Product responsibility
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Mondi is committed to developing and delivering cost-efficient, high-performance, environmentally responsible paper and packaging solutions for our customers and users. We work to make sustainability a reality at every step of the supply chain to contribute to our customers' success, ensuring their competitive advantage and ours, by providing the products needed at the lowest possible financial, environmental and social cost. We value mutually beneficial interaction with our customers and strive for lasting business relationships. |
Highlights 2010
- Green Range products extended
- Terra Bag introduced, the world’s first biodegradable industrial bag with certified compostability
- 33% of pulp consumed was from recovered fibre
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Taking stock: performance against commitments
This scorecard summarises our performance against our sustainable development commitments in respect of products.
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Commitment |
Performance |
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Monitor and report the amount of recycled fibre used for the manufacture of Mondi products |
The volumes of recovered paper produced or purchased have been internally and externally reported since 2008 |
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A specialist Group-level team, our Product stewardship network guides our product responsibility strategy. The main issues addressed by the team are:
- satisfying customer needs;
- product certification;
- greening of products;
- hygiene management; and
- environmental footprint of products.
Responsibility for specific products and customer relationships is decentralised to ensure that the needs of our various markets are met.
Product stewardship
For Mondi, responsible and effective product stewardship involves actively managing the environmental, and safety and health impacts of our products throughout their life cycles, from our forests to the end product, for all our products.
Mondi’s stewardship approach is based on the integrated approach advocated by the Life-Cycle Initiative as set out in the United Nations Environmental Programme.
Key areas of focus for the business in 2010 were:
- finalising a Group-wide management system for monitoring and implementing good manufacturing practice (GMP) and hygiene management across our operations;
- extending our sustainable product family, the Mondi Green Range, comprising either paper sourced from responsibly managed forests, Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™)/Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-certified office and printing paper, totally chlorine-free (TCF) paper or 100% recycled paper;
- increasing the number of FSC™/PEFC-certified sites. Our recycling capacity will rise by 25% with the start up of a 470,000 tonnes per annum containerboard machine at Świecie; and
- developing a methodology, based on the Confederation of European Paper Industry (CEPI) 10-toes guidelines, to calculate the product carbon footprint (PCF) for each of our products – see below.
Product carbon emissions
Significant work has been undertaken to address the environmental impacts of our products, in particular, to improve energy efficiency at our pulp and paper plants, and to accelerate our reductions in CO2e emissions. An example of our approach has been our ongoing efforts to measure and report the carbon footprints of our primary products. This is done in line with accepted standards and guidelines such as the greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol, lifecycle inventory (ISO 14040, PAS 2050) and the CEPI framework for the development of carbon footprints for paper and board products.
The calculation tool estimates CO2e emissions from fossil fuel combustion, based on the carbon content of the fuel (or a comparable emission factor) and the amount burned. This tool facilitates the calculation of direct CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from pulp and paper mills and ancillary operations. It also addresses emissions attributable to the purchase and export of electricity and/or steam. Not only do we account for our carbon emissions by product, but we also account for carbon at different stages of the supply chain, and are able to provide offset figures for projects and activities that have a positive impact on our carbon footprint.
Over the last five years, we have reduced our absolute CO2 emissions by around 23%, equivalent to an absolute reduction of over a million tonnes since 2004.
In 2010, we focused on embedding a Group-wide tool into our sustainable development reporting system, MORIS, for calculating our PCF. We also embarked on and completed a process of aligning our supply chain management with our environmental commitments. According to a new standard published by the GHG Protocol for the monitoring of and accounting for scope 3 emissions, we have started to monitor and calculate the carbon footprint associated with the transport and distribution of our products, and will therefore be able to report more reliably on our scope 3 emissions in the future.
Scope 3 emissions contribute significantly to a company’s carbon footprint and therefore represent a significant opportunity for emission reductions. Scope 3 emissions include upstream activities such as the production of goods and services purchased by Mondi, as well as downstream activities such as consumer use and the disposal of products sold by Mondi.
Source: GHG Protocol |
Click on the image to view a larger version.
A comprehensive approach to corporate GHG emissions measurement, management and reporting – incorporating scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions – will enable Mondi to focus on opportunities to reduce emissions within the full value chain, leading to more sustainable decisions about the products Mondi produces, buys and sells.
Our Nautilus SuperWhite carbon neutral office paper range provides customers with the option to reduce their impact on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint during the product life cycle.
Source: GHG Protocol |
Click on the image to view a larger version.
No significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of our products were received in 2010.
Sustainable, responsible products
Mondi provides a wide variety of paper and packaging products to a broad consumer base. Our products are subject to various voluntary and compulsory standard-testing procedures to ensure that a high level of health and safety is maintained.
Our kraft paper is sourced from virgin fibre to ensure our packaging applications possess the necessary strength, adhere to very strict hygiene standards and meet food safety requirements.
Our Medi White paper, suitable for medical and pharmaceutical applications, is an innovative example of paper and packaging solutions that meet very demanding hygiene standards.
Our intelligent packaging solutions ensure the contents of our packaging stay fresh for longer, preserving nutrients and taste, while preventing unpleasant odours.
Protecting our consumers
Reclosable consumer bags can be opened without a sharp tool, and reclosed as often as desired. The range features zips and sliders for ease of use.
Our antimicrobial Sanocoat® protects products by inhibiting bacterial growth and mould formation, thus extending the life of free food, baby and snack foods. It complies with EU safety regulation (EC) no. 1935/2004.
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All operations that supply paper or packaging to the medical and pharmaceutical industry comply with the highest quality and hygiene standards including ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 22000 (hygiene), ISO 11607 (sterilisation), DIN 15593, HACCP, British Retail Consortium (BRC), Institute of Packaging (IOP), the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and American Food and Drug Association (FDA) standards.
No incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes relating to customer health and safety were reported during 2010.
Responsible packaging
Mondi is conscious of the need to develop sustainable products, both to meet our responsibility as a corporate citizen and to meet the growing demand from customers and consumers for more environmentally responsible packaging. Our pioneering Sustainex® biodegradable packaging is a range of sustainable plastics, including extruded film and coated materials based on biodegradable polymers made from renewable materials.
Other examples of packaging solutions with reduced environmental impacts include Sackpaper Advantage One Lightweight (which saves wood and increases the strength of our bleached one-ply sacks), Provantage Fluting Frost (used in recycled fibre-based cooling boxes) and the Easy Seal Bag Closure Valve.
Other sustainable products
Other sustainable products include:
- Our Nautilus SuperWhite range – launched in 2009, made from 100%-recycled fibre at an ISO 14001 certified mill and carries FSC™- and European Union Flower certification
- Advantage One LightWeight – lightweight papers and boards that save natural resources by using less raw material without diminishing product quality.
- Provantage KraftTop Liner – a low-cost and more resource-efficient alternative to our Kraftliner and heavy substance Testliner products.
- Terra Bag – a biodegradable, compostable industrial bag. See the case study: Mondi's Terra Bag: the first industrial bag with biodegradable film and certified compostability.
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Launched in 2010 as part of the Mondi Green Range, the Terra Bag is the world’s first biodegradable industrial bag. It is made of paper optimised for industrial composting and includes an optional biodegradable film for humidity protection.
The Terra Bag received the internationally recognised OK™ compost label in 2010 and additional certification for a full range of bag constructions is due in 2011.
Development work on the bag began three years ago when long-standing Mondi customer, Ciments Calcia, asked Mondi about a tangible waste management solution for construction sites. Now industrial packaging can be turned into valuable compost. See the full case study. |
The Mondi Green Range
Launched in 2009 and extended in 2010, the Mondi Green Range was developed in response to customers’ growing demands for environmentally responsible paper and packaging solutions. Our ‘green’ products are all certified by internationally recognised bodies to ensure that we meet our commitment to conserving natural resources and reducing waste. The products of our Green Range are either sourced from well-managed forests with FSC™/PEFC certification, are totally chlorine-free (TCF) or are from 100% recycled materials.
The Mondi Green Range logo embodies and exemplifies the elements on which our production cycle has an impact, namely forest, water and air.
Forest + Water + Air = Green Range
For more information on our Green Range visit: www.mondigroup.com/greenrange.
In 2010, Mondi was ranked number one in the WWF global paper company environmental index. The WWF assessed key environmental criteria, including the use of recycled fibre sourced from well-managed forests, energy use and CO2 emissions, water consumption and water pollution.
For us this is confirmation that we are making progress towards achieving our commitment to reduce the impact of our operations on the environment. Moreover, our customers can conduct their business in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way.
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Responsible marketing
Product certification and labelling
We believe that certification is an important tool in supporting our credibility in the market, and serves as the minimum sustainable development standard to which we should adhere in those areas where we own, lease or manage land. Not only does certification help us to set operational benchmarks, but it also allows consumers to choose products and brands from responsible manufacturers who pay attention to reducing the impact of their products across the full life cycle.
We offer packaging papers that are almost wholly made from controlled wood, i.e. sourced from sustainably managed forests at Chain-of-Custody certified operations, and packaging that has both PEFC and CoC certification. We also offer FSC™-certified industrial bags and our converting operations are increasingly receiving CoC certification. For example, in 2010, our NovaSac in Italy received CoC certification.
Our certified products carry clear and informative labelling to ensure our customers are aware of the environmental process controls and health and safety assessments we conduct throughout the various life cycles of our products.
For example, in 2010, Mondi Industrial Bags, in collaboration with ARDEX Building Material, finalised the development of the Security Label Bag to help prevent the forgery of high-quality building materials, a problem that has been on the rise in central and eastern Europe. The forgery-proof industrial bag, which features paper that is easily recognisable by its appearance and texture, is only used for this particular purpose and has a label with several recognition marks, enabling consumers of bagged building material to clearly distinguish high-quality original materials from forged products. Mondi and ARDEX jointly submitted this product to Emballissimo, which rewards outstanding functionality and cutting-edge design. Both companies received the Emballissimo Award for industrial packaging.
FSC™-certified industrial bags
 Our FSC™-certified cement bags are an example of our clear, informative labelling practices
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No incidents of non-compliance relating to the regulations and voluntary codes we subscribe to concerning product and service information and labelling were recorded during the year.
Marketing communications
We subscribe to the ICC International Code of Advertising Practice and align our marketing communications with the principles of the ICC. See www.iccwbo.org.
When we launched the Mondi Green Range of environmentally responsible products across our Europe and International Divisions in 2010, we upheld the credibility of our communications campaign by aligning it with the ISO 14021 standard for self-declared environmental claims based on accurate verifiable facts.
We are not aware of any non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.
Recycling
No product is more widely recycled than paper, with effective collection and recycling systems in wide use across our markets. Almost all Mondi products can be recycled and are therefore inherently sustainable. Based on natural fibres, they are manufactured using renewable resources and can consequently be recycled.
Recyclable materials
More than 95% of our products are made with recyclable fibre. Our corrugated board can be re-used up to seven times before the fibres become unusable, while de-inked newsprint can be used up to four times. Materials that are too degraded for use in paper or board products are still fit to provide carbon-neutral energy. By using recycled fibre rather than virgin fibre in our production processes, we significantly reduce our associated environmental impacts and also deliver economic advantages.
Investing in recycling
Our products are easy for both our customers and end consumers to recycle. In addition, we also use waste paper and used packaging as raw materials in our products. In 2010, we used 1.8 million tonnes of recovered fibre. This accounts for 33% of total fibre used for production in 2010, compared with the 28% used in 2009.
In South Africa, our Mondi Recycling business unit supplies our three Mondi packaging mills and our newsprint mill with high-quality fibre at a competitive price. With a 40% market share, Mondi Recycling is the largest paper recycler in South Africa. The input of recovered paper also has a positive impact in terms of climate change. The recycled material replaces virgin material so that GHG emissions linked to the production of virgin fibre, and the landfilling/incineration of this amount of recycled paper, is avoided. Assuming 310g carbon/tonne recycled paper (UBA, 2003), about 140,000 tonnes CO2e has been avoided in this way.
In 2010, the business collected and purchased some 460,000 tonnes of used fibre. Our collection and recycling activities in South Africa have environmental, economic and social benefits – including saved landfill space, a reduction in the number of trees cut for paper manufacturing, lower energy usage, reduced coal- and electricity-based emissions along with cleaner production processes. The virgin fibre we use in our products comes from FSC™- and PEFC-certified or other controlled sources, and we also use renewable resources in our biodegradable polymer Sustainex® range.
Engaging with our customers
Mondi believes that customer loyalty is key to sustaining and growing our organisation. We measure customer satisfaction levels by performing an in-depth customer satisfaction survey every two years at our Europe & International and South Africa business units, and an annual survey at our uncoated fine paper (UFP) business unit. The findings of these assessments help us to keep up with the ever changing needs of our customer base.
Assessing the sustainability practices of suppliers has become a key component of procurement practices among large businesses and government.
In addition to conducting customer satisfaction surveys, Mondi also attends sustainability conferences, seminars and exhibitions to engage with our peers and customers on sustainability and environmentally sound products.
We value mutually beneficial interaction with our customers and endeavour to build lasting business relationships. We respect the privacy of our customers. To our knowledge, no complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data were submitted during the year.
Selected data on this page has been subject to external assurance by ERM. See the Assurance report.
Last change: 18/03/2011