Mondi Group is very pleased to have been recognised in three categories of WWF’s Environmental Paper Awards in 2016.  

• In the category ‘’Transparency’’ Mondi was recognised for publishing the forest, climate and water footprint of 92% of our uncoated fine paper brands.
• In the category “Best Environmental Performance Paper Brands”, 32 of our uncoated fine paper brands received this award, reaching over 80% of achievable scores.
• In the category “Striving for Continual Improvement” our packaging paper brands were recognised for using a proactive approach in assessing the forest, water and climate footprint for internal purposes, using WWF´s Check your Paper Method.

David Hathorn, Chief executive of Mondi Group, said: “These awards confirm the importance of good environmental stewardship and recognise our philosophy of continuous improvement in reducing our environmental footprint. Our participation in WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index and Check your Paper right from the start made good business sense for us and provides assurance about our products to our customers”.

Mondi and WWF have worked together over many years and in 2014 entered into a three year strategic partnership that focuses on promoting environmental stewardship in the packaging and paper sectors, minimising the impacts of Mondi’s operations on forests, climate and water and sharing information to encourage sustainable practices in the industry.

Peter Orisich, CEO Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, added: “At Mondi we attach great importance to the sustainability of the wood, fibre and paper we source and strive to act sustainably – every day. The productive capability, biodiversity and community needs of the forest plantations that we own, manage and source material from are key elements of our management approach and systems. WWF’s Check Your Paper scheme is an excellent benchmarking tool that helps us to illustrate our commitment to transparency and improve the environmental footprint of our papers”.

About the Environmental Paper Company Index

The Environmental Paper Company Index which evaluates a company´s overall performance started in its current form in 2010. The Index credits transparency and improvements over time – data are kept confidential and are published in aggregated form only. Companies receive benchmarking report cards comparing their performance on each parameter to the average of other comparable participants. Participation today covers 15% of the world paper and 15% of the world´s pulp production. It has increased from 5 participants in 2010, to 15 (in 19 product categories) in 2011, 25 participants (in 40 product categories) in 2013 and 31 participants (in 52 product categories) in 2015 with the following regional spread: (participants by region/headquarter locations: 14 Europe, 8 North America, 6 South/Central America, 2 Asia, 1 Africa).

WWF´s Check your Paper Method reduces the complexity of evaluating a paper’s footprint by using relatively few, but carefully selected, environmental indicators.

checkyourpaper.panda.org

We are Mondi: In touch every day

At Mondi, our products protect and preserve the things that matter.

Mondi is an international packaging and paper Group, employing around 25,000 people across more than 30 countries. Our key operations are located in central Europe, Russia, North America and South Africa. We offer over 100 packaging and paper products, customised into more than 100,000 different solutions for customers, end consumers and industrial end uses - touching the lives of millions of people every day. In 2015, Mondi had revenues of €6.8 billion and a return on capital employed of 20.5%.

The Mondi Group is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and compound plastics, to developing effective and innovative industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Our innovative technologies and products can be found in a variety of applications including hygiene components, stand-up pouches, super-strong cement bags, clever retail boxes and office paper. Our key customers are in industries such as automotive; building and construction; chemicals; food and beverage; home and personal care; medical and pharmaceutical; packaging and paper converting; pet care; and office and professional printing.

Mondi has a dual listed company structure, with a primary listing on the JSE Limited for Mondi Limited under the ticker code MND and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange for Mondi plc, under the ticker code MNDI.

For us, acting sustainably makes good business sense and is part of the way we work every day. We have been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the JSE's Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index since 2007.

About Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper

Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper is a business unit of Mondi’s Europe & International Division. In 4 paper mills in Austria, Slovakia, and Russia Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper produces environmentally sound office and professional printing papers tailored to the latest professional digital print technology. The company complies with the strictest international certification standards to support sustainable production processes through the responsible management of forest, water and air resources. All Mondi uncoated fine papers belong to the Green Range of papers that are FSC^® or PEFC™ certified, 100% recycled or bleached entirely without chlorine.

Its renowned brands such as Color Copy, DNS^®, IQ, MAESTRO^®, NAUTILUS^®, BIO TOP 3^®, PERGRAPHICA^® or Snegurochka are used in office environments on laser or inkjet printers and by professional printers on digital or offset presses to create brochures, transactional material, folders, invitations, business cards, letterheads or other high-impact communication.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Containerboard Market in North America 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the containerboard market in North America to grow at a CAGR of 2.42% during the period 2016-2020.

The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

Growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions are gaining traction in the market. Consumer goods manufacturers prefer eco-friendly packaging materials as they promote sustainability. Paper can be recycled up to seven times, which gives corrugated manufacturers an advantage over manufacturers of other packaging products. Therefore, manufacturers are focusing on producing 100% recyclable corrugated boxes.

According to the report, growing e-commerce industry is anticipated to drive the demand for containerboard in North America. The demand for containerboard in the region is a result of increased shipments of products in the US and Canada via e-commerce platforms. The retail industry in North America was heavily impacted by the sluggish economic growth in the past. However, even with slow economic growth, online retail sales have outpaced major markets in the region in terms of revenue generation.

Key vendors:

• International Paper
• WestRock
• Georgia-Pacific
• PCA
• KapStone

Key Topics Covered:

Part 01: Executive summary

Part 02: Scope of the report

Part 03: Market research methodology

Part 04: Introduction

Part 05: Industry overview

Part 06: Market landscape

Part 07: Geographical segmentation

Part 08: Market segmentation by end-use

Part 09: Market drivers

Part 10: Impact of drivers

Part 11: Market challenges

Part 12: Impact of drivers and challenges

Part 13: Market trends

Part 14: Vendor landscape

Part 15: Key vendor analysis

Part 16: Appendix

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/js92vk/containerboard

"The time has come for a regulatory reset for the paper industry bringing investment back to Europe” says Sylvain Lhôte, CEPI’s Director General

A European Commission real-time study on our sector has revealed that over the past 10 years, direct regulatory costs have more than tripled. On average, direct and ETS-related indirect regulatory costs have absorbed more than 40% of the industry’s annual profitability since 2004.

While the paper industry is engaging in major transformation of its production base to capture both growth opportunities and dramatically reduce its CO2 emissions, such regulatory burden diminishes our investment capability and deters international capital allocation into Europe.

The cumulative cost impact assessment performed for the European Commission by Technopolis reveals the full scale of regulatory costs in the fields of climate, energy and environment policies (2/3 of alone which arise from climate change & energy regulations).  Despite EU leader’s pledge for smarter regulation and investment in industry, these costs have not subsided in the period since 2004. Planned regulation for biomass-based large combustion plants, ETS and energy-related policies may indeed widen the regulatory cost burden.

In order to prevent the continued erosion of industry’s competitiveness, the EU and its member states must rapidly restore the conditions necessary to fuel transformative investments. Together with the European Commission we share a common agenda on climate change and sustainability, as evidenced by our 2050 vision to decarbonise by 80% and create 50% added-value. We envision ourselves as leading the transition to a circular, low carbon bioeconomy. We therefore ask the Commission and EU member states to act decisively and put back climate, energy & environmental policies on a pro-investment track.

The full text of the study is available here.

CEPI aisbl - The Confederation of European Paper Industries

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation regrouping the European pulp and paper industry and championing the industry’s achievements and the benefits of its products. Through its 18 member countries (17 European Union members plus Norway) CEPI represents some 505 pulp, paper and board producing companies across Europe, ranging from small and medium sized companies to multi-nationals, and 920 paper mills. Together they represent 23% of world production.

Today and tomorrow skill needs of the European Industry require updating the education and training offer.

The European Social Partners in the Pulp and Paper Sector, CEPI and industriAll Europe, presented a set of policy recommendations that should contribute to a more comprehensive skills strategy in Europe.

These recommendations are the result of an extensive research project carried out over the last 2 years. The project was triggered by the observation of profound changes in the industry. Social partners’ agenda was therefore to ensure that the European Paper sector has an adequately skilled workforce.

That is why the European Social Partners call on policy makers to:

- Promote workforce adaptability and versatility

- Focus on upskilling and life-long learning

- Facilitate workers’ mobility

- Anticipate future skills needs

- Create conditions for high-quality mentorship

- Raise awareness and attractiveness of the sector

- Provide a one-stop-shop for a coherent European Skills Strategy

“The subject of skills and qualifications is a burning one for our industry in order to stay competitive and to offer attractive workplaces and opportunities for career development to workers in the European Paper Industry”, said Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll Europe. “industriAll is convinced that Social Dialogue is an excellent tool to identify skills gaps and develop joint ideas to overcome them.”

Sylvain Lhôte, Director General of CEPI: “Future skills and jobs lie at the heart of industry transformation and the bioeconomy transition in Europe. Our industry has a strong innovation and investment agenda ahead to make transformation to happen here in Europe. We need to equip our workforces with the skills to accompany this transformation.”

The project deliverables were presented at a conference held in Brussels on 24 November that gathered some 100 participants and are available online in 6 language versions.

CEPI aisbl - The Confederation of European Paper Industries

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation regrouping the European pulp and paper industry and championing industry’s achievements and the benefits of its products. Through its 18 member countries (17 European Union members plus Norway) CEPI represents some 505 pulp, paper and board producing companies across Europe, ranging from small and medium sized companies to multi-nationals, and 920 paper mills. Together they represent 23% of world production.

The WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016, issued today, go to 106 paper brands for environmental performance, 5 paper producers for product transparency and 13 paper producers/merchants for their continual improvement efforts.

WWF created the WWF Environmental Paper Awards to recognise and encourage company efforts in reducing the forest, water and climate footprint of paper production. WWF´s Check your Paper Method, which is simple but scientifically robust, is the basis for the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016. Winners1 are awarded in 3 categories – access details here www.panda.org/paperawards2016

1. 106 paper products receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 in the category “Best Environmental Performance Paper Brands”. The Award winning brands have been published on WWF´s online database of Eco Rated papers with a third party audit and reach at least 80% of achievable scores. They come from the following 8 producers/merchants: Antalis McNaughton, Arjowiggins Graphic, LEIPA, Mondi (Fine Paper), SCA (Graphic paper and Newsprint), Sofidel, Steinbeis and UPM (Graphic Paper).
    
2. 5 paper producers receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 for “Transparency” on their Products´ footprint: Arjowiggins Graphic, LEIPA, Mondi (Fine Paper), SCA (Graphic Paper and Newsprint) and Steinbeis. These companies published the majority of paper brands in at least one product category on WWF´s checkyourpaper.panda.org
    
3. 13 companies receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 in the category “Striving For Continual Improvement”: Appleton Coated, BillerudKorsnäs, Burgo, Denmaur, Fedrigoni, Lecta, Lucart, Metsä Tissue, Mondi (Packaging), PaperWise, Rolland Enterprises, Södra Cell and Van Houtum. The companies have been proactive in assessing the forest, water and climate footprint of a number of paper brands for company internal purposes, using WWF´s Check your Paper Method.

“Pulp, paper and packaging products can be environmentally sound. For wood to play a positive role in a “green” economy based on sustaining and advancing the use of renewable resources, production forests need to be managed to the highest ecological and social standards, and the use and recovery of wood products must become more efficient”, says Cecilia Alcoreza, WWF´s new Global lead on Paper and Packaging. “We encourage paper buyers to work with their suppliers in all regions of the world towards improvements and to reward high environmental, social and governance goals in pulp and paper production.”

Most of today´s Award winners also participate in WWF´s bi-annual Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) and allow WWF to evaluate the company´s overall performance and targets over time. The EPCI 2015 covered 15% of the world´s paper and board and 15% of the world´s pulp production and will be published again in 2017. “WWF´s Environmental Paper Company Index and WWF´s Check your Paper help the sector gain more credibility and give participants valuable opportunities to engage with customers”, says Helma Brandlmaier, WWF´s Senior Advisor Forest Sector Accountability. “Companies also get useful benchmarking information for free”.

WWF is managing two key accountability tools to encourage continual improvement in the pulp and paper sector: WWF´s Check your Paper focuses on brand level performance (and is the basis for the WWF Environmental Paper Awards); the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index looks at a company´s overall performance, including targets. Both accountability tools are aligned in their methods and are based on voluntary participation by companies. They are designed for all the main pulp and paper categories including coated and uncoated papers, newsprint, tissue, packaging and board papers, speciality papers and pulp.

• WWF´s Check your Paper (CYP) was created in 2007 in cooperation with paper buyers to reduce the complexity in evaluating a paper product´s footprint. The CYP Method was developed in cooperation with scientists, paper buyers, producers and NGOs and is a simple but scientifically robust method in evaluating a paper product’s footprint.
  
  CYP was also designed to assist companies along the whole pulp and paper supply chain to work together in their efforts towards greater sustainability and credibility. Since 2015 it also includes an online Self-Check as free and non-public management tool to support a company’s internal decision making between sales, marketing, production/technical and procurement divisions. Check your Paper features also a public database for pulp and paper products with high environmental standards.
   
• TheWWF Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) evaluates a company´s overall performance, including targets. The EPCI started in its current form in 2010 and credits transparency and improvements over time, publishing aggregated findings company by company without direct comparisons. Companies receive non-public benchmarking report cards for company internal discussions.
  
  Participation today covers 15% of the world paper and 15% of the world´s pulp production. It has increased from 5 participants in 2010, to 15 (in 19 product categories) in 2011, 25 participants (in 40 product categories) in 2013 and 31 participants (in 52 product categories) in 2015 with the following regional spread: (participants by region/headquarter locations: 14 Europe, 8 North America, 6 South/Central America, 2 Asia, 1 Africa). The next EPCI will be published in November 2017 – get more information from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF´s has a long standing track record working with companies towards continual improvement within the forest and paper sectors and to increase supply chain transparency. WWF´s Check your Paper platform and the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index are key accountability tools to motivate and reward continual improvement in the forest products sector. For more information, visit www.panda.org/forests

ANDRITZ Nonwoven, part of international technology Group ANDRITZ, has received two orders from Fujian NanFang Textile Co., Ltd (PRC) to supply two new neXline spunlace nonwoven lines for its new plant in the city of NanPing, Fujian Province, China. Start-up of both lines, which will produce facial papers and wipes, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.

Spunlace line #1 supplied by ANDRITZ will be capable of processing 100% bleached cotton fibers in a crosslapping configuration with an eXcelle card, a Dynamic crosslapper, a drafter and another eXcelle card, including the ProDyn and Isolayer functions, in order to enhance the web profile uniformity and thus save raw materials. For web bonding, ANDRITZ will supply its Jetlace Avantage hydroentanglement unit.

ANDRITZ neXline spunlace line with TT cards Photo: Andritz

Line #2 is a high-speed spunlace line for processing viscose and polyester fibers. It will have two ANDRITZ TT cards for web forming and a Jetlace Essentiel unit for hydroentanglement. The TT card technology enables drylaid web forming at very high speed. ANDRITZ has a large number of very successful installations with TT card technology around the globe, with more than thirty machines in operation and an average capacity of 20,000 t/a per line. The TT cards for NanFang will be the first to be installed in China.

NanFang has already invested in three spunlace lines in the past, the first of which was installed in 2002.

The ANDRITZ GROUP

ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors. The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of approximately 25,500 employees. ANDRITZ operates over 250 sites worldwide.

Mondi’s Color Copy, IQ, and MAESTRO^® all ranked in top 5 for brand awareness in Europe

International packaging and paper company Mondi ranks again first in mill performance with their Uncoated Fine Paper mills in the new EMGE cut-size industry survey for 2016, yet again improving on its top rating in 2015. In terms of brand awareness, Color Copy, IQ and MAESTRO^® take 3 of the top 5 spots for mill brand awareness in Europe. Snegurochka is the best known brand in Russia and the Baltics, mentioned by 80% of the regional participants.

“We are very pleased with the results of the EMGE survey, particularly our mill performance being ranked first in Europe yet again, for the eighth time in a row,” said Johannes Klumpp, Marketing & Sales Director Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper. “Being ranked first in Europe in the performance ratings for reliability of delivery – the most important factor according to the survey – product range, customer service, innovative marketing approach and packaging alternatives, is a testament to our firm focus on customer needs and our continued drive to innovate and do things better,” he explained. In Russia Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper’s outstanding product range was rated highest.

The EMGE cut-size brand and supplier benchmarking survey covers the image of white cut-size paper mills and mill brands in Western and Eastern Europe in 2016. This report presents the results of an interview survey among the trade (paper merchants, Original Equipment Manufacturers/OEMs, and Office Stationary Distributors/OSDs). The research focuses on mills and mill brands covering customer awareness, factors of importance and product/mill performance.

“We aim to continue to excel at what is important to our customers: reliable delivery of the right products at the right time and excellent customer service, every day” concluded Mr. Klumpp.

CEPI foresees 40% more investment to transform industry and lead the low-carbon bioeconomy in Europe.

At the 18^th edition of annual event European Paper Week, CEPI’s new Director General SlyvainLhôte and its Chairman, Peter Oswald (CEO Mondi Group, Europe & International Division) outlined industry’s ambitious investment agenda towards achieving its 2050 vision of a low carbon, resource efficient bioeconomy.

Building on the roadmap it had laid out in 2011 industry reaffirms its vision of leading Europe’s bioeconomy transition towards 2050 by cutting its carbon footprint by 80% while creating more than 50% more added value.

“Investment will be the cornerstone of making this industry transformation happen in Europe“ said Sylvain Lhôte at the High Level Session at European Paper Week. We project the need for 40% more investment to transform our industry base and seize new market opportunities. This can happen in Europe if we align European policies, our research efforts and financing conditions. Our agenda goes against the gloom prevailing in so many industries. For CEPI, getting the conditions right to invest more in Europe will be the priority.

Industry currently invests €3 to €3.5 billion euro per year in Europe. The capital expenditure to deploy decarbonisation technologies in Europe and develop production of new bio-based products would require an additional €44 billon by 2050 or in other words 40% more than current levels.

The key findings of the roadmap review that CEPI experts carried out in 2016 are now available for consultation from stakeholders. The goal is to broaden the collective input of the document through seeking consultation with key stakeholders on enabling conditions for industry transformation and to table a revised roadmap early 2017. An online version of the roadmap can be consulted here.

For further information on our 2050 roadmap please contact Bernard de Galembert at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CEPI aisbl - The Confederation of European Paper Industries

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation regrouping the European pulp and paper industry and championing the industry’s achievements and the benefits of its products. Through its 18 member countries (17 European Union members plus Norway) CEPI represents some 505 pulp, paper and board producing companies across Europe, ranging from small and medium sized companies to multi-nationals, and 920 paper mills. Together they represent 23% of world production.

Website: http://www.cepi.org/

Procemex Inc., a leader in paper and pulp web monitoring and web inspection system solutions, announced today that the company is investing strongly in North American operations and growth with the establishment of new company in the United States. Further, the company appointed Mr. Wesley Sweeny as the Vice President of Operations of Procemex Inc. Procemex is a leading manufacturer and supplier of comprehensive web monitoring and web inspection systems and products sold globally to paper and pulp industry customers. In this new role, Mr. Sweeny will lead all aspects of Procemex’s businesses based in North America. Procemex is strongly committed to further strengthen its position in North American market.

Mr. Sweeny joined the company in October 2016. His previous experience with over a decade in the web inspection, monitoring and machine vision marketplace as the Director of Sales at Cognex allows an excellent fit for Procemex continued goal of growth in the North American paper market.

“Wesley is a key leader, with direct responsibility for accelerating Procemex’s business in Northern America and to drive for operational excellence and execute our plans to grow and expand in paper and pulp industry,” says Mr. Mika Valkonen, CEO of Procemex International.

“I am very pleased that we have had the opportunity to bring Wesley into our team,” continued Mr. Valkonen. “The knowledge and experience of Wesley gives us the support and strength we need in North America.”

Furthermore, Mr. Jim Haza, continues to support our North American customers as Technical Support & Services Manager of Procemex Inc.

“With the strong team of Procemex Inc. we look forward to providing our customer more and better service,” Mr. Valkonen emphasizes. “Procemex will continue to build and grow our team based upon our continued success in the North American markets.”

“At this occasion, I want to thank Randy Southin of RTS Alliance for his efforts and dedication to Procemex sales over the years. Through his activity, Randy played a significant role in improving the Procemex's market position,” says Mr. Valkonen.

About Procemex

Procemex provides products and services to paper and pulp industry globally. Founded in 2000, Procemex is now a leading global designer and manufacturer of paper and pulp mill web monitoring and web inspection systems with smart camera solutions. Internationally headquartered in Finland, with an American company Procemex Inc., the company has pioneered in the visualization of production problems in paper machines for nearly 20 years. Procemex is a single source machine vision solutions provider that secures product quality and minimizes expensive production downtime. For more information on Procemex visit: www.procemex.com

Stora Enso’s Sustainability Report 2015 has been ranked best in Finland in an independent review of annual sustainability reports commissioned by FIBS, Finland’s leading non-profit corporate responsibility network.

This is the second consecutive year Stora Enso’s report has earned this recognition. Stora Enso’s Sustainability Report 2015 was also given top ranking by the media and by students of corporate sustainability.

The FIBS review particularly appreciated Stora Enso’s comprehensive and balanced reporting on topics including global warming, biodiversity, and human rights, as well as good visuals and user experience.

“We are proud that our efforts in transparent reporting have been acknowledged,” says Noel Morrin, EVP Sustainability at Stora Enso. “Last year we introduced a simplified report structure that consistently presents the most material opportunities and challenges our company is facing. Looking forward, we have an ambition to have the key content of our report assured at the highest possible level.”

“In addition to being coherent and highly informative, we believe a good report must be easy to read and use for all of our stakeholders,” adds Ulrika Lilja, EVP Communications at Stora Enso. “We are pleased that our report is appreciated not only within the sustainability community, but also among the media and by students.”

This year’s FIBS review – the 21st of its kind – covered 146 sustainability reports, including reports produced by all the companies listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, as well as other selected reports from the private sector.

Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. Our aim is to replace fossil based materials by innovating and developing new products and services based on wood and other renewable materials. We employ some 26 000 people in more than 35 countries, and our sales in 2015 were EUR 10.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) on the International OTCQX over-the-counter market. storaenso.com