Membership status: Strategic Partner
DS Smith is an international packaging company and integrated recycling services provider. As Europe’s largest cardboard and paper recycler, operating in 34 countries, it manages over 6 million tonnes of recyclable materials each year and ensures they are kept in the economy. DS Smith joined the Foundation’s Network in 2019 and renewed its Strategic Partnership in 2022.
DS Smith’s Strategic Partnership with the Foundation aims to support innovation in its business model, including projects on packaging design for a circular economy, and improving collection systems in urban areas. A number of the company’s innovations are featured in the Foundation’s Upstream Innovation guide to packaging solutions. DS Smith’s sustainability strategy sets several commitments, including scaling its circular economy efforts to tackle the biodiversity crisis. DS Smith also joined Mondelez for the Foundation’s 2021 Innovation Sprint, exploring possibilities to develop customisable circular packaging solutions for Mondelēz’s co-packaging operations.
“Since becoming a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, DS Smith has shown leadership and inspired others in the areas of circular design, circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. measurement, and learning. We are pleased to work with DS Smith as one of our Strategic Partners as the company continues its circular economy journey, raising both its ambition and action levels as it brings circular economy solutions to the market.”
- Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
“Our business model is centred on the circular economy, so this Strategic Partnership is extremely important in developing our products and services further. Our employees are proud of the efforts we make in their communities and our strong focus on sustainability. However, I believe we can go further to innovate and scale the circular economy.”
- Miles Roberts, CEO, DS Smith
The circular economy in action at DS Smith: Circular design
DS Smith has embedded the circular economy in its core training programmes, training over 700 of its designers and innovators in circular design methods. It has developed Circular Design Principles , enabling designers to consider different stages of a product's lifecycle — including creation, maintenance, and recovery. The five Circular Design Principles are:
Protect brands and products: Develop packaging that protects products, the resources invested, and people
Optimise materials and structure: Do not use more materials than necessary
Maintain and recover materials: Focusing on the quality, durabilitydurabilityThe ability of a product, component or material to remain functional and relevant when used as intended., and recyclabilityrecyclabilityThe ease with which a material can be recycled in practice and at scale. of materials, and looking beyond the product's primary function by designing for reusereuseThe repeated use of a product or component for its intended purpose without significant modification. and recycling
Maximise supply efficiencies: An end-to-end approach to optimisation throughout the supply chain to create cost and carbon savings
We find a better way: Embodying the company's values to tackle challenges and innovate to create solutions for its customers
The introduction of the Circular Design Metrics tool has enabled the company's designers and customers to rate and compare the circularity of packaging designs across eight different indicators.
DS Smith has also brought its design focus to the Foundation’s Circular Design Leaders group, helping to shape the crucial role of design in the circular economy and inspiring action from others, and contributed to the development of the Foundation’s circular economy performance measurement tool, Circultyics.
