DS Smith Achieves Maximum Scores Across Several Categories in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA)

Packaging leader climbs 16 points the global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) assessment

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sustainable packaging leader DS Smith scored 67 in the 2021 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, reflecting an improvement of 16 points over the last year. (Score date: Nov 12, 2021).

The company achieved maximum scores for environmental reporting, product design criteria, resource efficiency benefits of products and use of recycled and sustainably sourced materials. The result places DS Smith ahead of the average score of 38 in the containers and packaging industry.

DS Smith received recognition for its Circular Design Principles and Circular Design Metrics, as well as its ambitious targets to protect natural resources as part of its Now and Next sustainability strategy, reflecting the company’s commitment to place the circular economy at the heart of its business.

A significant score increase was also achieved in the areas of climate strategy and water-related risks, reflecting the climate scenario analysis undertaken as part of DS Smith’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting.

“The CSA requires publicly available sustainability metrics and reflects what investors expect to see from our sustainability reporting, which is increasingly greater depth and detail,” said Keith Ledbetter, managing director of DS Smith North America. “Using the results from the 2020 CSA results, we published a record amount of ESG data in our 2021 Sustainability Report. This level of transparency brings clarity to help our stakeholders make better decisions and that is reflected in our improved 2021 CSA score.”

S&P Global is the world’s largest provider of financial market indices. The S&P Global CSA is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices and the basis for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) series. It assesses more than 10,000 companies worldwide, focusing on sustainability criteria that are both industry-specific and financially material.

“Participation in the S&P CSA helps us understand what investors care about across a full breadth of issues and to benchmark our performance against our own criteria but also in comparison to other organizations,” said Wouter van Tol, head of sustainability, community and government affairs at DS Smith. “We are delighted to have increased our score and continue to drive ESG performance through our Now and Next sustainability strategy, applying the insights obtained from these ratings to understand where there are opportunities to achieve even more.”

About DS Smith

DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable, fiber-based packaging worldwide, supported by recycling and papermaking operations. It plays a central role in the value chain across sectors including e-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and industrials. Through its purpose of ‘Redefining Packaging for a Changing World’ and its Now and Next sustainability strategy, DS Smith is committed to leading the transition to the circular economy, while delivering more circular solutions for its customers and wider society – replacing problem plastics, taking carbon out of supply chains and providing innovative recycling solutions. Its bespoke box-to-box in 14 days model, design capabilities and innovation strategy sits at the heart of this response. A Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, North American operations are headquartered in Atlanta, with 15 manufacturing, paper and recycling facilities, totaling more than 2,000 employees.

DS Smith operates in 34 countries employing around 30,000 people and is a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

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Mindy Myrick, Head of Corporate Affairs

mindy.myrick@dssmith.com / +1 410-251-9570

Caroline Curran, Hill+Knowlton Strategies

caroline.curran@hkstrategies.com / +1 256-653-5811

Source: DS Smith