Food+

Millions of people around the world lack access to safe nutrition.² At the same time, millions of tons of food are lost every year through waste.³

The challenge of feeding a growing world population is intensified by the need to reduce the carbon footprint of food production.⁴

SIG packaging systems are designed to help our customers to deliver food and beverage products to consumers in a safe, sustainable and affordable way. Our solutions are tailored to different consumption occasions such as on the go, at home or out-of-home. For each of them, solutions include both manufacturing of filling machines with lowest waste rates and the supply of sustainable packaging options including aseptic and chilled cartons , spouted pouches and bag in box systems. With our proprietary aseptic technology we provide long shelf life – of up to 12 months – under ambient conditions. This is a key enabler for a resilient supply of nutritious food and drinks, such as milk and plant-based dairy alternatives, juices, fruit and vegetable purees, and soups.

The range of nutritious food and drinks is constantly expanding, and we work with our customers to develop new products with a focus on health and nutrition.

Our commitments

We are committed to making a significant contribution to a regenerative food system, one that fosters the flourishing of both people and planet.

Our commitment centers on delivering a resilient, shelf-stable and secure food supply system with a demonstrably positive impact on nutrition. Leveraging our worldwide presence and delivering the right packaging solution for different consumption occasions and distribution channels, we empower our customers to provide affordable nutrition in areas of greatest need.

Product safety is essential. Ensuring the reliable delivery of safe food and beverages is fundamental, as it directly relates to the basic human right to life and physical integrity. To uphold this commitment, all relevant SIG production plants maintain certifications to recognized food safety management system standards.

Furthermore, we actively work to minimize food loss and waste, thereby reducing climate impacts and optimizing resource use.

Our approach

Key strategic pillars

• Maintaining food quality and safety
• Partner with customers to bring innovative and nutritious products to market
• Enter into partnership with industry and NGOs to drive towards a regenerative food system
• Reduce food loss and waste across the value chain

Maintaining food quality and safety

We ensure the highest product safety and quality for our customers and consumers by operating an integrated and systematic product safety and quality management system which helps us identify, mitigate and eradicate potential and existing risks throughout the value chain. For effective risk assessment and management, we apply leading recognized methods such as HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) and the use of risk analysis tools, e.g. FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis) or simplified risk analysis.

We have a system and associated processes established to ensure backward traceability from our final products (package material and closures), through logistics and manufacturing, up to the raw materials used. Our production plants are certified according to a GFSI-recognized scheme standard/ISO 22000 and are annually audited to retain their certification. This certification demonstrates that we provide products that are quality-assured and legally compliant.

We continuously work with our customers to make sure that product safety and quality are maintained. If there are any complaints, our Integrated Complaint and Claim Management process (ICCM) provides clear guidance on how they should be managed.

We have an established process in place if a product recall or withdrawal is required.

Innovation through partnership

The SIG Incubator program supports start-ups launching nutritious new food and beverage products by providing access to advice, expertise and consumer-focused insights – as well as by enabling them to use our filling machines, either at our own SIG Testfilling Centers or at existing SIG customers’ plants. To date, the program has supported six start-ups in total, as well as food tech companies.

SIG is a member of U.S.-based food innovation platform MISTA, which brings together leaders from the global food and beverage industry to explore collaborative ways to accelerate the transformation of the global food system into a more regenerative one. We are currently exploring innovative ideas with six different partners, with more to come, including food tech start-ups and a market leader in food processing technologies. For example, first commercial production of an innovative plant-based oil in bag-in-box for the foodservice industry took place in the USA at the end of 2024.

Reducing food loss and waste across the value chain

• The Cartons for Good initiative, led by the SIG Foundation, is an innovative model to process and pack surplus food crops that would otherwise be lost – and turn them into nutrition for people in need.
• Our highly efficient filling machines cut the waste rate of packs (and associated food content) during filling to an industry-leading 0.5% or less for aseptic cartons, and as little as 0.7% for bag-in-box and spouted pouches.
• We also aim to minimize food waste from residues left in the pack after consumer use by offering very high evacuation rates for our bag-in-box and spouted pouch solutions and innovating to further improve pourability from our cartons.

Assessing effectiveness

We validate the effectiveness of our product safety and quality management system on a regular basis. For example, our product withdrawal procedure is validated at least annually. The findings are then incorporated into our product safety update training. We also use a global quality and product safety management reporting system. The GEB receives monthly reports and customer complaints are escalated to management. Issues or concerns can be reported via the integrated customer complaint and claim management system or the Integrity & Compliance Hotline.

In 2024 we assessed the health and safety impacts of our products and services across our portfolio. There were no incidents of non-compliance with regulations or voluntary codes.

Our targets and performance

Targets, progress and performance

Progress in 2024

• We joined the Food Cluster of the Climate & Health Coalition hosted by Forum for the Future – see success story on page 98.
• We helped to build a toolkit for food and drink system businesses that:
  
  • highlights current activity at the intersection of climate, health and food
  • generates case studies to inspire and accelerate action for others
  • provides guidance on key topics and opportunities for action, including starting or accelerating business action on climate, health and food
• Cartons For Good in Thailand: we introduced a new approach to prevent food loss and help people, in cooperation with our customer Ampol Food

KPIs

Key KPI trends in 2024

We continued to achieve 100% fulfillment of our KPIs on health and safety impact assessments for all substrates. Our carton business has maintained this achievement since 2016.

We continued to have no cases of non-compliance on health and safety impacts for all substrates. Our carton business has maintained this record since 2016.

We registered a further increase of nutritious products in SIG packaging:

Nutritious¹ food and beverage products brought to consumers in SIG packaging

(billion liters)

Our positive impact

Through our Food+ actions, we contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Outlook

Broadening the scope of SIG Incubator

A new and extended SIG Incubator offering of test filling facilities as well as packaging solutions will be launched early in 2025. Our SIG Testfilling Centers in Dubai and China will officially be part of the offering, to attract global food and beverage start-ups. Through this extension SIG not only broadens the regional scope of the program but also expands the packaging options – from SIG Dome in Linnich to SIG Smile and SIG DomeMini in China. The installation of an aseptic pouch line at our Dubai Test Filling Center even widens the SIG Incubator scope into new product categories.

Taking Cartons for Good to the next level

The Cartons for Good initiative has defined its way forward with a roadmap of transition from the pilot project to Cartons for Good 2.0. Going forward, the initiative is focusing on partnering with SIG customers to achieve its goals, with SIG technology already installed at customer sites to be used to pack nutritional products. Projects are underway in Egypt and in Thailand.

2024 success story

We have expanded our partnership with the international sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future and joined the Climate & Health Coalition Food Cluster. With beverage company Carlsberg Britvic (our customer) and retail company Waitrose, we are working together to enable private-sector players from across the food and drink industry to accelerate the transformation of our food and agricultural systems towards outcomes that deliver health benefits for both people and planet.

 

One of the cluster’s deliverables is a best practice toolkit for food businesses. The toolkit was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29). “This powerful resource equips companies to take integrated climate and health action. We need urgent engagement at the intersection of climate, health, and food to ensure the health of people and planet – and businesses have a key role to play,” says Hannah Pathak (CEO at Forum for the Future). Developed by the Climate & Health Coalition Food Cluster, the toolkit provides actionable guidance for sustainability, procurement, R&D and communications teams and features case studies from SIG, bringing our approach on the intersection between climate, health and food to life.

1 Different types of products are categorized according to their nutritional profile based on the independent Health Star Rating System.

2 FAO: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023.

3 FAO: Global food losses and food waste.

4 How to Sustainably Feed 10 Billion People by 2050, in 21 Charts | World Resources Institute.