Smurfit Kappa introduces new sustainability goals for 'resource-intensive' production process

Smurfit Kappa took what it called the “next step forward” in sustainability on Thursday, by rolling out an ambitious new set of goals.

The FTSE 100 packaging giant said it had a long-term commitment to making progress against its five strategic sustainability priorities of forest, climate change, water, waste and people.

Earlier in the year, it announced that it had met - and in some cases exceeded - its previous sustainability goals in the areas of people, climate change and water, with the last two goals achieved three years ahead of their 2020 objective.

Smurfit Kappa said that while paper-based packaging is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, the production process itself was resource-intensive, with the new set of goals set to build on the progress already made.

They included maintaining at least 90% chain of custody certification of annual customer deliveries, 100% chain of custody operating system certification, and assessing energy usage reduction opportunities in converting operations by 2020.

The firm would also perform water risk assessments for paper mills not yet assessed by 2020, decrease its water discharge intensity by 60% by 2025 compared to 2005, and decrease paper mill fossil intensity by 40% by 2030 compared to 2005.

It would also reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by 30% by 2025.

In the area of ‘people’, a new health and safety goal was set, which aimed to reduce the total recordable incident rate by 5% annually.

“This new set of goals has been drawn up to make sure we retain our leadership in the field of sustainability by reflecting the ambitious EU sustainability agenda into the targets for our global operating network and thereby continuing to push for sustainable innovation,” said Smurfit Kappa’s vice-president of development Steven Stoffer.

“Over the past few years we have made solid progress in our efforts to contribute to a more sustainable society and we are keen to continue on this journey collaborating with our various groups of stakeholders.”