People
Sonoco was founded in 1899 on the belief that People Build Businesses.
It’s not so much what you do, but why you do it. This inspires our teammates to do what they do every day—create a better package that may just create a better life for someone.
Our Guiding Principle
“To be a great company for our stakeholders through an unwavering belief that people build businesses by doing the right thing.”
Our Corporate Values
We value our people and are committed to giving them every opportunity to use their talent, skills, passion and creativity to grow themselves, their careers and our Company.
Engagement & Retention Metrics
- Our employees rated Sonoco with a 78% positive engagement score.
- We retained 96% of exceptional and promotable talent.
Our Values
- Integrity
- Respect
- Service
- Teamwork
- Accountability
Total Safety
Reducing Exposures and Driving Employee Engagement
For decades Sonoco has worked hard at creating the safest work environment possible. The traditional injury metrics consistently place Sonoco near the top among our peers and one of the best in all of the segments we work in. There are many Sonoco operations that have gone years, and some even decades, without a recordable injury. However, the real story are not the injury free milestones, it is how our operations get there.
Leadership that invests in safety and employees that are engaged in reducing exposures across our operations make the difference. From our Operations Safety Council to our site level Safety Pillar Teams everyone has a responsibility to lead safety. Thousands of employees around the world are directly engaged in safety improvement activities. We have a specific mission to eliminate Life Changing Events in our operations and every site prepares an annual safety action plan to achieve targeted risk reductions. Our LCE program highlights programs that we know are high risk including Energy Isolation, Mobile Equipment, Pedestrian Pathway, Electrical Safe Work Practices, Confined Space, Working at Heights and Machine Safety.
Leading Safety
Our Operations Safety Council consist of our top 30 operations executives that work to lead improvement and provide governance for our safety efforts. Each business unit has its own Safety Council and every site has a Safety Pillar Team. These groups are supported by a dedicated group of safety professionals inducing hundreds of safety coordinators working at our operations worldwide.
Promoting Diversity at Sonoco
- Affinity Teams
- Workforce Environment Team
- Military Professionals Group
- Young Professionals Team
Valuing Diverse Perspectives
The Sonoco Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council seeks to create a diverse workforce, treated equitably in an inclusive environment by sponsoring and guiding activities of several affinity teams and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion education, awareness and communication throughout Sonoco.
Affinity Teams:
- Workforce Environment Team
- Workforce Representation Team
- Sonoco Young Professionals
- Military Professionals Group
Sonoco will continue to consciously provide support to programs that attract diverse associates—because bringing new perspectives into our community brings new ideas to the table.
Respecting and Valuing Our Differences
Through quarterly cultural awareness events, the Workforce Environment Team’s goal is to understand, respect and value differences, as well as similarities, and to create a more engaging and productive workplace.
Last year, the Workforce Representation team attended 50 events on 19 college campuses with the intent to recruit a diverse workforce defined in terms of various demographics, thoughts and perspectives.
Best for Vets Company
The Military Professionals Group continues to grow and support Veterans and educates non-Veterans on issues facing this community. Representatives of the team contact current Veteran employees directly through new hire orientation and one-on-one communications with associates who have more than one year of service with Sonoco.
For the past two years, Sonoco has been named a "Best for Vets" company by Military Times, joining well-known organizations such as Kellogg, AT&T, Hilton and The Boeing Company.
Best for Vets rankings evaluate company culture, veteran recruiting, veteran policies and accommodations for members of the National Guard and reserves.
Recognizing Young, Stand-Out Employees
The Young Professionals team serves as an “innovation station” for Sonoco’s youngest professionals to collaborate, innovate and ideate. Last year, the team implemented the ‘SYP Spotlight’ program, highlighting one outstanding young professional each month who has gone above and beyond normal job responsibilities.
Sonoco Careers
Build the products that shape your world. Start a career with the world's most admired packaging company. Learn more about our culture and browse our job openings.