Biodiversity and nature
Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life in one area — the animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms. Biodiversity is crucial to support everything in nature we need to survive, like food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.
But the world’s natural ecosystems are declining at unprecedented rates, with wildlife populations down 69% on average since 19701. This is weakening the planet’s ability to provide crucial services, including climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Our business depends on nature and the ecosystem services it provides. Forest-based paper board is the main raw material for our cartons, and the food that customers use our packs to deliver is made from ingredients that come from farmland.
We need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 20301 to preserve the earth for current and future generations. At SIG, we recognize that we have a responsibility to protect essential ecosystems within and beyond our value chain.
How we’re working to protect and restore biodiversity
Delivering regenerative impact for the planet is fundamental to our net positive ambition. We manage biodiversity impacts in our supply chain, and at our operations we assess biodiversity risks by using WWF’s risk filter and the tools from the Science Based Target Network (SBTN).
We are contributing to global goals to reverse biodiversity loss and create positive outcomes for nature through our four interconnected net positive action areas.
Climate+
Our Climate+ strategy targets one of the main impact drivers for biodiversity loss, climate change. This is why we have set science-based Net Zero targets and are committed to rapidly decarbonizing emissions within our operations and value chain.
Forest+
Protecting and restoring forests is vital for safeguarding habitats and tackling biodiversity loss as more than three-quarters of the world’s documented land-based species can be found in forests. Biodiversity is connected to our Forest+ strategy, as we procure 100% of our packaging board with FSC™ certification (FSC™ C020428) and partner with WWF Switzerland to protect and restore forests that offer critical habitats.
Resource+
We manage biodiversity impacts by sourcing paper board and aluminum for our cartons with FSC™ and ASI certification respectively. By fostering recycling, we are helping to prevent littering and any harm to wildlife, particularly in the world’s oceans. This also provides a source of recycled raw materials that in turn relieves pressure on nature from sourcing additional virgin raw materials.
Food+
Reducing food waste is a main component of our Food+ strategy by keeping food safe and nutritious for longer and without the need for refrigeration, and our innovative Cartons for Good project, led by our Foundation, turns food loss into nutritious meals. This can help our customers reduce their climate impacts, pressure on land and resources, and associated impacts on biodiversity.