Environmental discussion with Cascades CEO and Dr. David Suzuki

Smurfit Kappa is making significant progress in reducing its relative CO2 emissions according to its 13th annual Sustainable Development Report (SDR) which was published today. The leading provider of paper-based packaging, Smurfit Kappa reported a 32.9% reduction in fossil CO2 emission intensity between 2005 and 2019. While this is an impressive achievement, the company’s current target is even more ambitious as it seeks to reduce relative CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030, in comparison to the 2005 baseline. In addition to seeking SBT validation*, Smurfit Kappa is also looking to build on more than a decade of providing full CO2 disclosures by supporting the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures, a global body which develops climate-related financial risk disclosures which are used to provide information for investors, lenders and insurers.

The Czech Forest Certification System and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) have successfully achieved PEFC re-endorsement, confirming they continue to meet our globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks. Launched in 1941, ATFS is one of the oldest initiatives for certifying sustainable forestry in the world. It now represents 74,000 tree farmers sustainably managing more than 7.5 million hectares of PEFC-certified forestland. ATFS first achieved PEFC endorsement in 2008, with subsequent re-endorsements in 2013 and now 2017. The Czech Republic, one of the 11 original national members of PEFC, first achieved PEFC endorsement of their forest certification system back in 2002. This was followed by three more successful endorsements in 2006, 2012 and 2017. In this time, more than 1.8 million hectares of forest have achieved PEFC certification, equaling more than two thirds of the country’s forest area. Click Read More below for additional information.

Target Corp. is expanding its deployment of solar energy. The retailer has signed a power-purchase agreement with Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC that calls for supplier to install solar arrays on the roofs of 180 Target stores and distribution centers across the United States from Augusta, Maine, to San Diego. When completed, the solar installations will produce an aggregate total of approximately 100 megawatts of electric energy. Though the size of the solar array will vary at each of the retail locations, the average system will consist of 1,700 solar panels. All 180 projects are expected to be completed by the winter of 2016. Under its power-purchase agreement with Target, Greenskies will design, develop, finance, own and maintain each of the 180 solar installations. Target has agreed to purchase 100% of the electricity produced at each of the sites at a fixed and sharply discounted rate for the length of the contract. Each roof-top array will produce between 20% and 30% of the total electricity requirements of the retail outlet on which it is built, Chester said.