Sonoco had contracted about 140 megawatts of electricity per year for 15 years under a virtual power purchase agreement with Engie North America Inc., a Houston-based provider of low-carbon energy and services, the statement said. Engie's stated purpose is to "accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy," according to the company's website. Engie North America is a regional hub of French company Engie SA.
The 140 megawatts accounts for about 83% of Sonoco's US energy consumption in 2025, the statement said. It is unclear how many renewable energy certificates this figure equals. Sonoco did not provide a response to inquiries.
According to the statement, Sonoco “aims to reduce global Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 25% by 2030 from a 2020 baseline through various corporate initiatives, including improved packaging design, installing energy-efficient equipment and procuring renewable energy sources.” This is in line with its “SBTI-validated reduction goal.”
SBTI stands for Science Based Target Initiative, a group founded by the United Nations Global Compact; CDP, a global environmental nonprofit; the World Resources Institute, a Washington, DC, nonprofit that researches sustainability practices; and the international nongovernmental organization World Wildlife Fund.
SBTI started out in 2015 to steer companies toward setting emission-reduction targets aligning with Paris Agreement goals, according to the UN Global Compact.
Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse emissions from sources controlled or owned by an organization, for example, fuel combustion, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Scope 2 are indirect greenhouse emissions associated with purchase of electricity, steam, cooling or heating.
A virtual power purchase agreement is “a financial transaction, exchanging a fixed-price cash flow for a variable-priced cash flow and renewable energy certificates,” according to Introduction to the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement, a paper published by Colorado-based energy nonprofit RMI. The buyer of renewable energy certificates may retire the credits, which counts toward sustainability goals.
Renewable energy certificates, also called renewable energy credits, are tradable instruments that “can be used to meet voluntary renewable energy targets, as well as to meet compliance requirements for renewable energy policies,” according to a fact sheet put out by the World Resources Institute.
Sonoco expects the renewable energy credits acquired under this agreement will help reduce its baseline carbon emissions by about 19%.
Sonoco Vice President of Global Sustainability Scott Byrne said in the statement, “This project will accelerate our progress toward our emissions targets while delivering clean, reliable power to the communities they serve.”
The renewable energy is produced at Engie's Big Sampson wind project in Crockett County, Texas, a 44,000-acre field that began initial operations in Q3 2025, according to Michael Clingan of Engie North America press relations.