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Sonoco's Sustainability Story

Supply Chain

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Supply Chain

We’re a dedicated supply chain partner.

At Sonoco,  we’re proud to be part of the supply chain  for thousands of companies and millions of products. We  take this role seriously and  aim to lead by example, pouring our  energies into the latest sustainability technology and  understanding the  future  desires of our environmentally conscious consumers.

We’re constantly examining how we can help our partners—from sustainable practices to new efficiencies to joint ventures.
Greg Munoz, Vice President of Global Supply Management
Greg Munoz, Vice President of Global Supply Management

Supply Chain Excellence

Partnering with the Top Suppliers in Sustainability

Sonoco’s supply chain team is dedicated to ensuring all sourcing processes operate in accordance with our Environmental Policy Standards and our overall corporate commitments. We’re sensitive to environmental issues throughout our business systems, including our selection of materials, processes and products. With this focus in mind, we pay special care and attention to sustainability-related issues within our Supplier Code of Conduct and ask every supplier to report on similar metrics.

Environmental Awareness

“Sonoco expects its suppliers to develop sourcing methods, goals and reporting for, and to make efforts to control and reduce, key sustainability metrics including greenhouse gases (GHGs), water and energy consumption, solid waste, volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) production.

Suppliers shall demonstrate leadership in mindful use of plastics while increasing the recyclability of packaging material supplied.

Suppliers shall also contribute to recyclable product collection, sorting and solutions to mitigate plastics and/or other products ending up in landfill or as litter.

All suppliers shall make commercially reasonable efforts to pursue these objectives and cooperate reasonably with Sonoco’s efforts in this respect.”

-From Sonoco’s Supplier Code of Conduct

Supplier Sustainability Awards

Each year, Sonoco encourages our key supplier partners to participate and self-nominate for the prestigious Supplier Sustainability Awards. Our team considers and reviews each submission for three sustainability categories: social, environmental and economic. We award based on leadership in these categories and choose an Overall Top Sustainable Supplier.

In 2022, we had a record number of suppliers respond, increasing the competition from prior years. This is evidence of our suppliers’ commitment to continuous sustainability improvement within your enterprise and shows strong alignment with Sonoco and our values.

Our 2022 Award Winners:

Interested in Being a Supply Chain Partner?

We value connecting with partners who share our passion for integrating more sustainable choices throughout all company products and practices. To learn more about expectations for doing business with Sonoco, read our policies on a range of topics such as environmental standards, conflict minerals, human rights and diversity initiatives. Let’s better our world together!

Doing Business with Sonoco

Scroll to Explore How Sonoco’s Products Can Help Your Supply Chain Footprint

Temperature Assurance boxes being loaded into a plane's cargo hold

Reusable Temperature Control from Sonoco Thermosafe®

Meet ThermoSafe—the global leader in the full range of temperature-controlled packaging for life sciences, healthcare and other industries. We wrap our innovative cold chain solutions in intelligent service, assuring safe, efficient transport of pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and other temperature-sensitive products. From cold shipping boxes to design and thermal testing, we make your job easier.

Orion r reusable box

Orion r® Parcel Rentals

Save Resources with a Long-Duration Packaging System

Orion r® Parcel Rentals

Save Resources with a Long-Duration Packaging System

Sometimes the supply chain benefits of a rental packaging program are better fit for the job at hand than a single-use packaging system. Rentals operate within a closed loop system comprised of network stations and global distribution partners that actively manage the continuous supply of readily available rental boxes. The supply originates from a pooled fleet which eliminates the lag time often experienced in sourcing single-use materials. Most importantly, rental programs offer significant sustainability advantages in reduced landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Get Ready to Rent
EOS Temperature-Controlled Packaging

EOS® Temperature-Controlled Packaging

Expertly Insulated and Easily Recycled

EOS® Temperature-Controlled Packaging

Expertly Insulated and Easily Recycled

Sonoco ThermoSafe®'s EOS® line gives clients in the life sciences and perishable products industries a truly curbside recyclable system. The insulated shipper maintains a 2°C to 8°C range, and once your products are securely placed, the entire knock-down package can be put in an ordinary recycling bin. EOS packaging is fully tested and certified to OCC-E standards and ISTA 7E. Made from 100% post-industrial, pre-consumer paper fiber, the EOS line is a promising vision of the circular economy inside Sonoco.
Cool Down With EOS
Pegasus ULD air freight container

Pegasus ULD®

A Brand New Class of Reusable Air Freight Container for Life Sciences

Pegasus ULD®

A Brand New Class of Reusable Air Freight Container for Life Sciences

The Pegasus ULD is the only Temperature Controlled Container (TCC) that uses passive technology to maintain 2-8C for global air freight shipments of healthcare products. The Pegasus ULD is made of innovative composite materials that are lighter than traditional metal ULDs, reducing carbon footprint on each shipment. This advanced passive container is engineered to be re-used over many years, drastically cutting down on landfill of single-use pallet shippers.
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FlatStack® Paperboard Sheets

FlatStack® Paperboard Sheets

Saving You Money While Reducing Your Impact on the Planet

Choosing Sonoco’s FlatStack® Paperboard Sheets results in a minimum 15% material cost savings and a 50% lower inbound freight cost when compared to traditional corrugate sheets. But, these paperboard sheets aren’t just a cost-effective solution for tier and tie sheets. They’re a sustainable choice as well.

FlatStack sheets are made from 100% recycled fibers and are fully recyclable. They offer a minimum of 5x more sheets per pallet than corrugated sheets, meaning five fewer trucks on the road per truckload of FlatStack sheets.

The FlatStack Advantage

Get Started on Your Solution

We think about the future of packaging and how it impacts our planet. We work every day to make better products.

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