Garrett Quinn has spent more than two decades in the packaging industry, watching sustainability shift from a peripheral concern to a central business driver.

He joined the company in 2000 and now leads sustainability, branding and communications as Chief Sustainability Officer.

Smurfit Westrock is one of the world’s largest producers of paper-based packaging, supplying industries ranging from retail to e-commerce. Its products are designed to replace less sustainable materials, particularly plastics, with renewable and recyclable alternatives.

“Smurfit Westrock maintains operations in 40 countries and focuses on delivering solutions rooted in circularity,” Garrett explains.

That scale presents both an opportunity and a challenge – managing environmental and social impact across more than 500 production sites requires a system that is both globally consistent and locally adaptable. It also requires leadership that understands the operational realities behind sustainability commitments.

Garrett’s approach is grounded in integration rather than abstraction. He positions sustainability as a mechanism for growth, resilience and long-term value creation. This philosophy underpins the company’s sustainability strategy.

Building a strategy around measurable outcomes

Smurfit Westrock’s sustainability framework is structured around three pillars:

• Planet
• People and Communities
• Impactful Business.

These pillars guide decision-making across the organisation, from raw material sourcing to customer engagement.

“Our ambition is to deliver sustainable growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” Garrett explains. Central to this approach is the concept of circularity.

For Smurfit Westrock, this is not a new idea. “Essentially, we need old boxes to make new ones,” Garrett says. “We haven’t started this because of regulations or trends – we have been doing it for over 100 years.”

This long-standing model reflects the industry's economic logic. Recovered paper and cardboard are not waste products but valuable inputs.

“Our industry has a real operational need to get the old boxes back, as they have economic value,” Garrett continues. “The need for circularity is clear and long established.”

In 2025, Smurfit Westrock produced more than 204 billion square feet of corrugated packaging. 

“Our products are made from natural, widely recycled materials,” he says. “I don’t see scale as diluting circularity – I see demand for circular products creating greater scale and growth.”

From ambition to data-driven accountability

One of the most significant recent developments in the company’s strategy is the introduction of quantified Better Planet targets for 2030. These targets move sustainability commitments from broad ambition to measurable performance. The shift required extensive internal alignment following the merger that formed Smurfit Westrock in 2024.

“Time and data consolidation were the main contributing factors,” Garrett explains. “We needed comparable data to develop meaningful targets.”

The process took more than a year, reflecting the complexity of integrating global operations.

“Since we completed the combination in July 2024, it took us until our 2025 report to finalise,” he says.

The result is a set of clearly defined metrics covering emissions, water use and circularity.

Measurement is essential to credibility and strengthens engagement with investors and customers. By linking sustainability performance to business outcomes, the company positions itself as both responsible and resilient. This alignment is particularly important as regulatory expectations evolve.

Frameworks such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) highlight the need for transparency. Although Smurfit Westrock is not yet subject to CSRD, it is preparing in advance.

“We are well accustomed to detailed non-financial data collection, reporting and assurance,” Garrett says. “Part of our business has been doing this since 2007, with third-party assurance since 2009.”

This history provides a foundation for adapting to new requirements. It also reflects a broader trend in sustainability reporting – transparency is no longer optional, it is a prerequisite for maintaining investor confidence and market access.

“We find that investors are very supportive in looking around corners on growing trends,” Garrett adds. “They want to understand the next hotspots.”

Embedding circular thinking across global operations

Delivering a consistent sustainability approach requires robust governance. Smurfit Westrock relies on global policies supported by a comprehensive Code of Conduct.

“We do this through strong governance structures supported by global policies,” Garrett explains. “Our standards are typically higher than regulatory needs.”

At the same time, local flexibility remains essential. Different regions face different resource constraints, regulatory environments and customer expectations. The company balances these factors through a combination of central oversight and local execution. Customer demand plays a key role in shaping this approach.

As businesses seek to reduce their environmental footprint, demand for sustainable packaging continues to grow. Smurfit Westrock’s Better Planet Packaging initiative is designed to meet this. The programme focuses on replacing less sustainable materials with paper-based alternatives.

“Our Better Planet Packaging initiative is key to helping customers deliver on their sustainability goals,” Garrett says.

This customer-centric approach reinforces the commercial value of sustainability. It also highlights the interconnected nature of the value chain.

From raw material sourcing to end-of-life recycling, each stage influences overall impact. Improving recycling quality is a growing priority. Contamination and inconsistent collection systems can reduce the effectiveness of recycling processes. Smurfit Westrock addresses this through its recovered fibre teams.

“We manage varying sources of fibre and support the call for greater segregation at source,” Garrett explains.

This focus on quality ensures that recycled materials remain viable inputs for new packaging while supporting the broader circular economy.

Managing water, biodiversity and climate risk

Beyond circularity, Smurfit Westrock is expanding its focus on natural resource management. Water is essential for paper production, making its sustainable management both an environmental and operational priority.

“We carry out water risk assessments for all our mills,” Garrett says.

The company is also a signatory to the CEO Water Mandate, a United Nations Global Compact initiative. This commitment reflects a shift in how water is viewed – away from efficiency towards resilience.

“From an operational perspective, we understand the economic benefit of good water stewardship,” Garrett explains. “It goes hand in hand with environmental benefit.”

Biodiversity is another area of focus. Protecting ecosystems is particularly relevant for a company that relies on forestry resources. Smurfit Westrock works with organisations such as WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit. These partnerships support both conservation and data collection.

“We do this through appropriate partnerships and internal capacity,” Garrett says.

In Brazil and Colombia, the company’s forestry operations are fully certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international body promoting responsible forest management.

“All of our owned forests are 100% FSC certified,” Garrett notes. “They leverage extensive biodiversity strategies and data collection efforts.”

Decarbonisation presents a different set of challenges. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industrial processes often requires new technologies. These technologies can be expensive or not yet widely available.

“The challenge is the commercial impact of going all in on something that is more expensive or not widely available,” Garrett explains.

Policy support can help mitigate this risk. Some regions have introduced incentives to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies.

“In these jurisdictions, we are already advancing the electrification of some of our industrial boilers,” Garrett says.

This illustrates the interplay between policy, technology and business decision-making. Progress depends on innovation and enabling conditions.

Strengthening supply chains and social responsibility

Sustainability at Smurfit Westrock extends beyond environmental performance – social responsibility, particularly within the supply chain, is becoming evermore important.

The company has introduced a new Supplier Code of Conduct that sets expectations regarding issues such as forced labour, child labour and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), a principle that protects the rights of indigenous communities.

“This is an area the business is looking to advance further,” Garrett says.

The company is investing in dedicated resources to strengthen its approach.

“We are completing the hiring of a new resource to drive our human rights and responsible sourcing programmes,” he explains.

These developments reflect a broader shift in corporate sustainability, as companies are increasingly expected to take responsibility not only for their own operations but also for their supply chains.

This requires greater transparency and due diligence, as well as collaboration with suppliers. For Garrett, this is an area of ongoing progress rather than a finished product.

Leadership through continuous improvement

A recurring theme in Garrett’s ethos is continuous improvement – seeing sustainability as an evolving process. This mindset shapes both strategy and culture within Smurfit Westrock.

“I’m most proud of our constant drive to be better and deliver for our customers,” Garrett says.

Recent milestones include the company’s Net Zero Transition Plan and its new Better Planet targets. Together, they represent a more structured and accountable approach to sustainability.

Yet Garrett is clear that there is no room for complacency – future success will depend on maintaining momentum and adapting to changing expectations.

“We are committed to never getting complacent,” he says. “We will continue working with our stakeholders to ensure what we focus on is material and business relevant.”