Smurfit Westrock has introduced new 2030 sustainability goals in its first report covering the integrated company, following Smurfit Kappa’s acquisition of WestRock in July 2024.
The report covers the 2025 calendar year and brings the combined business under one sustainability framework.
After the transaction closed, Smurfit Westrock conducted a materiality assessment to identify the most relevant sustainability topics for the merged company. The report lists 11 topics, including climate change, water, circular economy, biodiversity and sustainable forestry, transparency and compliance.
The newly announced 2030 targets use a 2019 baseline. Smurfit Westrock aims to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions across operations by 28% and reduce waste sent to landfill from mills by 24%.
The company said more targets may follow and is exploring whether to seek science-based approval for its targets. It is also reviewing a scope 3 target as part of its approach to alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative.
The company’s prior sustainability reporting covered WestRock and Smurfit Kappa separately. Smurfit Kappa previously had a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, while WestRock had aimed to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 27.5% from fiscal years 2019 to 2030.
The new report presents the combined company’s baseline and goals as part of the integration process.
In 2025, Smurfit Westrock reported scope 1 and 2 emissions of 10,813 metric kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent across all operations. Paper mills accounted for 9,528 metric kilotons.
Scope 3 emissions totaled 11,499 metric kilotons. The report describes scope 3 reporting as an iterative process and says the company is working to improve consistency in that data.
Four sites in France completed decarbonization upgrades and achieved net-zero emissions last year, according to the report.
Measures included moving to 100% renewable electricity, replacing fuel-powered forklifts with fully electric models and replacing older gas and fuel oil boilers with systems involving high-efficiency heat pumps. Those efforts are expected to reduce emissions by about 300 metric tons of CO2e annually.
Additional decarbonization projects planned from this year through 2030 include shifting two North American paper mills to use natural gas to offset coal and electrifying a European recycled paper mill.
In 2025, biofuels represented 55% of the fuel Smurfit Westrock directly used in its operations. Natural gas accounted for 36%, while other fossil fuels represented 5%.
The report also details the company’s raw-material profile. Recycled fiber represented 55% of the raw materials consumed by Smurfit Westrock paper mills in 2025, while virgin fiber made up 45%.
The company said its 70 recovered paper depots supplied an estimated 13.1 million tons as feedstock.
Waste remains another focus area. In 2025, paper mills sent 1.5 million metric tons of waste to landfill and 1.7 million metric tons for recycling.
Hazardous waste totaled 45,000 metric tons, equal to 1.4% of total mill waste globally.
The company described non-hazardous mill waste sent to landfill as the starting point for its waste reduction efforts.