Responsible culture:

Communities

Being a responsible and inclusive partner in communities means supporting the people around our operations, vulnerable and local communities in need, and those connected to our value chain.

It also includes the individuals who benefit from our collection and recycling initiatives, as well as everyone positively impacted by our sustainability initiatives.

By being a responsible and inclusive partner, we not only create meaningful impact, but also strengthen our business, unlock new opportunities, and build trust as an employer and partner of choice – leaving the world better for future generations.

Our commitment

We are committed to engaging and supporting our communities to deliver positive impact for people and the planet.

Our approach

Measures taken and responsibilities

Director Group Corporate Responsibility

Our measures encompass direct actions tailored to communities in need and to communities where we operate, and further measures incorporated into other areas of our regenerative packaging ambition.

SIG Foundation

SIG channels support through the SIG Foundation (over €2.3m since 2018), whose purpose is to identify, drive and promote activities and projects that strengthen civil society and create positive impacts for the environment.

The “Cartons for Good” initiative, led by the SIG Foundation, is an innovative partnership model with SIG customers that helps to improve nutrition and hydration for people in need. Surplus food crops that would otherwise be lost are processed and packed. SIG further fosters partnerships with key industry stakeholders, such as recyclers to create a closed loop of sustainable impact to local communities.
The “Recycle for Good” initiative, led by the SIG Foundation, seeks to change behavior by encouraging people to drop off their recyclable waste at collection points or arrange for home pickup, promoting the circular economy while also providing social support for low-income people by offering rewards in exchange. Recycle for Good aligns with the Resource+ commitment to foster sustainable practices.

Cartons for Good

The SIG Foundation has expanded its flagship initiative, “Cartons for Good,” to Thailand in 2025, building on the success of its pilot project in Bangladesh. In collaboration with our customer Ampol Food, a leading food and beverage innovator in Thailand, the project uses SIG’s filling technology to process surplus mangoes into nutritious pudding for elderly people in need.

The project aims to process around 15 tons of surplus fruit per year – packaged in 288,000 SIG carton packs. Through the extensive network of Village Health Volunteers (VHVs), the project will reach 1,000 households every day, providing elderly people with essential nutrients. After use, the empty carton packs will be collected and recycled by Eco-Friendly Thailand, a key partner specializing in beverage carton recycling, to ensure a circular approach to packaging. The raw cardboard used for the packs is donated by Stora Enso.

An elderly woman eating mango pudding while sitting outdoors (photo)

Future + Ambassadors

The Future+ Ambassadors Network empowers SIG employees to lead community initiatives that address local needs and environmental priorities, supported by dedicated volunteers. Over time, the focus has evolved from one-off global campaigns to locally driven, long-term programs that build lasting partnerships and create meaningful impact in the communities where we operate. We foster volunteering of our employees by providing incentives for engagement.

In 2025, SIG and our employees reinforced our commitment to responsible culture and community engagement through many initiatives.

#volunteerforbetter

Volunteering is at the heart of SIG’s culture, with employees worldwide contributing to education, healthcare, environmental conservation, and community support. From Bangkok to São Paulo, SIGers shared many inspiring stories under the #volunteerforbetter initiative. Through our ‘Volunteering for Better’ initiative, SIG also empower employees to lead community-focused projects that create tangible social impact.

South Africa

Multiple social and environmental initiatives occurred in South Africa:

Employees joined the Food Forward SA Nelson Mandela 67 Minutes campaign to pack and distribute food parcels to vulnerable communities.
Together with Faircape and Fibre Circle, we launched the Zithande Mzansi Schools Outreach Program, bringing recycling infrastructure and environmental education to 21 primary schools.
SIGs supported Recycle First through the provision of a baling machine to help improve carton collection and create fair employment opportunities for waste collectors.

Egypt

A significant milestone was reached in Egypt with the successful pulping of 205 tons of SIG beverage cartons at the Carta Misr paper mill – the highest amount recycled in the country so far. Enabled by Plastic Bank’s collection efforts, this trial will be followed by further testing to demonstrate the benefits of virgin fiber in paper manufacturing. Additionally, 630 kg of PolyAl waste was repurposed into durable interlock tiles by TileGreen, showcasing the potential of circular innovation to reduce emissions and landfill waste.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The SIG Dubai office launched a recycling Initiative featuring dedicated bins for used beverage cartons across the site. In partnership with REE, the UAE’s first household carton collection service was introduced through the REE app, allowing residents to recycle directly from home. Supported by Recycling Ambassadors, the initiative is being promoted as a simple and impactful way for individuals to contribute to a more sustainable future.

A large group of adults and children posing outdoors with a donation banner (photo)

Two women smiling at a community event with stacked supplies in the background (photo)

A blue recycling box filled with beverage cartons (photo)

Further measures

Communities are an integral part of the planning and outcomes of our other regenerative packaging commitments and actions:

All aspects of the Nature+ strategy also improve lives and livelihoods of communities, through actions such as restoring and protecting natural habitats and certified sourcing.
Collection and recycling targets in Resource+ incorporate community programs and deliver positive outcomes for people and the planet.
We continue to positively influence our waste and recycling partners by extending our streamlined human rights due diligence approach.
Our Food+ ambition to enable access to safe, sustainable and affordable nutrition supports communities as a whole and directly through the SIG Incubator and MISTA programs.
Our Supplier Responsible Sourcing Directives helps to protect communities across our supply chain.

SIG’s partnership with WWF goes beyond protecting, improved management and forest landscape restoration – it helps safeguard the lives and livelihoods of communities who depend on them. To understand more about the partnership please see Nature+: Support thriving forests.

In Mexico, improved forest landscape management and restoration aim to connect key jaguar habitats and preserve biodiversity, supporting ecotourism and cultural values for local communities. Securing income for communities is essential to ensuring wildlife can thrive.
In Malaysia, the improved management of Ulu Muda Forest supports the livelihoods of over 4,900 villagers by ensuring drinking water security, economic opportunities and water supply for one of the country’s most important rice production areas downstream. The project also empowers communities to be actors in the conservation of Ulu Muda.
In Thailand, engaging local communities in community forestry, agroforestry, forest restoration and protected area management provides new livelihood opportunities and secures vital resources, while preserving biodiversity.

Assessing effectiveness

Overall, community engagement programs run by employees achieved a total impact score of 17,946 during 2025.

We contributed €225 thousand in grants in 2025 to support the work of the SIG Foundation, including its flagship Cartons for Good initiative and Recycle for Good initiative.

SIG’s community contributions 2025 (Graphic)

A man unloading stacked panels from a truck (photo)

Our targets and performance

2020 to 2025 targets and performance

Target

Material topics

Progress tracker

2025 performance

Next steps

Increase the impact¹ of community engagement programs by 50% (from 2020)

The target of increasing impact by 50% from the 2020 baseline was exceeded in 2024. In 2025, impact levels remained above the 2020 baseline, reflecting a shift from expansion to strengthening existing programs following the successful completion of the target.

We will continue to engage with local communities, including through our SIG Foundation and the Cartons for Good program, and our employee-led Volunteer for Better initiatives.

Create scalable models for the SIG Foundation’s Cartons for Good initiative

In 2025, Cartons for Good transformed 10.7 tons of surplus fruits and vegetables into more than 50,000 nutritious meal packs for underprivileged children, adults with oral health challenges, and people in need. The initiative continues to scale: following successful projects in Bangladesh and Thailand, implementation in Egypt is underway, with additional projects currently in the exploration phase.

The Cartons for Good program continues in our Food+: Help transform the food system commitment with other similar programs, where we can remain flexible to focus on the programs that deliver the best outcomes to help transform the food system.

Scale up and expand our community recycling model by 2025

Our “Recycle for Good” project in Indonesia was expanded to 200 collection points where end consumers, encouraged by an incentive program, can drop off their used packaging throughout Jakarta. Another project in Southeast Asia is in the preparatory phase for 2026.

The community recycling model will continue to be assessed for scalability in line with our Resource+: Recycle at scale commitment.

Impact score is derived through a survey assessment of our employee-led community engagement projects, by the employees and communities involved in them, based on who benefits from each project, the type of impact it has and its potential to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

While we have not set 2030 targets for Communities as it is not a material topic (see Introduction: Our material topics), we will continue creating positive impact through our community initiatives outlined in this section and through our WWF partnership (see Nature+: Support thriving forests).

Outlook

Taking Cartons for Good to the next level

The Cartons for Good initiative has defined the next way forward with a roadmap of transition from the pilot project to Cartons for Good 2.0. 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. The first project is already underway in Thailand, with the next scheduled to launch in Egypt, and additional projects currently in the exploration phase.

Volunteering

Looking ahead, we will focus on ‘volunteering for better’ as the cornerstone of our community engagement. By placing greater emphasis on this program, we will continue to create opportunities that are inclusive, impactful, and sustainable – ensuring that every hour volunteered drives meaningful change.

Annual Report 2025