DS Smith has replaced more than one billion pieces of plastic, 16 months in advance of its 2025 target. The company’s target concerned any primary or secondary plastic packaging that has now been reduced or completely removed from customers’ packaging as a direct result of DS Smith’s solution.

The achievement has its roots in a plastic replacement and reduction programme established in 2020 as part of DS Smith’s Now & Next Sustainability Strategy, which supports the business’ Purpose to Redefine Packaging For A Changing World.

The target extends across DS Smith’s operations in twenty-seven countries across Europe and North America, working towards the shared, circular, objective to design out waste and keep materials in use for longer. Romania played a crucial role in this achievement, replacing over 19 million pieces of plastic with fibre-based alternatives.

Christian Schmidt, Managing Director of DS Smith Packaging Romania: “In Romania, the potential for replacing plastics is very high. I’m pleased to discover year on year an increasing openness from customers to explore more sustainable alternatives to their existing packaging solutions. DS Smith’s local Sales, Marketing & Innovation team identified opportunities in the market years ago as true industry pioneers, and have leveraged them into practical design concepts that have convinced customers that the transition to the circular economy is feasible. Now we are celebrating with our customers the success of over 19 million problem plastics replaced so far in Romania. I feel very confident that the future is even more promising!”