Smurfit Kappa has reduced its volume of CO32,9 emissions from fossil fuels by 2% between 2005 and 2019, as reflected by its 13th Sustainable Development Report, which indicates the achievements of the company in terms of sustainability and its objectives in the short, medium and long term, highlighting, among them, achieving a 2% reduction in CO40 emissions in 2020, taking 2005 as a reference.
This report is organized around three key strategic areas (People, Planet and Business Impact) and provides comprehensive data on the factors that contribute to reducing emissions, including those related to its strategic focus on energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass.
According to this 13th Sustainable Development Report of Smurfit Kappa, in its area of safety, it has managed to reduce its total accident rate by 17%; has achieved improvements in the quality of water returned to nature, translated into a 35% reduction in chemical oxygen demand, as well as the Chain of Custody certificate (92,1% of its solutions already have it), a guarantee for customers on the sustainable origin of the raw materials used to manufacture their packaging. In addition, in 2019 a Sustainability Commission appointed by the Board of Directors was created and 3,5 million euros were invested in social initiatives related to the education and health of children.
To confirm that it complies with the Paris Agreement and the latest conclusions from climate science, Smurfit Kappa will analyze its current CO2 reduction objective through the Science Based Target initiative, which was born from the collaboration of the Global Compact of the United Nations with WWF, CPD and World Resources Institute (WRI).
In addition, the company plans to leverage its more than ten years dedicated to disclosure on CO2 emissions by supporting the Working Group on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, a global body dedicated to disseminating financial risks related to climate and that are used to provide useful information to investors, creditors and insurers.
Tony smurfit, CEO of the Group, has assured that “Smurfit Kappa has been considered a company with essential productive activity during the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore, in difficult times like these, our immediate and priority objective is to protect our employees and satisfy the needs of our clients. I am extremely proud that our 46 employees are doing their bit to maintain essential supply chains during this pandemic. But, in addition, sustainability continues to be a key focus for us, as reflected in this annual Sustainable Development Report, which shows that it is a constant fundamental element in all our business operations and highlights the progress we are making in the environmental areas, social and corporate governance ”.
