| Invested through / Financed by |
|
|---|---|
| Asset class | Listed equity |
| Impact strategy | Impact Equities and Bonds |
| Sector | Manufacturing |
| ISIN code | GB0008220112 |
| Industry group | Materials |
| Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) |
DS Smith is an international packaging company offering sustainable packaging solutions, paper products and recycling services. The packaging solutions division offers packaging for consumer products, e-commerce, promotion, transit, and industrial packaging. The company’s paper products division manufactures corrugated case material, which is the paper used for conversion into corrugated board. Finally, the recycling services division provides full recycling and waste management services, ranging from simple recycling collections through to full recycling and waste management solutions. The packaging customer base is mainly fast-moving consumer goods and food, with other consumer products. The recycling customers range from small and medium-sized enterprises to large scale manufacturers, wholesalers, printers, and some of Europe’s best-known retail brands. The company has operations in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central Europe, Italy, North America, Germany, and Switzerland. The company was formerly known as David S. Smith (Holdings) and changed its name to DS Smith in 2001. DS Smith was founded in 1940, has around 29,400 employees and is headquartered in London, UK.
Investment rationale
The growth in digital technology has revolutionised the way people buy products, which increasingly occurs online and requires products to be packaged and delivered. At the same time, consumers are growing conscious about the environmental impact of their lifestyles and increasingly demand companies to reduce the environmental impact of their activities and products.
DS Smith’s core business is the manufacturing of corrugated packaging that is largely made of recycled material, which contributes to the global sustainability challenge of resource scarcity. In addition, the company manufactures paper packaging and provides recycling services. With its packaging products the company can improve transport and storage efficiency, boost retail presentation and increase product sales for its customers. With its recycling services, the company contributes to the sustainable development goal of optimising material use by encouraging the reuse of materials and a mindset shift from supply chain to supply cycle. Furthermore, the company aims to manufacture 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025.