In 2010, SCA’s Ortviken and Laakirchen paper mills delivered more than a quarter of a million tonnes of FSC-certified publication papers. Deliveries of FSC paper grew by 35% last year. Although magazine-grade paper is most in demand, deliveries of FSC-certified newsprint are now also on the rise. Demand for FSC-certified solid-wood products and pulp remains high.
Interest among customers in FSC-certified publication papers continued to grow. In 2010, 19% of deliveries of publication papers from SCA’s paper mill in Ortviken, Sweden, and Laakirchen, Austria, were FSC certified, meaning that they met the Forest Stewardship Council’s standard for timber raw materials sourced from responsibly managed forests. Demand is growing for paper for magazines and catalogues – LWC and SC paper – and for newsprint.
“Demand for FSC-certified publication papers is greatest in Sweden, the UK and Germany, although growth was also noted in France during the year,” says Jan Knuts, Product Area Manager, LWC paper at SCA Ortviken.
Deliveries of FSC-certified LWC paper rose from 125,000 tonnes in 2009 to nearly 137,000 tonnes in 2010. Deliveries of FSC-certified SC paper from the Laakirchen paper mill increased from 60,000 tonnes to nearly 68,000 tonnes and newsprint deliveries tripled from 17,000 to 58,000 tonnes of FSC-certified paper.
Demand for PEFC-certified paper also increased in 2010. Laakirchen paper mill sold 47,000 tonnes of PEFC-certified SC paper compared with 29,000 tonnes in 2009. Demand for GraphoVerde, a high-quality SC paper with a recovered fibre content of at least 50%, remained high. GraphoVerde accounted for 18% of paper deliveries from the paper mill in Laakirchen, meaning that the full production capacity for this eco-friendly paper grade was utilised.
Demand for FSC-certified pulp from Östrand pulp mill remained high and – as in 2009 – deliveries of FSC pulp exceeded 50%. A total of 35% of SCA Timber’s deliveries of solid-wood products and processed timber products were FSC-certified.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, international member organisation that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially responsible and economically viable management of the world’s forests. SCA’s two and a half million hectares of forest in northern Sweden have been managed in accordance with the FSC’s standard for responsible forestry since 1999.