Smurfit Kappa's global community of employees comes together to support World Cleanup Day

Over 8,000 employees from Smurfit Kappa came together to take part in World Cleanup Day activities last Saturday (21st September). The volunteers, who came from all parts of the business, joined with family and friends to clean designated areas in 28 countries across Europe and the Americas. 

As part of a global effort, and in line with its Better Planet Packaging initiative, the Smurfit Kappa Group encouraged employees across the world to support the event in their local communities. Over 10,000 bags and boxes of litter were collected from a diverse range of locations including beaches, rivers, parks, streets and woodlands.

Smurfit Kappa’s Better Planet Packaging initiative seeks to reduce packaging waste and address the challenges of waste and litter that ends up in oceans and landfill across the globe. 

Some of the more unusual items found on the day included a wig, a doll’s head, a message in a bottle and a passport.

Smurfit Kappa Group CEO Tony Smurfit, who took part in the Dublin event, said: “A healthy and clean environment is vital for us all and I’m very proud of Smurfit Kappa’s involvement in this important day.

“Sustainability is at the core of Smurfit Kappa’s business. As industry leaders, we have a responsibility to address the serious environmental challenges facing us today and I believe our global participation in World Cleanup Day further demonstrates our commitment to help make packaging waste extinct.”

Smurfit Kappa employees, their family members and friends devoted almost 20,000 hours to World Cleanup Day activities last weekend.

An estimated 10 million tonnes of litter ends up in the world’s oceans and seas each year. Since 2008, over 20 million people have taken part in World Cleanup Day initiatives across 157 countries including all levels of society from citizens, business and government.