DS Smith UK manufactures first ever box produced using circular design metrics
Global packaging company is supplying the box to a COP26 initiative that highlights the role of food waste in climate change.
LONDON, UK, Friday 15 October 2021: DS Smith has designed and manufactured the first ever fibre-based solution using its pioneering Circular Design Metrics, to support a COP26 initiative led by Toast Ale that highlights the role of food waste in climate change.
The Companion Series, led by drinks company Toast Ale and in partnership with 25 breweries across the UK and Ireland – including Guinness and Adnams, is a limited-edition collection of beers brewed with surplus bread to prevent food waste. With one third of the world’s food never being eaten, the initiative is working to reduce food waste so that the land and resources used, and greenhouse gases emitted, are not wasted.
There will be 2,600 Companion Series boxes available to purchase today, being manufactured and supplied by leading sustainable fibre-based packaging provider DS Smith. The boxes have been produced using their Circular Design Metrics for the first time, together with DS Smith PACE principles which ensures fit-for-purpose packaging and minimum use of fibre through supply chain optimisation with limited CO2 impact.
Dave Ellerington, Head of Design & Innovation and Business Development at DS Smith Packaging UK & Ireland, said: “Design is one of the essential elements of the Circular Economy and we are thrilled to put our design principles and unique circular design metrics into practice for the first time, in the FMCG industry.
“By employing these metrics, the figures show how well-designed packaging can be pivotal in reducing overall environmental impact, helping companies in a wide range of sectors to reduce waste and pollution, keep materials and products in use for longer and have a clear view of their packaging designs circularity performance to deliver on their sustainability promise."
Adam Platts, Director of Sales, Marketing and Innovation at DS Smith Packaging, UK & Ireland Said:
“We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Toast Ale on its important initiative to reduce food waste, and the partnership is testament to our commitment to supporting the drinks industry with their sustainability targets and accelerating action towards to goals of the Paris agreement and the UN Framework convention on Climate Change.”
The limited-edition Companion Series is available for purchase on Toast’s website from today, with the aim to raise £65,000 for conservation and regenerative agriculture organisation to protect 3.25 million trees in threatened tropical rainforests and sequester 360 tCO2 in agricultural soils.
The rollout of the Circular Design Metrics follows the launch of the Circular Design Principles last year which were developed in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. All of DS Smith’s 700 designers have been trained on how to apply the principles to design packaging solutions fit for the Circular Economy.
About DS Smith:
DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging worldwide, which is supported by recycling and papermaking operations. It plays a central role in the value chain across sectors including e-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and industrials. Through its purpose of ‘Redefining Packaging for a Changing World’ and its Now and Next sustainability strategy, DS Smith is committed to leading the transition to the circular economy, while delivering more circular solutions for its customers and wider society – replacing problem plastics, taking carbon out of supply chains and providing innovative recycling solutions. Its bespoke box-to-box in 14 days model, design capabilities and innovation strategy sit at the heart of this response. Headquartered in London and a member of the FTSE 100, DS Smith operates in 34 countries employing around 30,000 people and is a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Its history can be traced back to the box-making businesses started in the 1940s by the Smith family.