DS Smith has announced it has replaced more than one billion pieces of plastic, 16 months ahead of its 2025 target.
As of May 2024, the packaging giant revealed it has replaced over 1.2 billion pieces of plastics across its international markets. The target concerned any primary or secondary plastic packaging that has now been reduced or removed from customers’ packaging as a direct result of the firm’s solutions.
DS Smith said the achievement is rooted in a plastic replacement and reduction programme established in 2020 as part of the company’s Now & Next Sustainability Strategy. The target extends across the firm’s operations in 27 countries across Europe and North America.
The UK leads the way, having replaced over 274 million pieces of plastic.
Everyday plastic items that have been replaced from supermarket shelves include fruit and vegetable punnets, plastic carriers, and shrink-wrap commonly found on soft drink bottles.
Miles Roberts, group chief executive, DS Smith, said, “When we set our Now and Next sustainability strategy, we wanted to include goals that delivered environmental change beyond as well as within DS Smith. By innovating to help our customers replace or reduce plastics, we are responding to societal demands to reduce plastic pollution, as well as growing our partnerships with customers.
“I am proud of every single member of the DS Smith team for achieving this goal, and a year early. However, this is very much the beginning. There are many more positive impacts we can make by supporting our customers and communities in their sustainability goals and we are extremely motivated by this mission. But it is important to note that if our customers – the biggest FMCG brands – are to remove plastics at scale and at pace, they need the right regulatory framework around them. What we need are stronger, harmonised, global, regulations that level the playing field, to help businesses move away from plastic.”
