The cardboard producer Iggesund Paperboard, with manufacturing plants in Iggesund, Sweden, and Workington, England, which is part of the Holmen group, has been awarded with the most significant sustainability award this year following an assessment by the rating company EcoVadis. «This confirms once again how Iggesund Paperboard and its mother company Holmen Group have implemented a serious programme of sustainable management», says Johan Granås, who is Iggesund’s sustainability communications manager. «At the beginning this seemed to be just but an environmental issue, but now it concerns sustainability as a whole. Both the Iggesund and Workington paper mills received the Gold Standard assessment. They both rank within the best 1% group of all companies assessed by EcoVadis and in the best 2% group of companies assessed for the paper sector.
Over the last ten years the Holmen group was ranked in the index of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies of UN Global Compact and the Canadian magazine Corporate Knights. The group was furthermore recognized as world leader by the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) for its fight against climate change. «Providing evidence for one’s sustainable activity, in order to inform customers on the company’s stance on the matter, is becoming increasingly important», adds Granås. «And it is exactly here that EcoVadis and similar systems come into play. They make the exchange of information between customers and suppliers easier». Iggesund Paperboard has for decades focussed on sustainability and investments in this field have always been the subject of discussion. «Listing the business success stories which showed that Iggesund’s position on sustainability has represented a decisive factor is an easy task, and these topics will pay an increasingly decisive role in the future», continues Granås.
A strong commitment to sustainable solutions is an essential pre-requisite to make business with major brand owners, which are increasingly heading towards a sustainable society.
«We are convinced that more openness towards the sustainability topic can be a reward for our customers, brand owners and ourselves», stresses Granås. «And this makes us of course proud that we were granted such a high overall score».
The use of cardboard is yet another proof of Iggesund’s attention to sustainability. The products made in the Iggesund’s paper mills have a low environmental impact and, if they are used to replace plastic packaging, they contribute to further reduce the negative effects on the climate.
«By replacing the type of material normally used with our cardboard, companies will manage to drastically reduce their environmental impact. These aspects are not included in the assessments by Ecovadis, but they play an extremely important role in the fight against the greenhouse effect», concludes Granås.