sig.biz/combibloc

Environment
sig.biz/combibloc 03/03
Renewable on principle
Where does the raw packaging board that serves as the substrate for beverage cartons
actually come from? The answer to this question leads us to the forest products group Stora Enso
in Finland; to the land of the thousand lakes and endless forests.
Over 50% of Finland’s total exports are
made up of products from the timber
processing industry. Germany is the major
consumer, importing some 40% of pulp exports
and 20 percent of the exported paper.
As a world-wide leader in forest products,
the Stora Enso Group is the major supplier
of raw paperboard to SIG Combibloc. The
Finnish group has an annual production
capacity of paper and carton exceeding
15 million tonnes.
Stora Enso’s major resource is wood –
a renewable raw material. The group prides
itself on using pulp fibre from sustainably
managed forests and verifiable sources in all
its products. Within its corporate philosophy,
the principles of forest protection
throughout the world play a decisive role.
The primary raw material sources include
both small, private woodlands and largescale
state-owned forests. The group continues
to make extensive use of virgin fibre
from its own production facilities and, increasingly,
recycled cellulose that is not
available in unlimited quantities everywhere.
Origin of pulp fibre sustainably ensured
Stora Enso is pursuing its own fibre
procurement strategy. All its raw material
sources must be ecologically and socially
sustainable, i.e. no environmental or human
rights may be infringed. To ensure that
no wood is cut and procured in protected
environments, Stora Enso documents the
origins of this raw material as completely as
possible. On the one hand, certified environmental
and quality management systems
(EMAS and ISO) are implemented to guar-