Sonoco Receives Chain-of-Custody Certifications

Sonoco announced it has received chain-of-custody certifications from the Forest Stewardship Council,  as well as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. The certifications provide formal validation for the company’s 13 recycled paperboard mills and two recycled rigid paper container plants in the U.S. and Canada.

The company says it uses almost 100 percent recycled fiber, or about 1.9 million tons of reclaimed fiber annually.

The certifications mean the company has a tracking system in place to record the possession and transfer of wood fiber from its origin to its end use, including the manufacturing, production and processing stages.

In order to obtain the certifications, Sonoco had to undergo internal audits, management reviews and annual audits conducted by an independent organization.

In Sonoco’s first annual sustainability report, the company announced plans to cut its environmental footprint and production costs through light-weight packaging.

B-to-C companies working to make packaging more environmentally friendly include Estee Lauder, Burt’s Bees, and Dell, to name a few.