Bioeconomy

Since the EU microplastic ban became law in 2022, demand for natural and green solutions in the personal care and homecare market in Europe is at an all-time high.

Scaling-up our functional paper business is at the core of Sappi’s strategy to support a more circular economy. Investments made at Alfeld Mill in Germany starting in 2021 enable us to bring these circular functional papers to more of our European customers.

We're creating a thriving world by unlocking the power of renewable resources to benefit people, communities and the planet. This isn't a report, it's our story with an invitation to join us.

Graeme Wild, Sappi's Group Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability, outlines how we're meeting the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) head-on.

At Sappi, we're cultivating more value and purpose from every tree. With recyclable woodfibre products, we're accelerating the transition to the circular bio-based economy our planet demands. 

We’ve learned that what’s in your paper is only part of the picture. Responsible sourcing of materials is critical, and we must also consider the environmental impacts of manufacturing—including the impacts associated with processing recovered paper.

While the basics of papermaking process has changed very little over the centuries, woodfibre only became the main raw material for mass paper production in the mid-19th century. The key advantage of using woodfibre is that it is a natural renewable resource.

The internal Technical Innovation Awards (TIA) underscore our view that innovation is not an end in itself, but an integral aspect of our business. It’s a way of operating that provides sustainable, competitive advantages and ensures we grow, flourish, and progress.

R&D is focused on helping to achieve our ambitious but achievable strategy of extracting more value from each tree and leveraging the changing dynamics between the environment, consumers and the products they require.

Black liquor, a by-product of the pulping process is sometimes referred to as ‘black gold’ because of the high levels of energy it contains.