Sonoco Releases 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report Detailing Progress on Sustainability Initiatives

The report outlines the company’s wide-ranging sustainability efforts, the use of recycled content key among them. In 2019, the company increased its use overall of post-consumer recycled (PCR) fiber and resin in its products. For its fiber-based products, the percentage of recycled fiber in the company’s supply chain was nearly half the total procured. When using post-consumer recycled (PCR) material was not possible, Novolex focused on procuring Chain of Custody (COC) certified prime fiber content traceable to the original source. When combined, 69% of fiber volume was either PCR or COC-certified content, an increase of 4% over 2018. Plastic resin used by Novolex consisted of 4% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content and 20% post-industrial resin in 2019, the same percentages as the prior year. While the reported 4% PCR is the same in 2018 and 2019, Novolex purchases of PCR material increased in total pounds. That was driven in part by the company’s two world-class polyethylene recycling centers, which specialize in recycling plastic consumer retail bags as well as films such as dry-cleaning bags, newspaper bags and other items labeled for “store drop off” recycling programs.

Today, HP Inc. announced a commitment to achieve zero deforestation by 2020. All HP brand paper and paper-based product packaging 1will be derived from certified and recycled sources by 2020, with a preference for virgin fiber from certified sources of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This pledge is one of several 2016 goals outlined in the company’s latest Sustainability Report released today. HP’s new goal reinforces its leadership position among global companies. According to Forest500 2, only 8 percent of companies have an overarching zero or zero-net deforestation commitment. This goal highlights HP’s ongoing efforts to help customers make responsible printing and purchasing decisions that lower the environmental impact of their operations. This zero deforestation pledge also reflects the breadth of actions the company is taking to address the effects of climate change.

A logging company’s lawsuit accusing Greenpeace and another environmental group of libel and racketeering for describing the company as a “forest destroyer” was dismissed Monday by a San Francisco federal judge, who said the organizations were exercising their freedom of speech. Resolute Forest Products alleged that Greenpeace and a Bay Area nonprofit called Stand had engaged in a “disinformation campaign,” starting in 2012, about the company’s logging in the boreal forest of northern and western Canada to boost their own fundraising. The company said Greenpeace had to retract its initial claim that its logging had violated the terms of an environmental agreement, and had falsely accused Resolute of endangering caribou in an area where the company did little logging. Greenpeace also labeled Resolute as a “forest destroyer” even though it logs only a small part of the forest, the company said. Click Read More below for additional information.