Sonoco Partners with Rainforest Alliance to Ensure Sustainable Rigid Paperboard Packaging

Sonoco has secured the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood Chain-of-Custody certification at 14 Sonoco paper mills--11 in the United States and three in Canada. SmartWood certification affirms that the mills are using only responsibly harvested wood products from well-managed forests. Chain-of-Custody relates to the path taken by products from the forest or, in the case of recycled materials, from the reclamation site to the consumer. This includes all stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution where progress to the next stage of the supply chain involves an ownership change. For packaging companies like Sonoco, Chain-of-Custody relates to the fibers purchased and used in the paperboard manufacturing process, categorized by pre- and post-consumer sources, and certifies their use in the end product.

SmartWood Chain-of-Custody certification is the first global timber certification program of its kind, and involves a number of independent organizations, including the Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Canadian Standards Association. To earn certification, Sonoco underwent on-site evaluations at each paper mill, completed a certification assessment report and signed a contract. Annual audits are required to maintain certification.

The certification applies to a range of Sonoco-made packaging, including rigid paperboard cans used for many well-known products, including coffee, stacked snack crisps, refrigerated dough, frozen juices, powdered drink mixes, baby formula, nuts, shortening and powdered cleansers.

Sonoco is a long-time adherent to sustainable practices. Each year, the Company reclaims and recycles more than 3.5 million tons of paper, old corrugated containers, metals and plastics. Sonoco uses most of the reclaimed and recycled paperboard in its own consumer and industrial packaging products.

Derek Trader, account manager for Sonoco Consumer Packaging, says the Company is pleased to advance its sustainability practices through efforts like the partnership with the Rainforest Alliance. "Sonoco maintains a long-term commitment to the environmental practices of reducing, reusing and recycling; many of our packages are the result of using technology to create high-performance 'green' packages. By adopting sustainable forestry chain-of-command programs at our paper mills, we're able to supply the world with even 'greener' packages that meet customer requirements and allow consumers to do their part in promoting sustainability."

About Sonoco

Founded in 1899, Sonoco (NYSE: SON | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) is a $4.0 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with 334 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. For more information on the Company, visit our website at http://www.sonoco.com/.

About Rainforest Alliance

Based in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance began in 1986 and works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, we involve businesses and consumers worldwide in our efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is growing steadily.

SOURCE: Sonoco

Sonoco Robin Montgomery, 843-383-7509 robin.montgomery@sonoco.com