Contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Governments, businesses, and others must all do their part to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. We are determined to do ours.

We focus our support on the SDGs (and specific targets) where we see opportunities for our business and partnerships to make a meaningful contribution by supporting systemic change at scale (see right). These are closely aligned with the areas where we have the most significant impact. We are driving progress through the four action areas of our sustainability approach.

This targeted approach – focusing on the biggest risks to people or the environment, and the greatest benefits our packaging solutions and partnerships can have – is in line with the guidelines for business reporting on the SDGs from the Global Reporting Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact.

We also contribute to other SDGs through our sustainability approach. For example:

Our commitment to health and safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and fair labor practices for employees and people in our supply chain (through responsible sourcing) aligns with SDG 5 and 8.
By promoting the use of FSC™ certification, we are supporting progress towards 11 of the SDGs (and 35 of the accompanying targets).¹
By exploring ways to scale up our Cartons for Good project (led by the SIG Foundation), we can strengthen our support for additional global goals such as SDG 1 on poverty, SDG 3 on promoting good health and wellbeing, and SDG 10 on reducing inequalities (as well as SDGs 2, 12, and 17).
Our methodology for measuring the impact of our community engagement programs considers their alignment with the full range of SDGs.

The table shows the most relevant SDG targets where our action contributes. The relevant SDG targets are listed with the related SIG sustainability action area.

Detailed description of our progress in each of these sustainability action areas can be found here:

Climate+: see Sustainability; Climate+
Forest+: see Sustainability; Forest+
Resource+: see Sustainability; Resource+
Food+: see Sustainability; Food+

Targeted support for the SDGs

SDG

Most relevant SDG targets where our action contributes*

Sustainability action area

2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round

Food+

2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous people, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment

Food+

2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality

Climate+
Forest+
Resource+

7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix

Climate+
Resource+

9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities

Climate+
Forest+
Resource+
Food+

9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending

Climate+
Resource+
Food+

12.1 Implement the 10-year framework of programs on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries

Resource+
Forest+

12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

Resource+
Forest+

12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses

Food+

12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

Resource+

12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

Forest+

12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

Forest+

13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

Climate+
Forest+

13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

Climate+

14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

Resource+

15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

Forest+

15.7 Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products

Forest+

17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

Climate+
Food+
Resource+
Forest+

*	Relevant targets identified through an analysis based on the methodology outlined in the UNSC/GRI publication Business Reporting on the SDGs: An Analysis of Goals and Targets.

1 Based on analysis by the Forest Stewardship Council™ in 2018.