23 Sept 2021. DS Smith has embedded its pioneering Circular Design Metrics across all its packaging sites to support the transition to the circular economy and help customers achieve their sustainability goals, the company announced today.

In an industry first, the global packaging company can now measure and quantify the sustainability performance of each of its packaging designs across eight key different indicators: carbon footprint, design for reuse, supply chain optimized, recyclable, planet safe, material utilisation, renewable source and recycled content.

DS Smith is the only packaging producer to offer this unique tool which gives its customers across a wide range of sectors such as FMCG, industrial, retail and e-commerce a clear view of their packaging designs circularity performance.

As more than 80% of a product’s environmental impact are made at the design stage, data from the Circular Design Metrics enables brands and retailers to compare different design solutions, helping them to reduce waste and pollution and keep materials and products in use for longer.

Chris Else, Head of Design, Packaging Division at DS Smith, said: “Design is one of the essential elements of the Circular Economy and our unique Circular Design Metrics have a critical role to play in the collaborative design process with our customers.

“By employing these metrics, our customers can easily compare different design solutions and rate their circularity so they can use the products that best support their sustainability targets.

“We are proud to support our customers in their transition to the circular economy to create a better and more sustainable future for generations to come.”

The rollout of the Circular Design Metrics follows the launch of the Circular Design Principles last year which were developed in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. All of DS Smith’s 700 designers have been trained on how to apply the principles to design packaging solutions fit for the Circular Economy.

The Circular Economy is at the heart of DS Smith’s Now and Next strategy, focusing on closing the loop through better design, protecting natural resources by making the most of every fibre through circular solutions and equipping people to lead the transition to a circular economy. By 2023, DS Smith will manufacture 100% reusable or recyclable packaging and its aim is that by 2030, all its packaging will be recycled or reused.