DS Smith, a supplier of sustainable packaging, has signed an agreement to become a global partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The partnership will boost the company's circular economy initiative and support innovation across the business, including recycling and carbon efficiency in e-commerce.
The collaboration between DS Smith and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will also reinforce the company's sustainability strategy. This program is based on nine long-term sustainability goals, including the manufacture of 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025.
This partnership will support innovation in DS Smith's business model, aiming to include packaging design projects geared towards the circular economy and improve collection systems in urban areas. These pilot projects will build on the company's recent efforts to recycle disposable goods, such as coffee cups, and to drastically reduce the amount of fiber in its cardboard packaging.
In parallel, DS Smith is making over one million pounds available from its Charitable Foundation to invest in sustainability or education initiatives. This program will launch local projects across DS Smith's global footprint and support innovative new programs that will make a real difference in the communities where it operates. “ Our business model centers on the circular economy, and therefore this partnership will be extremely important for us to continue developing our products and services. Our employees are proud of the efforts we make in their respective communities and our strong focus on sustainability. However, I believe we can do even more and that the knowledge that the partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation can offer us will be invaluable. In return, our innovation can be useful to the foundation's intention to increase business involvement in the circular economy. I am also pleased that, through the partnership with the DS Smith Charitable Foundation, we can now proactively support relevant projects in local communities that truly focus on education and sustainability ,” says Miles Roberts, CEO of DS Smith.
As Europe's largest recycler of cardboard and paper, DS Smith operates in 17 European countries, managing over five million tonnes of recyclable materials every year and ensuring they are not lost in the system. It also participates in new initiatives to address how the UK collects and processes ever-increasing quantities of e-commerce packaging and hard-to-recycle products such as coffee cups.
DS Smith joins the foundation's 10 existing global partners, namely Intesa Sanpaolo, Danone, Google, H&M, Nike, Phillips, Renault, Solvay, SC Johnson and Unilever, to drive leading circular economy initiatives at scale.
