Sonoco rated top packaging company and top company in materials sectors in Newsweek magazine's 2011 Green Rankings

HARTSVILLE, SC, Oct. 27, 2011 (Business Wire) - Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has been rated the top packaging company and the top company in the Materials Sectors in Newsweek magazine's 2011 Green Rankings, which assess the United States' largest 500 public companies on their environmental footprint, environmental policies and reputation. Sonoco was also rated 202nd overall, placing the Company in the Green Ranking's top 40 percent for the third consecutive year.

To create the 2011 Green Rankings, Newsweek collaborated with leading environmental research providers Trucost and Sustainalytics to evaluate each company's environmental footprint, management of that footprint and transparency. Trucost used publicly disclosed environmental data to evaluate company performance on more than 700 environmental impact metrics and determine each company's environmental impact score. Sustainalytics also evaluated the policies, programs, targets and certifications each company uses to manage its environmental performance. And, to benchmark each company's performance against its industry peers, Sustainalytics supplemented more than a dozen core environmental indicators with over 40 sector-specific indicators. The 500 companies included in the 2011 Green Rankings are the largest U.S. companies as measured by revenue, market capitalization and number of employees.

"We are extremely pleased to have our commitment to setting the standard for sustainability in the packaging industry recognized again this year and to be ranked the top company in the Materials Sector," said Harris E. DeLoach, Jr., Sonoco chairman and chief executive officer. "It is also very gratifying for our employees and other stakeholders to be rated so highly, given the extensive and detailed research involved in developing the Green Rankings."