An In-Depth Look at How DS Smith Will Reach Net Zero by 2050

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Sustainable packaging company DS Smith announced today a series of ambitious climate targets, including a science-based target to achieve a 40% reduction of CO2 emissions per ton of product by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, and a commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

These targets will be validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. To further underline the company’s ambition and commitment, DS Smith also announced its membership in the UN’s Race to Zero. To achieve these targets, it will further adopt a number of engineering solutions, including using local biomass and biogas, and renewable electricity like wind and solar.

Specifically, the company will focus on the following areas of business:

Design

DS Smith has set a goal to manufacture 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2023. They will achieve this by:

• Training 100% of the company’s designers in Circular Design Principles
• Making recyclability mandatory in New Product Development
• Monitoring and recognizing progress through an internal certification scheme

Carbon Reduction

By 2030, DS Smith has set a goal to reduce CO2 emissions against a 2015 baseline by 30% relative to production. The company hopes to achieve this by:

• Integrating ISO 50001 into everyday operations at site level to drive behavioral and organizational change and compliance
• Analyzing data to understand performance and share best practice across sites
• Delivering continual improvement in energy efficiency across sites
• Fuel switching e.g. Energy from Waste, Solar Photovoltaics

Reducing Waste and Pollution

By 2025 DS Smith aims to take 1 billion pieces of problem plastics off supermarket shelves. The company will do this by:

• Continuing to advance the company’s plastic replacement strategy, targeting key categories and customers
• Identifying the top 10 hard-to-recycle items and find solutions
• Optimizing transport by developing solutions to remove wasted air in transit

In addition to its climate action commitment, DS Smith recently announced its $140 million R&D and innovation package to accelerate its work in the circular economy. The company's full sustainability program can be found here.