Sustainable Packaging for a Better Planet Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with around 46,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 35 countries. Focus on the environment and sustainability, always an integral part of the company’s ethos, has now been further reinforced by a new initiative. Romana Moares reports.

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING FOR A BETTER PLANET

The world leader in paper-based packaging has an unrivalled portfolio of paper-based packaging solutions, continuously updated with market-leading innovations. Its leading position is supported by business integration, optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and, last but not least, by its data, engineering and creative thinking in every part of the value chain. Smurfit Kappa’s products, which are 100 per cent renewable, recyclable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of the company’s customers.

Pioneering solutions

Smurfit Kappa manufactures a wide range of paper mainly used for packaging purposes, with a total global paper and board capacity of approximately 7 million tonnes per annum. The packaging is designed to promote and protect customers’ products. The company manufactures approximately 11 billion square metres of corrugated packaging and is a key supplier of solid board, folding carton and tubes.

The company is committed to sourcing and managing natural resources in the most efficient and responsible way possible. This is done through sustainable forest management at its own plantations and forests and transparent processes across the supply chain – 100 per cent of paper produced and sourced for its packaging solutions is FSC®, PEFC™ or SFI™ Chain of Custody certified.

“We pursue a closed loop model of paper-based packaging,” said Mr Arco Berkenbosch, Vice-President of Innovation and Development at Smurfit Kappa. The model starts with 100 per cent renewable, sustainable primary raw materials, and 75 per cent of

the company’s raw material is recycled fibre – more than any other packaging material.

“Our core business is to deliver a fit-for-purpose solution meeting our customers’ needs. In view of the pressure to reduce waste, we have a lot of projects going on to optimise the amount of packaging, making sure that the customer can have the same functionality while using less material.”

There are several examples of new products recently developed, such as a totally new range of complete Bag-in-Box® packaging solutions for products such as food, drinks or detergents replacing rigid plastic containers; or paper-based beer bottle holders - a fully recyclable solution, again replacing plastics.

The company has also launched a pioneering product for agriculture - AgroPaperTM, a renewable and compostable paper designed to replace the plastic material that is used by many farmers and growers for ‘mulching’ when growing vegetables. The product, which can be laid with existing machinery, prevents weed growth and does not need to be removed after harvest as it is fully compostable.

Sustainable focus

Speaking about recent market developments, Mr Berkenbosch noted that increasing demand for sustainable, more recyclable packaging is evident, a direction very much in favour of paper-based packaging.

“The most important aspect of paper-based packaging is that it is renewable and recyclable, as well as biodegradable. Focus is on recycling, and in general, our products are expected to be reused 8-10 times. For packaging to be truly sustainable, it must be produced and designed in a sustainable fashion and be biodegradable within a relatively short time. Paper-based packaging is uniquely positioned to do this.”

Last year, the company launched an initiative to support more sustainable consumption and production patterns for packaging, targeting stakeholders across society as a whole - Better Planet Packaging. “The purpose is to bring together the knowledge of various partners, universities and others from the outside world, to see how sustainable packaging can be further developed, promoted and implemented,” explained Mr Berkenbosch.

The Smurfit Kappa Better Planet Packaging initiative seeks to reduce packaging waste and provide a collaborative platform to solve one of the biggest challenges in the packaging industry – to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that is generated every day.

Earlier this year, the company launched the Better Planet Packaging Design Challenge, a competition that invited creative minds both inside and outside the company to submit proposals for the sustainable packaging solutions of the future. The quality of the submissions as well as the number of participants, was overwhelming and the company is going to work with winners on putting their proposals into practice, said Mr Berkenbosch. Helping the planet

The fact that the drive towards a more sustainable future has reaped dividends for the company, is clear from its First Half 2019 Results Report - Smurfit Kappa achieved another set of excellent results with revenue up by 4 per cent and EBITDA increasing to EUR 847 million, up 17 per cent on the prior year. During the first six months of 2019, the Group continued to expand and strengthen its geographic footprint with acquisitions in Bulgaria, Colombia and Serbia.

The report highlights the fact that the qualities of Smurfit Kappa continue to be evident, not alone in terms of financial performance but in its world-class containerboard system, customer-focused innovation and, last but not least, leadership in sustainable packaging.

“Sustainability has been an integral part of our product development, a core of the business model and the main unique selling point, and this agenda will carry us into the future,” Mr Berkenbosch acknowledged. “The Better Planet Packaging is an open initiative and we invite all kinds of stakeholders to join us, to see how we can make packaging into something that helps our planet.” n