Greif Outlines Progress Toward ESG Goals in Sustainability Report

Delaware, Ohio-based Greif recounted how it is aligning with targeted environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in its new sustainability report.

The industrial packaging company manufactures steel, plastic and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, containerboard, uncoated recycled paperboard, coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores and other specialty products. 

Ole Rosgaard, Greif's president and CEO, said in a statement that "protecting our future is one of the four key missions of Greif's Build to Last strategy. Sustainability is a critical component to this journey, and we made substantial progress in 2021 towards our vision for a sustainable future at Greif,"

With more than $5.56 billion in net sales, the manufacturer generates $5.56 billion in net sales.annualy with aproximately 244 production, warehouse and office locations across the globe. Greif operates in more than 40 countries and has a workforce of nearly 16,000.

Focus areas in the report include a dive into what the company called "The Greif Way:" delivering superior customer service; reducing our footprint; addressing risk; valuing our people; advancing the circular economy; financial performance and profitable growth.

To date, Greif has diverted more than 90 percent of waste from landfill at 149 of its facilities, with 50 of those cites reaching a Zero Waste to Landfill goal. The report also identifies circular measures and sustainable outcomes in its 2021 Materiality Assessment.

"In 2021, we at Greif continued on our journey to make remarkable progress toward our sustainability goals and initiatives. We advanced our strategic priorities: cultivating an engaged workforce, providing industry-leading customer service and striving for performance excellence, while navigating and overcoming significant external challenges," stated Peter Watson, executive chairman of the board of directors.

In the area of diversity, equity and inclusions, Watson said that Greif employees are "engaged and valued" with the expansion of company resource groups that advocate personal and career development as well as inclusivity. 

Results from the company's 2021 Climate Change Workshop also are examined. The event identified opportunities to further add to Greif's ESG goals through the use of workforce measures and key partnerships to place the company as a leader in sustainability efforts.

The company recently announced a target of reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse emissions by 28 percent by 2030. Managers and those throughout the organization who participated in the workshop discussed risks and measures for Greif to take.

"This workshop—a first for Greif—culminated in the identification of key climate-related risks and opportunities to the business which will be further shared and considered in our enterprise strategy in the year ahead," Watson said. "Findings from the workshops were presented to the CEO, CFO and General Counsel. The Executive Leadership Team will determine how we integrate these risks into our Enterprise Risk Management Process and our business strategies in 2022."

Transparency is crucial for the manufacturer as it works to bolster its ESG strategy. 

"This year, we strengthened our ESG strategy governance structure by implementing quarterly ESG steering committee reviews and integrating ESG data, measurement and tracking into the Greif Business System, capital approval process and enterprise scorecard," he said. "Beginning in 2022, we will include ESG data in monthly performance reviews with our Leadership Council."