H8. Fiber sourcing
Renewable raw materials, wood-based fresh fiber and recycled fiber, account for the largest share of the total volume of material in Essity’s products. In 2020, Essity purchased 3.5 million tons of wood-based fresh fiber and 2.0 million tons of recycled fiber. Wood-based fresh fiber mainly comprises pulp, 98%, and the remainder comprises packaging, externally sourced mother reels and products manufactured by third parties. Of the 2.0 million tons of recycled fiber sourced, 92% is used in tissue manufacturing. The remainder consists of recycled fiber, which is found in sourced packaging material and sourced mother reels.
|
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fiber used, million tons |
5.1 |
5.3 |
5.1 |
5.3 |
of which, pulp consumption |
3.2 |
3.1 |
3.0 |
3.1 |
share of total fiber use, % |
62 |
60 |
60 |
59 |
of which, recovered paper consumption |
1.9 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.2 |
share of total fiber use, % |
38 |
40 |
40 |
41 |
Fiber sourcing
In 2019, Essity introduced a new target that all raw materials derived from wood-based fresh fiber in the company’s products and packaging are to be certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™). Target fulfillment in 2020 was 95% (79; 76). All wood-based fresh fiber must fulfill the FSC®’s Controlled Wood standard, as a minimum, to be eligible for purchasing.
|
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FSC® |
59 |
57 |
48 |
39 |
||||||||||
PEFC™ |
36 |
22 |
29 |
26 |
||||||||||
FSC® Controlled Wood standard2) |
5 |
21 |
23 |
35 |
||||||||||
Total |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
In 2020, new data collection systems were introduced for packaging and mother reels to obtain information from suppliers about their capacity to deliver certified packaging and mother reels and, if possible, certify existing deliveries. In 2021, action plans will be agreed with suppliers to certify the remaining small volumes of fresh fiber-based mother reels and packaging, with Essity’s support where necessary. Essity prefers to cooperate with suppliers and to introduce FSC® or PEFC™ Chain of Custody to deliver certified and controlled material instead of changing supplier. This approach helps to promote certification throughout the supply chain, for existing and future suppliers.
Recycled and alternative fibers
The proportion of recycled fiber in Essity’s products varies between regions due to differences in quality, user preferences and fiber supply and demand. Access to recycled paper was substantially affected by COVID-19 restrictions in Europe and North and South America in 2020. Nonetheless, Essity continued to use recycled fiber, which meant operations in North and South America used 84% recycled fiber, while the proportion of recycled fiber in Europe was 36%.
Essity has continued to study new methods for collecting and recycling, such as the collaboration regarding the circular service Tork PaperCircle®. This service collects used paper hand towels for reuse as new tissue products.
In 2020, Essity continued to develop and test new products made using alternative fibers from wheat straw, cotton, bamboo and sugar cane. One example is Essity’s tissue plant in Mannheim, Germany that will start manufacturing tissue from wheat straw in 2021.
Audits conducted of pulp suppliers
The eight largest pulp suppliers to Essity’s wholly owned companies represent 81% the volume sourced. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no on-site audits were carried out in 2020. New questions concerning traceability have been added to the questionnaire, which will continue to be used. This will be sent to all suppliers in 2021. In addition, a new COVID-19 assessment was added to identify delivery and health risks at all suppliers. Essity is examining opportunities to conduct audits online. The company has also carried out a number of third-party audits based on information collected without being present on-site at potential new suppliers.
Read more about how Essity works with fiber and other materials in the chapter More from less and Circularity.