Hartsfield, South Carolina, USA-headquartered Sonoco has joined 4evergreen, an international industry alliance dedicated to boosting the role of fiber-based packaging. The company says the goal is “to create a circular and more sustainable economy that reduces climate change and other environmental impacts.”
Launched and hosted by Cepi, the association representing the European paper industry, 4evergreen aims to generate awareness about the benefits of fiber-based packaging materials, advocate European legislation supporting product design for recyclability, and stimulate the development of optimized collection systems and appropriate recycling infrastructures.
The alliance was created as a forum to engage and connect industry members from across the fiber-based packaging value chain – from paper and board producers to packaging converters, brand owners and retailers, technology and material suppliers, waste sorters and collectors. The acceleration of environmental awareness combined with increasing consumer concerns has helped fuel the rapid development of more climate-friendly options including fiber-based packaging.
“The time to act is now,” said Jori Ringman, director general at Cepi. “Our industry already has a strong track record in environmental performance and recycling, but our ambition is higher. We are driving a systemwide shift to transition to the next level of circularity and climate resilience. 4evergreen will be the place for the whole industry value chain to co-create and collaborate for a change.”
Sonoco President and CEO Rob Teide added: “Our mission is to deliver breakthroughs that benefit the entire packaging industry and ultimately have a positive impact on people’s lives. Meeting these challenges requires a holistic approach to the entire product lifecycle – which means reimagining the processes and technologies associated with packaging, the supply chain and consumer education. Working in collaboration with alliances like 4evergreen will allow us to unlock the enormous potential of fiber-based packaging with greater speed and efficiency.”
The inaugural 4evergreen alliance members include:
Nestlé, Danone, Mars, Sonoco, Stora Enso, Smurfit Kappa, Sappi, Metsä Board, UPM, Mayr-Melnhof Group, Reno de Medici, Mondi, Burgo, Kotkamills, DS Smith, Heinzel Group, Ahlstrom Munksjö, International Paper, BillerudKorsnäs, Huhtamäki, SEDA, SIG Combibloc, Tetra Pak, Elopak, Walki, Schur Group, Cordoba Packaging, Firstan Ltd., Westrock, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co. KG, Graphic Packaging International, AR Packaging, Baumer hhs GmbH, Van Genechten Packaging Group, Sonoco, VTT.
About Sonoco and Cepi
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annual net sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the company has 23,000 employees working at approximately 300 operations in 36 countries, serving some of the world’s best known brands in some 85 nations.
Cepi is the European association representing the paper industry. Working with 18 national associations, its gathers 500 companies operating 895 mills across the continent that directly employ more than 180,000 people.
