Smurfit Kappa is making significant progress in reducing its relative CO2 emissions according to its 13th annual Sustainable Development Report (SDR) which was published earlier this month.

Smurfit Kappa, a leading provider of paper-based packaging, reported a 32.9% reduction in fossil CO2 emission intensity between 2005 and 2019. The company’s current target is actually more ambitious as it seeks to reduce relative CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030, in comparison to the 2005 baseline.

Smurfit Kappa will also discuss its current CO2 reduction target with the Science Based Target (SBT) initiative to confirm that it is aligned with the Paris Agreement and the recommendations of the latest climate science findings.

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 new SDR report, which is structured on the three strategic focus areas of People, Planet and Impactful Business, provides comprehensive detail on the contributing factors in the reduction of emissions. These include a strategic focus on energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources of fuel such as biomass.

There are a number of other achievements outlined in the SDR. Considerable progress was made in the area of safety with a 17% reduction in its Total Recordable Injury Rate. Smurfit Kappa also reached 92.1% for all packaging solutions sold as Chain of Custody certified, which is cast-iron assurance for customers of the sustainable origin of the raw material used. Further improvements in the quality of its discharged water were made with a 35% reduction of relative Chemical Oxygen Demand.