Smurfit Westrock Earns Equality 100 Award in Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2025 Corporate Equality Index

Smurfit Westrock, a global leader in sustainable packaging, has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRCF) 2025 Corporate Equality Index, the United States' foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. 

The company is one of 765 U.S. businesses honored with HRCF’s Equality 100 Award as Leaders in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion. The 2025 CEI includes 1,449 companies, the highest number rated since the CEI was first published in 2002.

“We believe our employees are the center of everything we do, and that our differences are our strength,” said Laurent Sellier, chief executive officer for Smurfit Westrock North America. “Earning an HRCF Equality 100 Award in 2025 reflects a commitment to diversity and inclusion that’s inherent to our legacy and critical for creating our future.”

“For decades businesses have relied on the CEI as a tool for transparency and leveling the playing field for all workers, making sure LGBTQ+ people and their families can share in fair, respectful and supportive workplaces and benefits,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, SHRM-CP, HRCF Senior Director of Workplace Equality. “Year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that largely recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion.”

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to more than 22 million U.S. workers and includes Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:

• Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
• Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
• Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
• Corporate social responsibility.

The results of the 2025 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. 

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.