Our sustainability approach
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Delivering a regenerative packaging system
SIG – for better
We are not just creating packaging, we are moving towards a regenerative future to ensure that growth helps people and the planet to thrive.
Business has a role to play in the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient future. The food system can play a decisive role in driving change. Packaging plays an enabling role in bringing food and nutrition to consumers in a safe, sustainable and affordable way. This is SIG’s purpose.
Sustainability is one of four strategic priorities in SIG’s corporate compass (see Strategic priorities) and is closely linked to each of the other priorities – people, customer and growth.
We design sustainable solutions by:
- offering highly efficient filling technologies with the lowest waste rates
- delivering packaging solutions that preserve nutritious food mostly under ambient conditions, thus helping to establish resilient supply systems
- fulfilling our role with the smallest environmental footprint along the life cycle compared with other substrates1
A regenerative packaging solution does not yet exist, but when it does it will:
- be entirely made from responsibly sourced, endlessly renewable or recycled materials in a lightweight design that minimizes resource use
- be fully and easily recyclable anywhere in the world
- remove more carbon from the atmosphere than is emitted during its life cycle
- bring safe and healthy nutrition to everyone
This solution will go beyond reducing negative impacts on nature and biodiversity by delivering positive outcomes for people and the planet.
Towards a more sustainable future
To meet different consumption habits and customer needs, we offer three solutions with demonstrable advantages in terms of environmental footprint and resource efficiency along the full value chain: beverage carton, spouted pouch and bag-in-box.
We are committed to innovation in our products and processes to reduce environmental impact, promote ethical sourcing, and support the wellbeing of both consumers and our planet. We work collaboratively with industry peers, driving positive change and ensuring that food packaging plays a vital role in building a resilient and equitable food system for generations to come.
We are striving to minimize any negative outcomes at every stage of the value chain – from sourcing to production, filling, use and recycling of our packs. And we are going further to generate more positive outcomes for people and the planet. Our pledge to future generations is to create a system that helps eliminate food loss and waste, improve food availability and security, and ensure that nature thrives alongside a sustainable food supply chain.
Our road to a regenerative packaging system
In a context of rising expectations and increasing regulation, we are committed to maintaining our track record on sustainability. We strive for a regenerative approach that actively restores and revitalizes ecosystems, mitigates climate change, promotes social equity and supports circularity. To achieve this, we focus on areas where we have the largest impact and opportunities.
Strategy and ambition |
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Actions and outcomes |
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Forests: By protecting and restoring the forest, and improving the management of forests, SIG contributes to biodiversity, climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services which are essential for the overall health of our planet. |
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FSC™ Certified: We ensure that all the paperboard used in our cartons is linked to wood sourced from sustainably managed forests and other controlled sources, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC™)1 |
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Resources: SIG is dedicated to accelerating innovation, circularity, and renewability. Our focus on circularity is aimed at reducing waste, and eliminating marine litter and reducing the overall environmental impact of our packaging. |
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Renewable Resource: Cartons are primarily made from paperboard, a renewable resource derived from side streams and thinning wood. |
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Climate: SIG is actively working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions towards Net Zero in line with climate science and the Paris Agreement. By aligning our emission reduction pathway with our growth planning and quantifying the positive climate outcomes of our solutions, we are taking concrete steps towards a more sustainable future. |
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Low Carbon Footprint: Compared with glass and plastic bottles, SIG packaging has a lower carbon footprint due to its production process, transportation weight, and space-saving design.2 Additionally, when sourced from sustainably managed forests, carton packaging contributes to carbon sequestration.3 |
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Food: SIG is committed to delivering more nutritious food and supporting regenerative food systems. In designing our filling systems, we focus on further optimizing our low waste rates. Initiatives like Cartons for Good and SIG Incubator deliver more nutritious food and foster a sustainable transition in the food system. |
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Reduced Food Waste: SIG packaging enables long-term storage of nutritious food without preservatives or refrigeration, significantly reducing food loss and waste, especially in regions lacking reliable cooling systems. |
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By focusing on these areas and pushing the boundaries of innovation, SIG is committed to creating a regenerative food packaging solution that contributes to ecosystem restoration, climate change mitigation, and circularity.
Pioneering a regenerative transition
To deliver regenerative solutions we also need transparent and credible methodologies to measure positive outcomes for nature and people.
In 2016, we published a set of bold ambitions to contribute more to society and the environment than we take out across our value chain, in line with the net positive principles. Activities performed since then include:
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As a member of the Net Positive Project, we joined other pioneering companies and non-governmental organizations determined to raise the level of ambition for corporate sustainability – to go beyond simply doing less harm to actively target positive contributions that help regenerate the environment and create a thriving society.
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We contributed to the Business Transformation Compass developed by Forum for the Future to guide businesses on transformational strategies that support a regenerative and just transition. The Compass was launched in 2021 and has become another inspiration and a reference for our sustainability approach.
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We also continued our participation in SHINE (Sustainability and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise), which engages companies from multiple industries around the concept of handprints to measure positive outcomes – opposing footprints that are typically used for negative impacts of companies and products.
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We have joined the Climate & Health Coalition Food Cluster of the Forum for the Future to better work towards the interconnectedness of nature and its role to deliver nutrients while being exposed to multiple threats such as climate change. See Food+
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We have partnered with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate circularity and to find partners in turning used packaging materials into valuable resources. See Resource+
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We have entered into more projects within our partnership with WWF Switzerland where we foster on-the-ground landscape restoration projects which help biodiversity to thrive – while at the same time continuing our efforts to protect biodiversity in the forests we source from. See Forest+
1 Disposable plastic and glass bottle, aluminum can, glass jar, steel can and plastic pot, according to full comparative life-cycle assessments of packaging systems for food, UHT milk and non-carbonated soft drinks on the European market. Life-cycle assessments – SIG – for better.