DS Smith : German Forest

DS Smith in Germany supports a charitable organisation for Christmas instead of giving customers presents. This year's donation of 10,000 euros goes to the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (SDW) and its nationwide educational project. As part of an interactive rally, school classes discover forest products and learn how sustainable consumption can protect forest resources worldwide. Half of the donation is funded by the DS Smith Charitable Foundation.

Picture source: SDW

As one of the leading manufacturers of sustainable packaging solutions made of corrugated cardboard, DS Smith wants to drive the transition from linear to circular economy. A key part of the transformation is to educate the next generation.

In our sustainability strategy, called "Now. And Next.", we have set ourselves the goal of engaging five million young people in the circular economy by 2030 and inspiring them to adopt a sustainable and circular lifestyle

- Uwe Väth, Managing Director Germany and Switzerland at DS Smith.

The rally is an official project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The SDW forest educators are on the road at schools all over Germany. As part of the programme, children and young people in grades 3 to 7 deal with different questions such as what football, toilet paper and chocolate have to do with the forest. From which continents do the forest raw materials in our everyday products originate and, above all, how does the consumers behaviour affect the climate and the environment? Playfully, the pupils learn to see their own actions in a larger context. Complex interrelationships such as the global transport of forest products, consumer behaviour and sustainable forest use are vividly worked out. They learn how important the worldwide protection of the forest is for the climate and receive impulses on how they can effectively contribute to the protection of the environment and the reduction of greenhouse gases with their lifestyle.

Living our purpose of 'redefining packaging for a changing world', climate protection and the responsible use of natural resources are also the focus of our business model at DS Smith. Based on our circular design principles, we partner with customers to create innovative, recyclable packaging solutions made of corrugated board.

Furthermore, DS Smith has been involved in ecological and social projects for years. For us, being sustainable also means taking social responsibility in the country where we operate. Thus, this summer, when fast and unbureaucratic help was needed during the devastating flood disaster in Germany, DS Smith Germany supported the people in the heavily affected district of Ahrweiler with emergency aid of 10,000 euros.