Governance, Policies & Partnerships

Governance

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Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts

Sustainability principles cascade into all levels of our organization and are integrated into our Build to Last Strategy. We deliver value to our customers, shareholders, colleagues and other stakeholders through our sustained performance enabled by our purpose-driven culture, legendary customer service, operational excellence and industry-leading sustainability performance. The Board of Directors receives annual updates from the Vice President, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer on behalf of our 18-member Sustainability Steering Committee. The Committee, which includes eleven representatives from Greif’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and seven representatives from the Sustainability Management Team (SMT), is tasked with further integrating sustainability into our strategy and operations, reviewing our sustainability progress and priorities quarterly and ensuring accountability at all levels of our organization. The Board holds the Sustainability Committee accountable for reaching annual goals and determines the level of funding for Greif’s sustainability programs. The Steering Committee guides the activities of our Sustainability Management Team, which works with topic teams consisting of representatives from each region and business unit to drive facility-level projects and priorities. Additionally, the Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board with oversight and reviewing environmental, social and governance matters.

ESG remains a crucial focus for Greif’s Leadership Council, comprising the company’s top leaders. The Council oversees Greif’s ESG initiatives to integrate sustainability into the organization and ensure accountability for ESG performance and the associated KPIs. The KPIs are included in the monthly Greif Business System 2.0 (GBS 2.0) enterprise scorecard and the Must Win Battle (MWB) scorecard. We also include the ESG KPIs in our monthly and quarterly slide decks, which managers use to keep their teams accountable. By linking ESG KPIs to performance, we aim to encourage sustainability principles at all levels of the organization.

SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

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Corporate Policies

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Policy commitments
We believe that behavior influences culture and culture determines performance. Our culture—and ethics and compliance expectations—are based on the principles set forth in The Greif Way. We practice these principles every day through the policies that govern our organization.

Partnerships

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Membership associations

Greif seeks to engage actively with organizations that share our values to increase the reach of our sustainability efforts. Some of our key partnerships include:

Alliance to End Plastic Waste

In 2021, Greif joined the board of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) to expand our commitment to reducing waste and promoting a circular economy. Since 2019, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste has rallied around 90 member companies, project partners, allies and supporters committed to ending plastic waste in the environment. Greif participates in various work streams through this partnership, including Design for Circularity and Advanced Recovery & Recycling. We aim to bring the industrial packaging perspective to the group and partner with customers and other organizations to bolster our circular economy strategy. For more information about this partnership, please visit the Waste section of our sustainability report.

SmartWay

The SmartWay Transport Partnership is an innovative collaboration between the freight industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). It is a market-driven partnership aimed at helping businesses move goods in the cleanest, most efficient way possible. Its purpose is to accelerate the availability, adoption and market penetration of advanced fuel-efficient technologies and operational practices in the freight supply chain while helping companies save fuel, lower costs and reduce adverse environmental impacts.

To improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicle fleet, Greif joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership in 2009. For more information about our partnership, please see our Climate Strategy page.

UN Global Compact

Integrity and respect for people are Core Values at Greif, and we believe that social and environmental responsibility are aligned and essential for long-term sustainability. The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption principles.

We consider these Principles a natural extension of our Code of Conduct, which outlines our commitment to being open, honest and trustworthy in all dealings with all stakeholders. Our policies and procedures incorporate our commitment to human rights, freedom of association, environmental excellence and health and safety.

In April 2016, Greif became a signatory to the UN Global Compact, confirming our commitment to these Principles. We publish our Communication on Progress each year on the compact’s Ten Principles.

Trade Associations

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Membership associations
As a global leader in industrial packaging, Greif participates in various trade associations to discuss relevant issues and opportunities and advance the industry positively. Please review our Trade Associations for more information.