Smurfit Kappa first FTSE 100 company to gain five stars

Smurfit Kappa is proud to announce that its support of and contribution to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been recognised by Support the Goals. The company is the first FTSE 100 company to receive a five star rating.

The SDGs are a universal call for action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Agreed in 2015 by world leaders, these goals can only be achieved with the support of businesses.

Support the Goals is a global initiative that was established to rate and recognise those businesses that support the SDGs to work towards a more sustainable future. A five-star rating is only awarded to companies who are actively involving their suppliers in their efforts towards reaching these goals. For most businesses, a significant amount of their environmental and social impact comes from the supply chain, therefore it is vitally important to help suppliers understand and support the SDGs.

Founder and director of Support the Goals, Colin Curtis highlighted the importance of this support, saying: “If we’re to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we need every business to get behind them. It’s fantastic to see that Smurfit Kappa is helping their suppliers to learn about the goals and encouraging them to take action, and we’re delighted to recognise their efforts with a five star SDG rating - the first company in the FTSE 100 to achieve this!”

In response to this rating, Smurfit Kappa Group CEO, Tony Smurfit, said: “We are delighted to be recognised for our leadership position as the first FTSE 100 company to receive a five star rating. Our ambition is to be the most sustainable company in paper-based packaging and we continue to play our part to support and contribute to the UN’s 2030 SDGs.”

Group VP of Sustainable Development at Smurfit Kappa, Steven Stoffer, added: “Our continued focus on sustainability, and our success to date in continuing to raise the bar when it comes to sustainable practices, means we have a responsibility to encourage our suppliers to aim towards achieving similar goals. We are proud to be in a position to accept this responsibility for the benefit of a better, more sustainable future for all.”

Smurfit Kappa recently announced ambitious new sustainability targets building upon the company’s well-established sustainability record, on which it has been reporting since 2005, and are contained in the Better Planet 2050 commitments. Better Planet 2050 quantifies the company’s continued commitment to sustainability, targeting environmental and social sustainability in areas where it believes it can have the greatest impact.