Sonoco Commits to Ambitious 2030 Goals to Further Reduce Environmental Footprint

Company Sets Science-Based Targets to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

HARTSVILLE, S.C., July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, today announced new commitments to advance its environmental progress by setting ambitious goals to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement – to limit global temperatures to warming to well-below 2° C above pre-industrial levels. These emission reduction targets have recently been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Sonoco has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from a 2020 base year. The Company has also committed to reduce absolute scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 13.5 percent from a 2019 base year by working with its customer and suppliers to develop innovative packaging solutions that reduce packaging waste and improve recyclability. In addition, the Company is actively studying necessary operational changes, technology developments and market changes that would be required to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050.

“Sonoco has been dedicated to reducing its environmental footprint for many years. In order to continue delivering on our purpose of Better Packaging. Better Life., we must operate with sustainability at the forefront and commit to doing our part to address climate change,” said Howard Coker, Sonoco President and Chief Executive Officer. “Over the next decade, we will dedicate each of our 300 global operations to fully participate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, purchasing power from certified green energy sources and continuously identifying opportunities to reduce energy usage.”

According to Elizabeth Rhue, Staff Vice President of Sustainability, Sonoco will drive commitments to its greenhouse gas reduction goals by incorporating sustainability and environmental metrics into business unit goals and management incentives. In addition, the Company will continue working with its customers and suppliers to further build out Sonoco’s EnviroSense® line of more sustainable packaging.

“Our environmental commitments are critical to Sonoco’s long-term sustainability,” Rhue said. “We have and are developing sustainability champions in each of our business units who will regularly track and report on our progress. This work will become interconnected across our supply chain as we work to meet the changing needs of our customers.”

About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of consumer, industrial, healthcare and protective packaging. With annual net sales of approximately $5.2 billion, the Company has 19,000 employees working in approximately 300 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world’s best-known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is committed to creating sustainable products, services and programs for our customers, employees and communities that support our corporate purpose of Better Packaging. Better Life. The Company was listed as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for 2021 as well as being included in Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for the third year in a row. For more information, visit www.sonoco.com.

About SBTi
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature and is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. The initiative champions science-based targets setting as a powerful way of boosting companies’ competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. Science-based targets are greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that are in line with the level of decarbonization required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – to limit global warming to well-below 2° C above pre-industrial levels and pursue effort to limit warming to 1.5° C.