«Some believe in miracles, but good results are more often the outcome of effort and hard work. Breakthroughs that revolutionise an industry do not happen overnight and cannot be realised within a year. Someone needs to kick off the process. After embracing the CEPI 2050 Roadmap and its vision, the European paper industry decided to take its future in its own hands, and identify the breakthrough concepts needed to deliver the Roadmap’s targets. Some said open innovation at sector level could not be done. We believed they were wrong» (Teresa Presas, from «Unfold the future»).
Like many others, the paper industry is in hardship.
The deep economic crisis in Europe has led to closures and job losses.
Europe’s prospects lie in limited growth and a stable population.
Our global competitors face very different circumstances.
While we share the same technology basis and face similar changing consumer behaviour, constraints around the world are very different.
For this reasons it’s need to look to the future, aiming to forecast the best technologies for this century.
How is it possible to «look to the future»?
It is clear that a different policy framework is needed to allow industry to stay in Europe and provide the much needed jobs and growth.
It is also clear industry needs new answers to the questions of the future.
For example it’s needed to reduce the energy costs. Based on a stable flow the paper industry will generate the cash flow in the field of innovation, creating new business.
The paper industry has to make the most value out of every bale of cellulose or bale of paper for recycling.
This is what shareholders and stakeholders ask from the paper industry.