Recycling is at the heart of the business model of Smurfit Kappa; 75% of the raw material used consist of recycled fibres. This gives the company the strongest fit with the Circular Economy theme, even though it also has a strong fit with the Renewable Resources theme. All paper-based packaging the company produces is recyclable and through its products the company facilitates the shift from plastic to more environmental friendly paper based packaging.

Through the use of recycled material, it also helps to improve the environmental footprint of its customers. The company's Better Planet Packaging initiative explores and re-imagines packaging for a sustainable world. This initiative is mostly focused on replacing plastics for more sustainable paper packaging.
Smurfit Kappa also promotes sustainable forest management in the owned forests as well as throughout the supply chain and demand deliveries has to be certified by internationally accepted forest management standards such as FSC.