SONOCO
PACKAGING WITH A PURPOSE
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SONOCO
Sonoco brings more to packaging than the physical wrapping. The company’s integrated solutions help define brand personalities, create unique customer experiences, and enhance the quality of products for people around the world. Hannah Barnett spoke to VP Global Environmental, Sustainability, & Technical Services Elizabeth Rhue and VP & General Manager, Paper & Fiber Supply, US/CAN, Palace Stepps to find out more.
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S
onoco was established 125 years ago
industrial and healthcare ranges, plus
in Hartsville, South Carolina, with 12
the Thermosafe division includes reusable
employees and one vision.
packaging, giving the company recyclable
“The company is rooted in small town
USA,” said Elizabeth Rhue, VP Global,
and reusable offerings. In 2022, the company further expanded its
Environmental, Sustainability, & Technical
portfolio to include metal food and aerosol
Services. “Our CEO, Howard Coker, is fifth
cans – an acquisition that increased annual
generation to the founder, who, in 1899,
revenue to $7.3 billion. Sonoco now employs
wanted to build a company focused
20,000 employees across 34 countries.
on innovation. “Sustainability has always been at our
Recycling with robots
core; we’ve been using recycled fiber in
One of Sonoco’s most innovative recent
our paper based products for well over
projects has been a partnership with AMP
100 years. We like to say we were sustain-
Robotics, which uses AI to sort, identify,
able before it was cool.”
and recover recyclable items. The robots
Indeed, producing paper cones instead
are programmed to identify different
of wooden ones for the textile industry
Sonoco products and ensure they are
was a significant early innovation for
properly sorted.
the company. Sonoco later expanded
“Essentially, any AMP robot in a Material
beyond paper into plastics and flexible
Recovery Facility (MRF) across the globe
packaging. This is in addition to the
could be programmed to recognize a par-
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SONOCO
I PROFILE
ticular packaging format,” said Ms. Rhue,
when establishing what is recyclable, too.
“so we can increase the likelihood that
“Sometimes we have consumers who are
packaging is properly recycled. It’s been
well – meaning and want to maximize
a great project for us, because it’s allowed
what they recycle, but don’t understand
us to open up the avenue of sortation for
some of the difficulties,” said Mr. Stepps.
particular packaging formats,” added
“For instance, the plastic cord from
Palace Stepps, VP & General Manager,
Christmas tree lights: that can wrap
Paper & Fiber Supply, US/CAN, who heads
around rotating equipment in our process,
up the recycling teams. “Generally, we
which can cause us to have to stop our pro-
focus on containers with the robots;
duction line.”
things that may be valuable or a little bit different in terms of shape, size, or mate-
Sustainable on all fronts
rial,” he explained. “The robotic neural
Sonoco has also recently increased its
network is clever and can focus on spe-
focus on paper based flexible packaging.
cific products, even if they’re discolored
This has meant developing a structure
or disfigured. The AMP robot is much
that maintains the appropriate shelf life
better than other sorting equipment at
and functionality of a product, but is made
identifying those materials.”
primarily out of paper, and can be recycled
One of the main challenges comes when sorting packaging that is made of mul-
in a kerbside recycling stream. “We also have several initiatives on the
tiple materials. Education remains an
plastic side of our business,” Ms. Rhue
important tool in the wider community
added, “increasing the use of recycled
30 Inside america
content in our rigid plastic containers,
vert them to biogas or other lower emis-
minimizing the use of virgin plastics and
sion fuels.” Sonoco won an award
ensuring that we’re improving the sorta-
through American Forest & Paper
bility of containers at the MRF. For
Association (AF&PA) in 2023 for Sonoco’s
example, we are using NIR detectable
project to convert methane gas from its
black colorants in our rigid plastic trays.”
anaerobic digester into renewable nat-
The company also has several worldwide initiatives to reduce emissions via solar
ural gas. Something that sets the company apart
projects at some of its facilities. In 2023,
is that it is highly self-sufficient. Running
it broke ground on two PV installations –
its own recycling facilities – in the U.S.
one in Texas, the other at corporate
and around the world – has allowed
headquarters in South Carolina.
Sonoco to become one of the largest
“We also continue to work on projects
recyclers in North America.
that drive energy efficiency in our facili-
This provides a usefully thorough, (and
ties,” said Ms. Rhue. “We are looking at
somewhat rare), cradle to grave aware-
boilers across our network, making sure
ness of sustainability. “We have a real
that they’re efficient and at ways to con-
understanding of how a packaging design
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SONOCO
I PROFILE
Sonoco’s 2030 Commitments •
25% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
•
Reduce Scope 3 emissions in line with 2° Absolute Contraction Approach.
•
Reduce energy use by 8% at plants. Conduct water risk studies at sites by 2024.
•
Implement Operation Clean Sweep by 2025.
can impact the ability of that package to be recycled at end of life,” Ms. Rhue
sufficiency comes into play again, too. “One of the secrets to Sonoco’s success
explained: “and I think that gives us
is that we own a lot of the supply chain,”
a unique advantage that many of our
Mr. Stepps added, “and we are vertically
competitors do not have.”
integrated, meaning the recycling side feeds fibers into our paper business. I’m
Proactive partnerships
also responsible for adhesives; we supply
Like any effective global company, (espe-
our own adhesives, as well as our own
cially one operating on the scale that
paper and a host of other things across
Sonoco does), a strong relationship with
the integrated supply chain. Managing
suppliers is crucial. As Ms. Rhue explained:
the upstream materials means we can
“Our suppliers are a large part of our suc-
control the cost, and the availability to
cess. We ensure that they have a clear
some extent, and run our operations
understanding of our goals, objectives,
much more efficiently, as a result.”
and expectations, and we hold them
Looking ahead, Sonoco will continue to
accountable for bringing solutions to us
grow sustainably, though, according to
that correspond.”
Ms. Rhue that is not a proposition without
The company has also sustained long –
its own challenges: “There are questions
term relationships with suppliers, navi-
like: ‘How do we raise production and
gating difficult periods such as the Covid
bring in new business without increasing
pandemic: though the company’s self-
our environmental footprint?’ And we
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Elizabeth Rhue VP Global, Environmental, Sustainability, & Technical Services
Palace Stepps VP & General Manager, Paper & Fiber Supply, US/CAN
know we are a pretty energy intensive industry in terms of paper making. In some cases, the technology doesn’t exist yet to help us drive the emissions to the level that we would want.” Ms. Rhue, who started her career at
Sonoco continues to stay ahead of
Sonoco as an R&D engineer working on
the sustainable curve, growing and
material development and design, has
evolving; something the company has
found the move into sustainability a ful-
always done. “We continue to reinvent
filling one, strengthened by her strong
ourselves,” Mr. Stepps concluded. “That’s
product knowledge. “The opportunity to
one of the things that attracted me to
mix business strategy with sustainability is
Sonoco from the start. As the demands
that sweet spot for me,” she said. “Whether
of the consumers who use our packaging
it’s a new package innovation, or a project
change, we keep innovating and growing
at one of our facilities, anything that helps
into different packaging platforms. We
to drive both a good business and a good
are a large, but highly nimble, focused,
environmental outcome is very fulfilling.”
and growing company.”
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