Sound environmental practices coupled with global cooperation mean that paper, consumption and sustainability can coexist in the efforts to reduce global warming.
Paper is born of the very forests that sustain life itself. Of all the commodities we consume, few deliver as much utility, versatility and functionality, and are as recyclable, as paper.
'More than just a low-carbon alternative, paper, along with its pulp and packaging relatives, serves as a repository of CO2 and thus contributes to combatting global warming,' asserts
Improving that value chain to further reduce the fossil carbon footprint as the company delivers paper, pulp, packaging and wood products to its customers is the top priority at
And the good news is that there is success to report.
Limiting CO2
Reducing fossil carbon emissions has been at the top of
'Our fossil carbon emissions are amongst the lowest in our industry, and in any heavy manufacturing industry, for the amount of product that we produce,' Morrin emphasises.
'Since 2006, CO2 emissions from the production of paper, pulp and packaging products have steadily decreased from 494 kilograms per tonne of product produced to 324 kilograms per tonne in 2018, nearly a one-third reduction.'
This endeavour has been steadily complemented by a combination of process innovation, substitution of raw materials, switching from fossil-based energy to biomass energy, and better value chain management with each passing year.
For example, the company reported last year that its share of self-generated energy for operations rose to 63 per cent, the majority of which, 81 per cent, came from biomass materials containing no fossil component. Moreover,
In July of last year, a
However, achieving further reductions requires the cooperation of all participants all along
Certified, compliant, and labelled
'An ecolabel is a commitment,' says Klaus Barduna, SVP Sustainability at
To earn any of the three major ecolabels the company applies - EU Ecolabel, Nordic Ecolabel and Blue Angel Ecolabel - there are strict criteria that must be met. All three require compliance along the entire product lifecycle. In practise, this means using certified fibres from sustainably managed forests or recycled fibre, low energy use, air and water emissions, restrictions on hazardous substances, proper handling of waste, and the usability of the products.
'We are particularly proud of the fact that more than 90 per cent of our paper brands are covered by one or more of these ecolabels, offering our customers a reliable guide to easily identify products with superior environmental performance,' says Barduna.
'We are one of only a few companies that can claim this level of ecolabel performance.'
International standards, such as ISO 14001 on environmental management and ISO 50001 on energy management, as well as several others, deliver clear benefits to the environment and are widely applied by
Global engagement
Even with these considerable efforts for sustainability, the fact remains that no single company can reduce global warming by itself.
'We have made clear our commitment to the
In
Further, in September of this year in
'We are engaged in climate activities with a number of leading companies in the world as well,' adds Morrin. He points out that the international business community can often be the first movers.
Innately climate friendly
Although
'Many forest-based products can be recycled, and some even last for hundreds of years, like books and wooden buildings,' Morrin underscores. 'We calculated that the amount of CO2 stored in the lumber that we produce in a single year is the equivalent of removing 2.3 million vehicles off the roads.'
'And that, as much as anything, keeps what we do at
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