The Sofidel Group has again been positioned in the leadership band of the Climate Change 2023 and Forests 2023 ratings by international non-profit organisation CDP.
The CDP – which drives companies and governments to manage their environmental impacts – has confirmed that in both Climate Change and Forests ratings, Sofidel received A-.
This positions the Italian tissue giant above the European average of B, in the case of Climate Change, and C in the case of Forest Management, and the sector average of B for both ratings.
Riccardo Balducci, Group Sustainability Director at Sofidel, said: “It is a major achievement for Sofidel.
“The measurement of environmental performance indicators, carried out by third-party and independent organisations such as CDP, is a key element of our group’s sustainability journey. A journey that we are embracing with courage and determination.
“Regarding the climate change we are now working on the Net Zero objective by 2050, while, as for the forests, we are continuing to implement our responsible cellulose sourcing policy and our commitment to Zero Deforestation.
Sofidel has also recently committed to Science Based Targets (SBTi) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
It has confirmed that the Net Zero goal – i.e. the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the consequent removal of residual emissions as close to zero as possible along the entire value chain – is “at the centre of the European Green Deal and considered crucial to limiting global warming well below 2°C according to the Paris agreements.”
Sofidel has also confirmed that “100% of the forest-based raw material procurement used by the group comes from suppliers certified according to rigorous environmental, social, and economic standards guaranteed by independent third parties (e.g. FSC, FSC Controlled Wood, PEFCTM).”
The CDP said 2023 was another “record year of disclosure” after scoring over 21,000 companies on their environmental disclosures.
It added that nearly 400 companies scored an A for their leadership in environmental transparency and performance on climate change, deforestation, and water security.
Historic milestone: production start-up in Duluth, USA
Elsewhere, on 1 February 2024 Sofidel America Corp. unveiled its first production run from its recently acquired tissue production facility in Duluth.
The day marks a historic milestone for the business, which boosted its presence in America by 65,000tpy after announcing the acquisition of Minnesota-based paper mill ST Paper in January.
An Andritz-supplied PrimeLineTM W 2000 high-speed tissue machine was started up at the site in January 2023, and has a design speed of 2,000m/min and a working width of 5.65m.
