Brussels, 09 October 2012
Providing a bird’s eye view: Sappi’s Treehouse opens its doors to creative sustainability ideas
Launched by Minister-President of Flanders (Belgium), Kris Peeters on Friday, 28th September, the Treehouse (www.the-treehouse.be) is the result of a joint vision and partnership between Sappi Fine Paper Europe, ANB (the Agency for Nature and Forests), the Belgian Municipality of Hechtel-Eksel, and communication agency Proximity BBDO. Put simply, the Treehouse is a platform, both physical and virtual, for like-minded individuals and companies to come together to find ways to embrace sustainability in their daily activities. Sustainability is at the heart of everything Sappi does, and this new space in the tree tops, designed structurally in the form of an open book, provides the blank canvas, and the environmental inspiration to drive, and share, sustainable thinking.
Located in Bosland, the largest forest in Flanders, the Treehouse was designed by German architect Andreas Wenning. It is made from wood and metal, and is in effect, a meeting room in the trees. Once the idea for the Treehouse concept was born, Sappi made it its business to find partners to make the project real. With sustainability firmly embedded as a company policy, a strong desire to share their experience with others, and to encourage further thinking on the topic made the commitment to bringing the Treehouse concept to life a natural next step. During the launch, Eric Van den Bruel, Product Development and Marketing Director for Sappi said, “As a pulp and paper producer, it is important for Sappi that there is a sustainable way to manage our forests. We devote a lot of our energy to sustainability, and are delighted to have the Treehouse as a new and inspiring platform where we can continue to learn from others and share our experience in this area.”
Open-minded companies from different sectors can meet at the Treehouse to brainstorm, generate ideas, and put them into action. In order to do so, participants must adhere to some basic principles designed to maintain the concept. For instance, the Treehouse must be used as a centre of creativity and thinking out of the box; the surrounding environment should be a natural source of inspiration; and most importantly, the results of the experience need to be shared and exchanged with other members of the Treehouse community through the online platform.
In addition to further developing the online platform which has been designed to hold all ideas that are generated from the Treehouse, an Ambassador programme has been put in place which will form the basis of the Treehouse network. Minister Kris Peeters has already been given his Treehouse business card as a first member of this elite group of forward thinkers on sustainability.
To find out more about the Treehouse, or to use the facilities, please visitwww.the-treehouse.be where you can find contact details, as well as a short film describing our project.
Notes to the Editor:
On 16th November 2012, Sappi‘s employee-led sustainability initiative to plant approx 2750 trees in La Forêt de Soignes, Belgium will take place for the 4th time. The event coincides with European Paper Week 2012. If you would like to participate or if you would like further information, please contact Elsa Mouille. (contact details above).
- Sappi’s Treehouse belongs to a group of current initiatives being run by Sappi, all with the objective of informing, inspiring and getting closer people, both inside and outside the company. Sappi cares, and wants to engage with others to care together.We Care (www.sappipositivity.com) – Sappi’s new sustainability website focused on sharing knowledge and inspiring others to join and build momentum
- Houston (www.sappi.com/Houston) – Sappi’s technological platform designed to share paper and printing knowledge
- What’s Next (www.whatsnextmagazine.net) – Sappi’s paper magazine containing the latest information and trends on creative paper use.
ENDS
About Sappi
Sappi Fine Paper Europe is the leading European producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Sappi Fine Paper Europe is recognised for innovation and quality. Its graphic paper brands include Magno, Quatro, Royal, Galerie and GalerieArt ranges. Algro, Fusion, Leine and Parade are the brands for speciality labelling, topliner, packaging papers and boards. Jaz is the paper brand for digital printing.
Sappi papers are produced in mills accredited with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification and EMAS registration for all our mills in the EU. SFPE’s mills hold chain-of-custody certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes.
Sappi Fine Paper Europe is a division of Sappi Limited (NYSE, JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with over 14,900 employees and manufacturing operations on four continents in 9 countries, sales offices in 50 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at www.sappi.com.