DS Smith has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 19% compared to 2019/20, replaced more than one billion pieces of plastic ahead of schedule, and achieved an ‘A’ rating on climate change from the global environmental non-profit, CDP – according to its latest sustainability report.
The company’s ‘Now & Next’ sustainability strategy was refreshed last year in a bid to help the business prioritise circularity and accelerate the journey to Net Zero.
Elsewhere in the report, DS Smith highlights its recent investment of €90 million in a new biomass boiler at their Rouen paper mill which it says is set to save 99,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
The company also says that it has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by 19% compared to last year, and that 90% of new packaging specifications optimised for individual customer supply chains.
The company identifies circularity as fundamental to its progress, in particular its work with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. DS Smith’s 800 designers have been trained in Circular Design Principles and Circular Design Metrics created in partnership with the EMF.
These help to assess performance against areas such as recycled content and recyclability, indicative estimated CO2 emissions, levels of excess waste and supply chain parameters in partnership with customers. Since their launch, DS Smith says that over 100,000 packaging design decisions have been influenced by the company’s Circular Design Metrics.
Miles Roberts, Group Chief Executive of DS Smith, comments: “I am delighted with the progress we have made on our Now & Next Sustainability Strategy as detailed in our latest Sustainability Report. I am immensely proud of our team for exceeding our plastic replacement target more than a year early, continuing to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year, and securing recognition as a sustainability leader by CDP.
“We believe that our Now & Next Sustainability Strategy is leading our industry, so while it is right to celebrate our colleagues’ achievements, we also know we need to keep moving forward and are working with our customers to ensure that together we can lead the transition to a low carbon, circular economy.”
Away from the sustainability space, change may be afoot at DS Smith. International Paper’s (IP) roughly €9 billion bid for the company is reportedly set to proceed, following the announcement of Suzano pulling out of its bid for IP.
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