Interview
Ignacio Montfort, General Manager DS Smith Iberia
“The demand for sustainable packaging continues in an unstoppable way around the world”
Hispack is warming up half a year after its opening with confirmation of attendance from leading companies from the entire packaging value chain. DS Smith is an example of this and how sustainability is a strategic axis of the company and, by extension, a challenge for the entire industry. Is completely circular packaging possible today? What role do recycling and waste management play in favour of a sustainable strategy? Ignacio Montfort, General Manager of DS Smith Iberia, answers these questions and addresses the situation of packaging and, specifically, corrugated cardboard, in the current economic context.
– Since the last edition of Hispack, what assessment do you make of the evolution of the packaging industry? And, specifically with regard to corrugated cardboard, being one of the main manufacturers of this material?
In recent years, the needs of companies have changed a lot due to the evolution of consumer habits, especially the promotion of e-commerce and the existence of greater awareness about the importance of sustainability. Looking to 2030, our goal is to optimize every fibre in the supply chain, send no waste to landfill and for all our packaging to be recycled or reused. An innovative design is also increasingly important to create high-impact packaging, especially in those cases in which the packaging comes into contact with the consumer, as is the case of consumer goods. To achieve this, we have nearly 700 interconnected designers and researchers around the world who are specialized in finding the best packaging solutions to lead innovation in the industry.
Currently throughout the industry we face an important challenge, the inflationary environment in which we find ourselves. This year it has been essential to know how to implement good cost management which, added to our investments of more than 200 million euros in the last seven years, and the improvement of our industrial efficiency, has allowed us to maintain a very strong growth and positive path.
Regarding corrugated cardboard, the volume has improved in recent quarters, but is still somewhat lower than the previous year due to the period of extreme volatility in a difficult economic environment in which we are still immersed. The corrugated cardboard industry remains strong as the demand for sustainable packaging continues in an unstoppable way around the world.
– One of the main axes of DS Smith is its firm commitment to sustainable packaging. What projects are you developing under the umbrella of your “Now and Next” sustainability strategy?
In 2020 we launched our “Now and Next” sustainability strategy, which outlined our sustainability commitments and goals for the next decade. We have already made great progress. Reinforcing these achievements, earlier this year we raised our ambitions with a set of objectives aimed at accelerating the transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Created with independent experts, the new Now & Next commitments prioritize circularity, accelerate the journey to Net Zero and strengthen our focus on people, communities and nature.
Since 2020 in partnership with our customers, we have already replaced 762 million problematic plastic items with fibre-based alternatives and created more than 31,000 circularity projects through our industry-leading Circular Design Metrics. In parallel, and in line with our decarbonization objectives, this year we reduced CO2 emissions by 10% (15% compared to 2019), in addition to achieving a 4% reduction in water extraction in paper mills in areas at risk of water stress. In addition, our goal of producing 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2023 has been achieved. In this sense, the Iberia region has contributed significantly to the company’s global sustainability strategy.
Some examples are projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, such as the purchase of electricity with a guarantee from renewable sources, the maintenance of the ISO/50001 standard, under which 100% of the energy consumed by the company in Iberia falls, or the installation of cogeneration plants in all paper factories, as well as solar panels in the Esmoriz, Leiria and Albarraque factories, in Portugal.
The next steps take us to a project of new implementations of solar panels in our plants in Spain. This project also includes the installation of charging points for electric vehicles.
Regarding the protection of nature, an activity mitigation plan has been developed in all factories at risk of water stress, which will be implemented in all the remaining ones next year. And regarding the development and optimization of materials – always taking into account the transition to a circular economy – several projects were carried out to replace problematic plastics and optimize the use of fibres in all our factories.
Regarding the latter, thanks to the optimization of fibres we have reduced more than 17,800 tons of CO2 since 2019, which is 471,000 trees saved from felling or 318,000 Madrid-Lisbon flights.
– Sustainability not only involves packaging, they also work on recycling and waste management. What services do you offer in this regard?
We are the largest recycler of paper and cardboard in Europe. We provide integrated recycling and waste management services to companies of all sizes throughout Europe and North America.
Along these lines, our goal, and that of our clients, is to reduce pollution, increase potential income and increase recycling rates. We offer a closed-loop process that guarantees that a box can be manufactured, used and recycled within 15 days, so it never ends up in a landfill. Our recycling solutions help prevent more than 6 million tons of recyclable materials from ending up in landfills or incineration plants each year. At Iberia specifically, we manage around 550,000 tons of materials each year.
– Is it currently possible to develop completely circular packaging?
Yes, it is possible, and we work for it every day in a global and complete way. We apply a circular mentality to our production processes to avoid the generation of waste. To do this, we rely on packaging made from fibres that can be recycled up to 25 times, giving rise to new paper products.
The circular economy is the alternative to the throwaway mentality. It is based on the principles of eliminating waste and pollution, keeping materials in use for longer and regenerating natural systems to create a more sustainable world. At our PackRight Centres, our designers and engineers share best practices and innovations developed so our customers can access the most advanced ideas. In our Lisbon Innovation Hub, for example, we hold inspiration and creation sessions with clients to help them throughout this process.
Along these lines, we have developed our Circular Design Metrics, a cutting-edge tool to integrate sustainability into packaging. This innovative tool allows us to rate and compare the circularity of packaging designs through 8 different indicators.
Our clients need solutions that go beyond the conventional. Changing purchasing habits and expectations around sustainability require them to continue adapting to a changing world. We need innovative thinking that accelerates the transition to the circular economy.
– In the last edition of Hispack, in 2022, one of the protagonists was e-commerce and its rise as a result of the situation generated by the pandemic. Do you think it has continued to have exponential growth since then?
Obviously, the pandemic meant a big change in the way we buy and live, with a very important boost to e-commerce. At DS Smith we have built a business that allows us to benefit from the main growth levers of the changing consumer environment and the continuous growth in electronic commerce, which faces different challenges than those of mass consumer and industrial companies due to its complex distribution chain. In e-commerce distribution channels, packaging can pass through an average of 50 touch points, 10 times more than in traditional retail where there are only 5, meaning that the potential for damage in e-commerce is much higher than in the physical store supply chain.
The demands of an increasingly demanding consumer and the requirements of a complex supply chain such as that of electronic commerce have led us to constantly innovate in the solutions we provide for this channel: protection systems 100% based on recycled fibres; solutions that allow traceability; Fanfold, the most suitable solution for companies that use a large number of different packaging specifications and very short production runs and that allows the creation of “tailored packaging”; and systems to facilitate the return of products in the same packaging in which they were delivered.
– DS Smith warns of the consequences that the new European Union amendments on packaging and packaging waste may have. What changes would this new regulation imply?
We support the objectives of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), but despite its good intentions, it can have unintended consequences, especially when it comes to mandatory reuse of cardboard. Including cardboard in all reuse targets is in complete contradiction to the EU’s efforts to limit plastic waste, it would increase the amount of plastic packaging in circulation and would establish a plastic monopoly in some market segments. There is a good chance that the provisions on reuse of transport packaging will increase the negative impact of packaging on the environment, going against the objectives of the regulation itself and the spirit of the Green Deal. Both recycling and reuse play a role in packaging circularity and should be complementary: reuse systems should be used where they are beneficial for the environment, the economy and society.
– DS Smith’s participation in Hispack is synonymous with the presentation of new developments in packaging solutions. Can you tell us what you are preparing?
We will present news in different areas. One of the most striking new features is DS Smith Lift Up, a 100% recyclable corrugated cardboard handle for beverage packs that improves transportation for consumers. This is a redesign of traditional multi-pack rigid bottle packaging that we have modified using our industry-leading Circular Design Metrics approach. This means that we optimize the amount of material used to reduce the impact on the environment thanks to the use of fully recyclable materials. It is also designed to be ergonomic, ensuring that large bottles are comfortable to carry and easy to access for consumers once at home.
Another of our latest innovations in packaging solutions is DS Smith Light Wrap, a packaging for grouping bricks that prevents damage to the package. This solution was manufactured as a classic brick grouping packaging format, known as wraparound, and includes certain features in its design that allow for packaging with improved performance with a lower amount of fibre, which also means a reduction in CO₂ emissions. to the atmosphere of 19% compared to traditional solutions. In this case, it is a design that is protected by a utility model, to safeguard our ideas.
In the e-commerce range, DS Smith Safe Sender stands out, a simple and effective closure system, which offers tamper-proof protection throughout the delivery and return process; DS Smith Tape Back, to facilitate simple, efficient and sustainable returns; DS Smith Padded Paper Bag, e-commerce envelopes with special paper inside that replaces the classic bubble wrap and that adapt perfectly to the content, being ideal for small or fragile products such as clothing, jewellery or costume jewellery; and DS Smith Corrugated Envelopes, designed for shipping one or several medium and small-sized products.
We will also present our production and printing capabilities in the Iberia region: digital printing, fanfold, honeycomb and special applications such as gluing tapes or data matrix printing, as well as innovations in the industrial area or our Design Metrics tool Circular already mentioned that allows analysing the circularity of packaging designs.
Cristina Benavides
Hispack collaborator
