Q&A with Adrian Marsh, our Group Finance Director

ESG and sustainability ratings

We are highly ranked by a range of respected ESG rating agencies, whose scores are considered by both customers and investors. Through good disclosure, we seek to maximise the recognition of our sustainability actions and strategy by these agencies.

• MSCI: Rated AA • EcoVadis: Rated Gold • Circulytics: Rated A• CDP: Rated B (Climate Change), B (Forests) and A- (Water Security) • DJSI: Rated 51 • FTSE4Good: Included since 2012 • ISS: Rated ‘Prime’ B• LSE Green Economy mark • Support the Goals: Rated 4 out of 5 stars • Sustainalytics: Rated 15.9 ‘Low ESG Risk’ • UN Global Compact: Member since 2013 Sustainability is at the heart of our business. Investors rightly see ESG as integral to a company likely to deliver good financial returns as well as for customers, employees and the wider environment in which we operate. For us, sustainability is a commercial opportunity and growth driver, as we help customers to participate in the circular economy.

How will your sustainability focus drive growth? Circular packaging is a core growth driver for our business. As a recent Greenpeace investigation highlighted, 688,000 tonnes of plastic waste was exported from the UK to other countries last year. In many cases this plastic waste was dumped or burned in the open air, damaging human health and harming wildlife and the oceans. In contrast, corrugated packaging is a widely recycled alternative to many applications of plastic. We are capitalising on the growing demand for more carbon efficient, circular and sustainable products and packaging, by partnering with customers to develop innovative solutions for these changes and challenges.

How do you align your business to the circular economy? Our business activities and operations are inherently circular, as we recycle used paper, turn that into packaging, and then collect used corrugated packaging to start the loop again. The fibre we use from forestry assets is sustainably sourced. We are a net-positive recycler as our recycling operations collect more used fibre than we use for our packaging, and we can ensure that the fibre we recover is used responsibly. As such, we embody the circular economy and have done so for many years. I’m pleased that we have been recently awarded the London Stock Exchange’s ‘Green Economy’ mark, recognising that the majority of our revenues are from sustainable products and services.

How do you demonstrate your commitment to sustainability? We have a very consistent track record of ESG performance and in setting targets for our own environmental footprint, starting in 2010 and culminating in the Now and Next strategy launched in September 2020. We continue to perform very well as measured by third party ESG ratings agencies. This year we have been upgraded by MSCI from an ‘A’ to ‘AA’, the highest grade achieved by any industry peers, been upgraded by ISS ESG from C- to B-, again in the top decile among peers, and once again been listed on the FTSE4Good indices, among other measures. As we look forward in a world where sustainability is becoming ever more important, our commitment to continued progress remains undiminished.