Sappi is constantly evaluating how far we’ve come—and how far we still need to go—on our sustainability journey. Each year, we assess our achievements and challenges against our internal goals and in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring our efforts contribute meaningfully to global priorities.
The United National Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) provide a shared blueprint for a better future, reminding us of the collective action that’s needed to get there.
Sappi’s progress report in 2025
As we approach the end of 2025, we reach an important milestone: the conclusion of our current five-year strategic period. This is a pivotal moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve learned, and how we’re laying the foundation for the next phase of our strategy through to 2030.
Over the past five years, we’ve seen meaningful progress in advancing the SDGs, alongside challenges that have tested our resilience. Market fluctuations required commercial curtailments and reduced operating rates, thereby leading to less efficient operations and a smaller production denominator for our intensity-based KPIs. Yet, even in the face of these headwinds, our commitment to sustainability never wavered. In particular, sustainable forestry remains a top priority and is considered non-negotiable.
We have consistently met our forestry certification targets over the past five years, and we expanded our sustainable forest management certification in our own plantations to include Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standards. Our plantations are now dual certified against both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and PEFC standards, reinforcing our contribution to SDG 15: Life on Land.
We are also pleased with our progress on employee engagement and gender diversity, reflecting our commitment to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Creating a diverse and engaged workforce remains central to our belief that our people drive performance and innovation.
For a detailed breakdown of Sappi's performance against our global and regional targets, check out our 2025 Group Sustainability Report
Our 2030 targets: Shaping a sustainable future together
Our Thrive 2030 sustainability targets mark the next chapter in Sappi’s journey to creating shared value in line with our priority SDGs and integrated 4Ps framework – Principles, People, Planet, Prosperity. Our targets reflect our ambition to drive meaningful impact where it matters most.
While our material issues remain unchanged, we have sharpened our focus by refining certain targets and expanding others to capture emerging opportunities. We have strengthened our commitment to ethical behaviour and responsible procurement across our value chain, ensuring our suppliers uphold the same high standards of integrity and sustainability. Climate action is front and centre, with a simplified target focusing on reducing direct emissions (SDG 13: Climate Action), while our water stewardship target has been expanded from Southern Africa to a global commitment, advancing SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
We’re advancing circularity by reducing specific waste to landfill, maximising resource efficiency, and ensuring that 100% of our paper and packaging portfolio is technically recyclable, reusable or compostable – a bold step towards SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Our biodiversity commitments have been elevated to Group level, with enhanced targets for our South African operations – where we are a significant landowner – all in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and SDG 15: Life on Land.
Reflecting the increasing importance of inclusion and equity, our diversity targets now encompass a broader range of management categories, reinforcing our contributions to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Financial resilience underpins our Prosperity pillar, enabling us to invest in sustainable growth even in challenging market conditions. At the same time, we have expanded our social impact targets in South Africa to be more impact-driven, focusing on enterprise development and community upliftment in line with SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 4: Quality Education. And because collaboration accelerates progress, we’re deepening our partnerships across our ecosystem – customers, communities, governments, industry partners – to drive innovation and continue advancing on SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Together, these evolved targets position Sappi to drive progress toward a thriving, resilient, and inclusive future.
Below is an outline of Sappi’s Group 2030 targets.
Principles: Leading with our values
Sappi is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics, transparency and compliance through responsible procurement and business practices that build trust, create sustainable value, and contribute to a thriving, prosperous world for all.
Target: 85% of our procurement spend with declared compliance with our supplier code of conduct
Prosperity: Investing in our future
Sappi is committed to maintaining strong financial health as the foundation for sustainable growth, long-term value creation, and the delivery of competitive returns to our shareholders. By safeguarding our financial position, we ensure that Sappi remains agile, future-fit, and well-positioned to navigate global market dynamics.
Target: ROCE >WACC + 2%
Target: Net Debt <USD1bn
Target: 60% of new products with enhanced sustainability benefits
People: Empowering our people and communities
Sappi is committed to building a safe, inclusive, and high-performing workplace, while driving positive social impact through skills development and community upliftment.
Target: Zero lost time injuries; at least 10% improvement Y-o-Y in LTIFR
Target: >85% participation in biennial employee engagement survey; >75% of employees engaged with our business
Target: Increase proportion of women in management roles (HRL 16 and upwards) by 4%; at least 30% women in management roles.
Target: Increase small to medium local business participation within the Sappi Southern Africa value chain by integrating and growing six businesses per annum and increasing ESD spend by 25% over a five-year period from the 2024 baseline.
Target: Increase the proportion of Skills Centre participants achieving economic activity or school re-entry within one year of program completion to 60%.
Target: Maintain level 1 BBBEE rating in South Africa
Planet: Safeguarding nature and building resilience through responsible stewardship
Sappi is committed to reducing our environmental footprint through climate action, safeguarding biodiversity, and accelerating circularity to deliver long-term, nature-positive outcomes that advance the circular bioeconomy.
Target: Increase share of certified woodfibre to 80%
Target: Maintain 100% FSC chain of custody for our mills
Target: Maintain 100% FSC and PEFC FM certification for our plantations in South Africa
Target: Reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emission intensity by 41.5% per ton of product
Target: 44% of global spend with suppliers committed to science-based emissions reduction targets by 2026
Target: Reduce specific process water withdrawal by 10%
Target: Reduce specific waste to landfill by 30%
Target: Increase share of paper and packaging portfolio that is technically recyclable, reusable or compostable to 100%
Target: Conduct biodiversity assessments across all manufacturing operations
Target: Increase conservation areas under formal protection in our South African plantations by 30%
Target: Improve the condition of critical ecosystems in our South African plantations by 10%
Target: Reduce alien invasive infestation levels within our South African mill properties by at least 10%
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