Wood
Wood is one of Mondi’s primary raw materials. Securing access to sustainable and credible sources of fibre in the short, medium and long term, to meet the needs of our business and our customers, is among the most significant issues facing the Group.
Forestry
Ensuring that we meet the requirements of sustainable forestry practices is a fundamental business imperative. For Mondi, this means consistently considering the productive capability, biological integrity and community needs of the forests that we own, lease or manage.
Forests provide a range of goods and services. They serve as habitats for two-thirds of terrestrial animal and plant species; prevent soil erosion and water run-off; maintain the chemical balance of soil, air and water; recycle nutrients; break down pollutants; clean the air and water; are vital to watershed protection and soil formation; and play a major role in regulating climate.
The main factors contributing to deforestation and forest degradation are increased agriculture, illegal logging, population growth, poverty and urbanisation. Primary concerns include deforestation resulting from illegal logging in protected or high conservation value (HCV) areas, and timber obtained from controversial sources.
Mondi does not participate in deforestation, illegal logging, harvesting which affects any Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES), any rare and endangered species (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red data species) and no wood is sourced from genetically modified (GM) trees. In addition, we do not grow GM crops. For every tree that is felled in our plantation forests, at least one other is planted. Some 31 million trees were planted by Mondi in 2012.
We do not convert natural forests, riparian areas, wetlands or protected areas into plantations. HCV areas are identified and preserved or enhanced, as is biological diversity. In Russia we have set aside 522,260 hectares for conservation (25% of our landholding) and 76,398 hectares in South Africa (25% of our landholding).
Pulp
Wood is an essential raw material for all of our virgin fibre-based products. From wood fibre we produce pulp, the basic ingredient of all paper and paper-based packaging. We use pulp in our own production and also sell it wholesale to third parties. The pulp for paper-making may be produced from virgin fibre by either chemical or mechanical means, or it may be produced by the re-pulping of recovered paper. In the pulping process, the raw cellulose-bearing material is broken down into its individual fibres. In chemical pulping, chemicals are used to dissolve the lignin and free the fibres.
Recovered paper has become an indispensable raw material for our business and, in 2012, we consumed 1.5 million tonnes of recovered fibre, amounting to around one third of our total pulp consumed.
The pulp and paper manufacturing process also requires a large amount of process water and energy (in the form of steam and electrical power), which makes it an energy- and natural resource-intensive one.
Last change: 26/03/2013