International Forest Day: the strategic role of the paper and paperboard supply chain in responsible forest resource management and environmental sustainability

Forests are an asset to be protected and an essential element in the balance of our planet. In addition to providing renewable raw materials, they play a crucial role in stabilizing the climate, conserving biodiversity, and protecting soils from landslides and floods. They are thus a key tool for ensuring the livelihood and well-being of generations, present and future.

For this reason, deforestation represents a global challenge, especially in tropical areas, from which no one can escape.

The paper and cardboard supply chain, through responsible use of certified raw materials and an increasingly recycling-oriented production model, has been committed to protecting this precious heritage for years.

On International Forest Day, the Italian Boxmakers Association renews its commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible management of forest resources, emphasizing the key role of the cardboard packaging sector.

Indeed, the latter represents one of the most advanced industries in the ecological transition, touching levels of excellence in recycling and low environmental impact.

Suffice it to say that 90% of pulp and 73% of wood used by the European paper industry comes from controlled sources and forests, mostly European and expanding an area equal to 1.5 million soccer fields per year.

Forests cover 31 percent of the planet’s landmass, while in Europe the percentage is around 40 percent – for a total volume of about 28 billion m³. The net annual growth is about 612 million m³, which corresponds to a value of more than 2 percent, once the volume of harvested wood is deducted.

On the old continent, almost all primary forest resources are protected: more than 70% are certified to the highest international standards (FSC® and PEFC®), while in Italy 98 percent of certified forests adhere to the PEFC system.

“In the Bel Paese to date, more than 80 percent of the raw materials used come from recycled materials, with a recycling rate for cellulosic packaging of 92.3 percent while the remaining 20 percent comes from responsibly managed forests,” commented Andrea Mecarozzi, president of the Italian Boxmakers Association. “The corrugated cardboard supply chain represents an established and virtuous circular economy model, making us a concrete ally in reducing the environmental impact of packaging.”

The sector also stands out for its use of renewable energy, being the leading industrial user of bioenergy in Europe.

More than 52 percent of the electricity used by European paper mills is in fact self-generated, and 96 percent of this comes from high-efficiency cogeneration plants. Thanks to these investments, the paper industry is responsible for just 0.6% of European climate-changing gas emissions, with a 43% reduction in CO2 fossil per ton compared to 1990.

The paper industry’s main raw material, wood fiber, also plays a key role in sequestering atmospheric carbon and retarding CO2 release through recycling.

In this context, the Italian Boxmakers Association is actively engaged in promoting responsible forest management through partnerships with Legambiente (for the supply of corrugated cardboard packaging for environmental sustainability projects) and with PEFC Italy (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)..

Andrea Mecarozzi in fact commented: “For years we have been collaborating with PEFC, with whom we have signed a memorandum of understanding, to promote a culture of sustainability, responsible forest management and the use of sustainable raw materials. This partnership is part of our commitment to an increasingly sustainability-conscious production system.”

Several regulations for the defense and maintenance of forest resources have also been and will be introduced at the regulatory level, dictating current trends and challenges.

Regulations such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) e the European Deforestation-free products Regulation (EUDR) are regulating the market to aim for an increasingly sustainable standard-through goals, of reducing overpackaging and hazardous substances, recycling and achieving monomaterial, controlling the origin of raw materials, and responsibly protecting forests.

“We welcome these European regulations, such as the EUDR, which represent a step forward in the sustainable evolution of the industry. Although the corrugated packaging supply chain has already achieved recyclability standards that anticipate future regulations, any initiative to encourage sustainable forest management and raw material traceability is an opportunity for growth and improvement, for the industry and for the entire planet,” finally said the President of the Italian Boxmakers Association.