Newsweek lists Sonoco among top 100 greenest companies

HARTSVILLE — Sonoco has been ranked as one of the 100 greenest large companies in the United States in Newsweek’s inaugural Green Rankings, which evaluated the country’s 500 largest companies on their environmental performance, green policies and reputation.

Sonoco was listed 94th in the rankings, according to a press release issued by the Company.

Leading environmental researchers KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com worked with Newsweek for more than a year to develop the list and rankings. To help level the playing field for companies in carbon-intensive businesses, more than half of each company’s Green Score was based on its environmental policies and reputation. The 500 companies included in the rankings are the largest U.S. companies as measured by revenue, market capitalization and number of employees.

“When you look at the companies that made the top 100 and consider the in-depth research that was done in compiling the rankings, we’re extremely proud to be recognized,” Harris E. DeLoach Jr., Sonoco chairman, president and CEO, said in the release, noting that Sonoco had the best ranking of any U.S. based packaging company. “It means that our commitment to sustainability is recognized by the best and that is very gratifying for our employees and all of our other stakeholders.”

DeLoach said the recognition in Newsweek’s rankings tops off an exciting week for the company as it pertains to sustainability. Sonoco recently was selected to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI), which tracks global leaders in corporate sustainability.

Sonoco also announced this week that it has launched a new brand, called True Blue,  to serve as an umbrella brand for its sustainable products and services. The company is officially launching True Blue at the Sustainable Packaging Forum in Atlanta.

To qualify for the Sonoco True Blue program, a package must clearly offer an advantage over the package it is intended to replace, either through the use of more sustainable materials or source reduction. A package may also qualify if during the production process it uses less energy, water or raw material, or results in fewer carbon emissions. Any of these improvements should be verifiable via a life-cycle assessment, by third-party certification or through recognition from an independent industry organization.

“For more than a century Sonoco has been engaged in ’green’ initiatives, long before sustainability was considered important. Now, we are taking our efforts to a new level, a True Blue level, with the creation of a brand for our packaging products and recycling services,” said Charles Sullivan, Sonoco’s executive vice president-consumer, said in another company press release.

Founded in 1899 and headquartered in Hartsville, Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a $4.1 billion global manufacturer of consumer and industrial products and provider of packaging services, with about 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. For more information about Sonoco, visit its Web site at http://www.sonoco.com.