Sappi employees took deep oxygen-filled breaths as they got ready to inject positive energy into their personal sustainability initiative. For Sappi Fine Paper Europe, sustainability is more than just about being green. The company’s recently launched Positivity Campaign embodies Sappi’s broader sustainability vision which incorporates Prosperity, People and Planet through Positivity stories generated by Sappi people. For the third time, on 02 December, Sappi employees injected their positive energy into planting 2000 trees in the nearby Forêt de Soignes, a team building exercise which has the effect of counteracting the greenhouse effect. 2011 is the International Year of Forests which makes this annual tree planting event even more appropriate this year.
Sappi has been working with ANB1 (Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos) since the beginning of 2010 to develop this employee-led sustainability initiative. Now, after their third tree planting outing, Sappi employees are responsible for planting over 50002 trees in La Forêt de Soignes,3 a forest located in the south-eastern part of Brussels covering an area of over 4400 hectares. Dirk Raes, Forester in the Forêt de Soignes has helped Sappi employees get their hands dirty; “We love to welcome people into our world and give them an insight into thework that we do in maintaining our forests.” Dirk and his team are responsible for the plantingof 30,000 trees in the Forêt de Soignes every year as part of the National Forest Management Plan. The Sappi team of over 50 people planted a variety of species along a forest road, bridging a space between two previous planting projects. Species included beech, hawthorn, and hornbeam as well as shrubs to create a more diverse and dynamic environment. The smaller plants allow more light through, which attracts insects and butterflies.
Many misconceptions exist about the paper and print industry, particularly in relation to the environment. Making paper does not destroy forests; making paper adds substantial value to forestry products industry. It plays a key role by sourcing pulpwood and woodchips in rural areas of Europe and thus financing the sustainable management of our forests. Interestingly paper is a relatively small consumer of wood: of the wood extracted from the world’s forests, 42% is used for energy production, 24%is used by saw mills and only 17% is used directly by the paper industry4. Nonetheless, sustainable forest management ensures that less timber is harvested than actually grows. And the track record is impressive: in Europe, forests are increasing annually by an area the size of more than 1.5 million football pitches5.
In the knowledge that for every tonne of wood a forest produces, it removes 1.47 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air and replaces it with 1.07 tonnes of oxygen, Sappi and its Brussels based team look forward to planting many more thousands of new trees, and to enjoying and sharing the benefits of the ones that they have already planted.
