are increasing demand for transparency. Moving ahead, the company expects environmental sustainability to remain a priority for businesses in the post-COVID-19 era.Smurfit Kappa continues to seek alternative ways to reuse, recycle and recover waste material to reduce waste to landfill.

Innova Market Insights crowned “Transparency Triumphs” as its top F&B trend for 2021. 

The market researcher predicts brands adopting and pairing new packaging technologies, such as invisible barcodes and near-field communication technology, with creative, meaningful storytelling will be successful. 

Smurfit Kappa Group CEO Tony Smurfit concludes: “Sustainability has always been part of our DNA, but concerns about how we treat our planet, how we create a more inclusive world and support greater equality across our communities, has never been so important.” 

The company recently launched a range of “eBottle” packaging solutions to meet booming demand for beverage home deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The line of paper-based packages includes 11 new designs for single and multi-pack products.

By Anni Schleicher