Full directors report - Mondi

2.44 million hectares of land, of which
380,000 hectares are plantations in
South Africa and 2.06 million hectares
are natural forests in Russia.
In 2009, the Group employed an
average of 31,000 people.
Restructuring undertaken during the
year in response to challenging
market conditions resulted in the
closure, sale, mothballing or
downscaling of various operations,
which in turn resulted in a decrease in
employee numbers by around 10%.
Our business is highly integrated,
spanning the entire product life
cycle, from the development and
management of forests, to the
production and marketing of a variety
of sustainable paper and packaging
products. Recycling also forms an
integral part of our business. Mondi
considers the global threats posed
by climate change and ecosystem
degradation to be very serious and
we acknowledge the role that we can
play in counteracting these effects
by reducing our carbon emissions
and promoting the protection of
ecosystems. Operating an efficient
and effective business in a resourceconstrained
world is one of our key
objectives and involves partnerships
with a wide range of stakeholders.
Management approach
Our approach to sustainability is
supported by our broader business
ethics and guided by our over-arching
sustainable development policy. This
in turn, is supported by seven sector
policies on:
• sustainable forestry;
• environment;
• climate change;
• product stewardship;
• corporate citizenship;
• global employment; and
• safety and occupational health.
These policies are reviewed on a
regular basis. They are available in a
downloadable format from the
Group’s website at
www.mondigroup.com/sustainability.
Our Sustainable Development
Management System (SDMS),
comprising policies, standards and
performance requirements, is
integrated within the Group’s core
business processes to ensure that
our commitments are met at every
level. We have put in place the
necessary resources and training to
meet our objectives, and maintain
pro-active, multi-stakeholder
engagement with communities, nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs),
peers and other groups to improve
our understanding of stakeholders’
concerns and address our
All our planted land in
South Africa is FSC
certified and in Russia
we have certified some
1.35 million hectares of
our leased land
environmental and social impacts.
The DLC sustainable development
committee, which guides policy,
reviews performance and monitors
progress made in implementing our
strategy, is chaired by independent
non-executive director, Colin
Matthews. The committee met on six
occasions in 2009, receiving regular
reports from executive team
members. Sustainability is also an
agenda item at every meeting of the
Mondi Boards.
Our Group-level sustainable
development function provides
strategic guidance on sustainability
issues and policy, compliance,
international best practice and the
integration of sustainability
approaches across the Group. The
function is also responsible for
sustainability reporting. Operational
line management is responsible for
the day-to-day management of safety,
health, environment, community
matters, people processes and other
sustainability issues.
We also work with many international
and local stakeholders, including the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in
Russia and South Africa; Silver Taiga in
Russia; the Wildlife and Environment
Society of South Africa (WESSA) and
For further information please click on
www.mondigroup.com/sustainability
Directors’ report
Annual report and accounts 2009 Mondi Group 35