Better Health for All

The company's principal goods, paper-based packaging, are generally health-neutral, though its food contact packaging is rigorously tested and compliant with regulatory standards to ensure safety, hygiene, and consumer confidence.

Smurfit WestRock has incurred over $6.4 million in penalties for 94 environmental violations since 2000, including air and water pollution, with recent violations in 2024 ($32,000 for air pollution) and 2023 ($32,000 for an environmental violation). Despite these ongoing issues, the company implements mitigation efforts such as global emissions monitoring, operating within permit limits, a Net Zero Transition Plan, and a climate scenario analysis project commenced in 2024. The company demonstrates industry-leading risk transparency by publishing a comprehensive 2024 Sustainability Report, which includes GRI, SASB, and TCFD indices, and by making its 2024 Global Health and Safety policy publicly available on its corporate website. For mental health, the company supports mental health through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all employees, designed to support psychological wellbeing, and its foundation supports external organizations focusing on children's health and therapeutic support.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Smurfit WestRock plc operates in the packaging and containers industry and does not directly engage in financial services or offer consumer credit products.

Consequently, all KPIs related to financial services, lending, fees, and customer financial outcomes are not applicable to its core business model. While the company demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and community engagement, the provided evidence does not offer specific data points on financial inclusion initiatives or profit reinvestment in community finance.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The company's global Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) was 0.58 in 2024, with a lost time incident rate of 0.27.

Its Mebane Plant in North Carolina received a Gold Award in July 2024 for no recordable, lost time, or restricted duty cases in 2023, and over 150 North American manufacturing sites reported no life-changing events or recordable injuries in 2024. As of December 31, 2024, approximately 42.6% of the global workforce was covered by collective bargaining agreements, based on 54% of U.S. hourly employees and 60% of European employees. The company experienced no work stoppages during 2024. In fiscal year 2023, the CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 149:1. The company's compensation policy mandates paying above minimum wage in all 40 countries and adheres to a 'same job, same pay' principle. In May 2024, workers at WestRock's Westport facility received a two-year pay increase of up to 10.2%, with a 7.2% hike for the lowest-paid workers in the first year. Smurfit WestRock earned a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index in January 2025 for LGBTQ+ inclusion. However, an investigation for potential WARN Act violations is underway regarding a mass layoff of around 200 employees at the Forney, Texas facility. Additionally, workers at Smurfit Kappa Peru began a lawful indefinite strike in September 2024, demanding a living wage.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Smurfit WestRock demonstrates a strong commitment to ethical sourcing and fair trade practices, integrating seven key pillars into its sourcing program.

The company expects suppliers to uphold global human rights and labor standards, referencing ILO and UN conventions. To combat modern slavery, it conducts regular audits and has implemented a 'New Supplier' onboarding platform ensuring 100% compliance in ethical assessments for new suppliers. Smurfit WestRock adheres to FSC Chain of Custody standards, with its FSC-certified sites complying with core labor requirements, including prohibitions against child labor, forced labor, and discrimination, and respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining. The company has also been recognized for sustainable and innovative packaging designs, such as its collaboration with PepsiCo for recyclable paperboard packaging and the introduction of an all-paper stretch wrap for pallet transportation in 2023.

Honest & Fair Business

Smurfit WestRock has comprehensive anti-corruption policies that explicitly prohibit bribery and enforce compliance with laws such as the FCPA and U.K. Bribery Act.

The company maintains a strict anti-bribery posture and provides comprehensive reporting on its anti-corruption efforts. While the company demonstrates commitments to corporate integrity, it has faced historical compliance challenges, including a $92.5 million fine in 2004 for price-fixing and a €124 million fine in 2019 from the Italian Competition Authority for alleged anti-competitive activities.

Kind to Animals

Smurfit WestRock's Colombia Foundation supports the 'Conservamos La Vida' alliance, which protects 432 hectares of habitat and plants 24,700 tree seedlings to conserve the endangered Andean bear.

The company manages 67,000 hectares of FSC-certified forests in Colombia, with approximately one-third (22,333 hectares) being natural forest that supports biodiversity conservation, and tracks biodiversity inventories. Smurfit Kappa, part of Smurfit WestRock, has a 95.5% Chain of Custody certification, which contributes to protecting wildlife habitats through responsible raw material sourcing. The company partnered with WWF Colombia to enhance forestry conservation and restore habitats. Smurfit Kappa also adopted the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations, demonstrating a commitment to nature preservation and biodiversity.

No War, No Weapons

Smurfit WestRock plc has no involvement in military contracts or arms manufacturing, primarily serving civilian markets.

In April 2022, the company decided to withdraw from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, affecting less than 1% of its sales, and suspended support for its Russian operations. The Smurfit WestRock Foundation donated €200,000 to the Irish Red Cross and €200,000 to the Polish Medical Mission for humanitarian aid to Ukrainians. The company's total revenue is $12.8 billion, making the €400,000 donation less than 0.01% of revenue.

Planet-Friendly Business

Smurfit Kappa's Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in January 2022, aligning them with a well below 2°C pathway.

The company sources 61% of its energy from renewable biomass.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Smurfit WestRock has established 23 formal partnerships with local community groups, including 7 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Eve's Place, Atlanta Legal Aid, and Los Niños Primero.

, The company provides a 'Speak Up Service' for reporting concerns, with contact information posted at each facility and on the intranet, and offers native language speakers for non-English callers. In 2023, 80.4% of U.S. salaried colleagues completed 'Leading Inclusively' training. The company provided 240,000 tonnes of excess soil from its Mold facility expansion to aid the creation of a Roman fort and community amenities. However, in Colombia, indigenous and campesino communities are actively resisting Smurfit Westrock's operations, accusing the company of cultural impact and land occupation, and stating they have exhausted other avenues that have not yielded results. ,

Safe & Smart Tech

Smurfit WestRock's Security Concepts division holds an ISO 27001 certification, indicating a focus on information security within that limited scope.

The company provides cybersecurity awareness training to employees with access to company email or devices at least annually. No documented incidents of unauthorized data use are reported. The company offers comprehensive user privacy controls, including rights to access, correct, delete, and opt-out of data sale/sharing, and processes Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals in a frictionless manner. Smurfit WestRock explicitly states compliance with privacy and data protection laws such as GDPR and references compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) , and mitigates risks associated with data breaches and non-compliance effectively.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Smurfit WestRock has achieved a 35.8% reduction of waste sent to landfill, making significant progress towards its Better Planet 2050 goals.

The company's Better Planet Packaging initiative focuses on creating renewable, recyclable, and recycled packaging solutions. As part of these efforts, Smurfit WestRock introduced a 100% paper-based pallet wrap, made from Nertop® Stretch Kraft paper, which is fully recyclable and replaces polyethylene wrap. They also collaborated with Nestlé to develop a paper-based tub for Quality Street sweets, reducing virgin plastic usage. Furthermore, the EasySplit Bag-in-Box design was introduced, allowing easy separation of components for over 90% recyclability and meeting EU's PPWR standards.