Reduce impact
to create
an impact
EU’s public
procurement
goes green
Natural carbon
storage for a
safer future
A MAGAZINE FROM SCA ON SUSTAINABILIT Y Nº 1 2010
SENSE
Slimmer waste
with Tork
Xpressnap
CODE OF CONDUCT
MAKING SURE
YOUR COMPANY
STAYS ETHICAL
A Russian
lesson in
womanhood
900 IDEAS THAT
SAVE MONEY
– AND THE PLANET
SHONEW
PAT PP
GRE TERN ING
EN A S SE
PAG GEND T
E6 A
PACKAGING – A DESIGN CHALLENGE WHERE NATURE TAKES CARE OF THE WASTE
With a sense for tomorrow
SUSTAINABILITY IS NO LONGER a matter of legislation or image, nor can it be reduced to emissions or
resources. Sustainability issues cannot be treated
separately; they are now the hub from which the
future development of our society – and our world –
will emanate.
For us in the business community, this is a
dimension that we must seriously consider and one
that will require entirely new questions and new
answers. Ultimately, it is about ensuring the
relevance of our companies in tomorrow’s society.
For SCA, sustainability involves viewing our business from a global perspective and being prepared to
rethink deep-rooted beliefs and methods of approach.
Are we using the appropriate technology? How can
we minimise the products’ environmental impact?
Can we find new ways to distribute our goods?
SCA has long been at the forefront on sustainability issues. We have also been awarded a number
“Sense will therefore
inspire us to develop,
think creatively and
be even better.”
JAN JOHANSSON, CEO
of honors – for instance, six years in a row, we
have been ranked one of the 100 most sustainable
companies in the world by the Canadian business
magazine Corporate Knights. SCA was also named
one of the world’s most ethical companies by the
Ethisphere Institute.
To give more regular updates on things we do,
there is now Sense. The magazine will inform and
inspire customers, investors, suppliers and other interested parties twice a year with the latest news in
the field of sustainability – both what is happening
at SCA and what is going on in the world around us.
In a major industrial group like SCA, there are
always numerous projects under way connected to
environmental issues. It’s not always that easy for
every colleague to keep up with what we do. Sense
will therefore inspire us to develop, think creatively
and be even better.
Pleasant reading!
RESPONSIBLE USE OF
WOOD RAW MATERIAL
IMPROVED WATER USAGE
SCA established its target for water
usage in 2005: to reduce consumption by 15% and reduce organic content in wastewater by 30%.
CARBON DIOXIDE
EMISSIONS
No fresh fiber-based material used
in production will be derived from
controversial sources.
CODE OF CONDUCT
COMPLIANCE
SCA’s Code of Conduct applies
to all employees at all locations
worldwide.
By 2020, emissions from fossil fuels
will be reduced by 20%, using 2005
as a base year.
Because our products make life easier for you
and for millions of people around the world.
Because our resources and the way we work
are natural parts of the global lifecycle.
And because we care.
SCA Sense is a magazine from SCA, geared primarily toward customers
but also for public officials and journalists interested in SCA’s sustainability work. Sense is published twice a year.
The next issue is due in October 2010.
Address SCA, Corporate Communications, Box 200, 101 23 Stockholm
Telephone +46 8 7885100
Fax +46 8 6788130
Publisher Anna Selberg Managing editor Marita Sander
Editorial Marita Sander, SCA, Anna Gullers, Göran Lind and Kristin
Päeva, Appelberg Design Tone Knibestöl and Cecilia Farkas, Appelberg
Printer Trydells, Laholm Paper Gallerie Volume
Cover photo Pysse Holmberg
Reproduction only by permission of SCA Corporate Communications. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors or persons interviewed and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or SCA. You can subscribe to SCA Sense or read it as a pdf at www.sca.com.
2 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
“During Soviet times there were no lectures in psychology
or sanitary protection products.” Page 12
04 SENSIBLE
Lean ideas in Design Challenge contest
and top 50 sustainable books.
06 PRESSURE’S ON
Consumers choose sustainable products
and companies adapt.
09 WIPE-OUT
TorkXpressnap tops its competitors with
less trash and better hygiene.
10 APPROVED
Now we want paper and forest products
stemming from certified forests.
11 FAIR BUSINESS
A new approach ensures that SCA maintains high business standards.
18
12 WOMANHOOD
The Libresse school teaches Russian
schoolgirls about puberty.
06
12
14 EU-SHOPPING
EU's green procurement may be an
advantage for SCA products.
15 REFORESTING
Brazil benefits when every tree SCA uses
means planting three new ones.
16 TREATING WATER
12
18 E-SAVE
Natural lagoons reduce the
organic content in wastewater
by 60 percent.
In Stembert, Belgium, natural lagoons
take care of wastewater.
t
n
e
t
n
o
c
900 small projects save money – and
the environment – in the SCA group.
Back cover 2.6 million tons
of carbon dioxide are
absorbed by SCA forests
each year. Page 20
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 3
SENSIBLE
THE ART OF
GETTING
IT JUST RIGHT
THE SECOND annual
SCA Design Challenge
harvests the best ideas
from students and nonprofessional packaging
designers.
This year, the task
was to come up with
a lean, smart, fat-free
packaging solution for
an existing product that
can be bought at retail.
While optimal packaging is sustainable,
some of the bids have
taken the idea of sustainability even further.
“Some entries
thought about an optimum packaging as well
as a secondary use for
the packaging,” says
Katia Schotte, communications director at
SCA Packaging.
The five finalists’ solutions will now attend
workshops before the
public gets to vote for a
winner, starting in April.
Read more about the
contest:
www.scapackaging.
com/design-challenge
A branch-bench made of pine and oak.
Beauty
of crooked
trees
THE FINNISH WOODISM GROUP works
out of respect for surrounding trees
and nature, and hope that the stories
of the trees will carry on in homes
in the form of objects. Woodism
designs and manufactures furniture
and utility items from felled trees
that are not suitable for the timber
industry. Crooked branches that the
wood industry rejects are converted
to beautiful coat racks, benches,
tables and stools. The unique objects
are produced in collaboration with
designers and carpenters.
www.woodism.fi
one
EARTH HOUR, MARCH 27
billion
This year almost one billion people,
including those at SCA’s headquarters,
switched off the lights for an hour
in the climate manifestation
called Earth Hour.
2010 the year of biodiversity
THE UNITED NATIONS declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity – the huge variety
of other animals and plants, the places they live and their surrounding environments, all over the world.
Some experts estimate the loss of species to be 1,000 times the natural progression as a result of human
activities. The Year provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity for
life on Earth, reflect on what has been done to safeguard it, and focus on the urgency of action.
4 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
It’s more than
just a box
DO YOU KNOW where your
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
box has been? Columbia
sportswear company
offers their customers
the option of receiving
their orders in reused
boxes. Each participating box has a unique QR
code (“quick response”,
a two-dimensional bar
code) and tracking
number that can be used
to follow the story of
where the box has travelled. People can track
their box’s progress on
A Box Life (www.aboxlife.
com).
In just over one month
after A Box Life’s launch
in 2009, over 66 percent
of Columbia’s orders
were being shipped in
reused boxes.
BOTTLED WATER
BANNED
BUNDANOON, Australia,
BEST 50 IN ONE BOOK
THIS TITLE DRAWS together in one
volume the Top 50 Sustainability
Books as voted for by the University
of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership’s graduates
network of over 3,000 senior leaders
from around the world. In addition
to profiles of all 50 titles, many of
the authors share their most recent
reflections on the state of the world.
Many of these authors have become
household names in the environmental, social and economic justice
movements, from Rachel Carson,
Ralph Nader and E.F. Schumacher to
Vandana Shiva, Muhammad Yunus
and Al Gore. Others, such as Aldo
Leopold, Thomas Berry and Manfred
Max-Neef, are relatively undiscovered gems, whose work should be
much more widely known. Order at
www.amazon.com
has become the first town
in the world to ban bottled
water.
This is for environmental reasons, to avoid
plastic bottles and transportation. The community
voted to replace branded
water bottles with empty
bottles labeled “Bundy on
tap” that can be filled and
refilled with water from
taps and fountains on the
main street, reports the
site trendwatching.com.
Biodegradable shopping
PLASTIC BAGS THAT ARE NOT biodegradable are out-
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
lawed in Mexico City. The law affects all stores, production facilities and service providers, according to CNN.
com. Mexico City becomes the second-largest metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to ban the
bags. San Francisco enacted an ordinance in March
2007 that gave supermarkets six months and large
chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags.
Los Angeles is set to impose a ban if the state of
California does not enact a statewide 25-cent fee per
bag by July. About 90 percent of the bags used in the
United States are not recycled.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 5
FEATURE
TIME FOR
GREEN
SHOPPING
Public awareness and individual concerns are
growing. We no longer want to contribute to the
plundering of the planet and we are changing
our shopping patterns.
TEXT: MARK CARDWELL PHOTO: PYSSE HOLMBERG
A
S CATHERINE GREENER explains, protecting the
environment isn’t always the highest priority for
consumers when it comes to picking products on
store shelves or choosing companies to do business with. “Some people will buy green no matter what,” says
the aptly named product quality expert, who advises Fortune 500 companies – from international food and beverage
makers to world-class retailers – on the how, what, when,
where and why of sustainability. “But the average shopper
isn’t like that. They consider products foremost in terms of
reliability, performance and cost.”
However, as public awareness and individual concerns
over the environmental fallout from relentless commercial
activity grow, she says more people everywhere are choosing
to buy items and support businesses that have the best interests of planet Earth at heart.
“We’re at a very interesting juncture in consumer trends,”
says Greener, who is based in Boulder, Colorado. “Recent
studies suggest shoppers are weighing the sustainability
6 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
of products against quality. There still has to be a delight
factor involved but, all things being equal, people are more
and more interested in buying products they know are being made with respect for the environment in mind. No one
wants to help pillage and plunder the planet.”
THE SHIFT TO GREEN SPENDING hasn’t been lost on businesses
of all stripes and sizes, from manufacturers and retailers to
distributors and suppliers. In Britain, for example, supermarket giant Tesco recently unveiled new initiatives aimed
at cutting the carbon impact of products sold in their stores.
Notably, the company moved its own-brand brandy from
glass to plastic bottles, achieving an 86 percent reduction in
packaging and cutting 200,000 kg of packaging in the process. Likewise, it launched a new wine bottle that is 30 percent lighter than the old one, resulting in an annual savings
of 560 tons of glass. “More significantly, we’re working with
our suppliers towards a 30 percent reduction in the carbon
impact of the products in our supply chain by 2020,” Lucy
“We’re at a very interesting juncture in consumer trends.”
People want products they know
are being made with respect
for the environment.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 7
FEATURE
Lucy Neville-Rolfe, executive director, Tesco.
Neville-Rolfe, Tesco’s executive director for corporate
and legal affairs, says about the changes.
That’s a path the world’s biggest-ever retailer, WalMart, took last summer when it unveiled its Sustainability Index. A set of 15 questions in four areas of focus
– energy and climate, material efficiency, nature and
resources, and people and community – it is designed
to get suppliers thinking about developing better, lower-cost products that have less impact on the planet.
“The index is about increasing transparency in the
supply chain and improving quality and sustainability,
which are strongly linked,” notes Greener, who attended the index launch at Wal-Mart’s Milestone Meeting
in Arkansas. “Wal-Mart is adhering to its core values:
satisfying customer needs and wants. Its philosophy is
just smart business.”
AND IT ISN’T JUST retailers who are hearing the clarion
call of sustainability. “We get asked daily by our clients
about how we are going to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Troy Acosta, a senior purchasing director
with the American food services division of Sodexo,
a French multinational and one of the world’s biggest
food services and facilities management companies.
According to Acosta, his company is always searching
for products that are produced through sustainable
practices and processes that help to save on items like
napkins at the 10,000-plus dining facilities it services across the US – everything from universities and
golf courses to hospitals and the headquarters of the
Marine Corps. “We try to reduce waste and save money
wherever we can,” he said. “Our goal is to keep our customers happy and our environment healthy.”
8 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
“We’re working
with our suppliers towards
a 30 percent
reduction in the
carbon impact
of the products
in our supply
chain by 2020.”
GREEN
THINKING
DIVIDES THE
SWALESES
In the Swales family,
sustainable thinking is a
generational issue.
YOU’D BE HARD PRESSED to find a fitter
family than the Swaleses. In addition to
playing team sports and exercising, they are
conscious of the foods they eat. “We always
buy things like low-fat dairy products,” says
Kirk, a 50-year-old public school principal
in Barrie, Ontario, a 90-minute drive north
of Toronto. “Even our snack foods are good
things.” Their views differ, however, over the
importance of sustainability when it comes
to the purchase of household and personal
care products. “Kirk goes for price. I go
for name brands that I like and that I know
work,” says Jackie, a 49-year-old nurse.
“It’s not that we’re insensitive to the environment. We recycle and we even compost
our organic waste.” For her part, 17-year-old
Leah puts sustainability first. “If confronted
with two choices,” says the high school
soccer star, “I’d go for the environmentally
friendly one.”
Lucy Neville-Rolfe
Stephanie, Jamie, Jackie, Kirk and Leah Swales.
GREEN TRENDS
Tork Xpressnap
wipes the waste away
Promising 25 percent lower usage, the Tork Xpressnap
system ensures less trash and better hygiene. That’s why
it’s making its way into restaurants worldwide.
TEXT: MARK CARDWELL PHOTO: SCA
S
AVING A SINGLE PAPER NAPKIN won’t solve
the world’s pollution problems. But deploying dispensers designed to take a big bite out
of the numbers of napkins people use when
they eat out is a cost-conscious, hygiene-smart way of
helping restaurant owners and food service managers
do something good for the planet – and that makes the
folks behind the Tork Xpressnap system feel good, too.
“We are a business-to-business company that develops products based on market insight with the end
user in mind,” says Cindy Stilp, marketing director
for SCA Tissue North America. “Consumers want to
know they are not hurting the environment. Together
with cost and hygiene, that is the main driver in our
industry.”
IT’S HARD TO ARGUE WITH SUCCESS. Developed at SCA’s
facility in Neenah, Wisconsin, and launched across
the U.S. and Canada in 2003, the Xpressnap system
has rocketed to the top of the billion-dollar, awayfrom-home napkin market in North America, which
represents roughly half of the world market. It is enjoying similar success in Europe and Australasia, as
well as in Mexico.
“The product, which has many environmental and
ancillary benefits, was developed at the same time as
public awareness over the negative impact that many
commercial and consumer activities were having on
Tork
Xpress:
The dispensers are
available in four
models, and come
in a variety of colors.
They also have builtin ad panels (called
AdAGlance) on which
everything from
menus to schedules
can be advertised –
and even generate
revenues.
our world was growing,” says John Riley, global product director of SCA’s away-from-home division.
Notably, Riley points to the system’s one-at-a-time
control over the number of napkins diners can grab
from any one of the tens of thousands of Xpressnap
dispensers that are now being used in fast-food restaurants, school cafeterias and other food service settings
the world over. “It provides a guaranteed 25-percent reduction in napkin usage,” says Riley. “In addition to saving money for operators, it results in less trash going to
landfill sites, less litter in restaurants and parking lots.”
THEN THERE’S HYGIENE. According to Stilp, consumer
surveys show that 80 percent of restaurant goers judge
an establishment by the cleanliness of the washrooms,
kitchens, floors and condiment counters. “People are
disgusted when they see an employee wipe a table with
a filthy rag. It’s the same when there are napkins scattered all over the place.” Troy Acosta agrees. A senior
purchasing director with the American food services
division of multinational Sodexo, he says a single diner
can take 20 napkins from uncontrolled dispensers. “It
creates a lot of unnecessary waste. Napkins are our
largest volume product and we wanted to reduce that
cost. But both we and our clients want environmental
platforms that enhance sustainability. And in that
regard, SCA has products that are second to none,”
says Acosta.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 9
GREEN TRENDS
TENA incontinence products are
often considered for public
procurement. SCA’s sustainability
thinking gives those products
a competitive edge.
EU WANTS
GREEN
PROCUREMENT
Public spending may make
Europe greener, but can
national governments agree
on standards?
TEXT: MICHAEL LAWTON
E
We have to be structured
to mirror what
customers ask for.”
SCA WELL PLACED
“SCA certainly notices the EU’s
Green Public Procurement policy,”
says Helena Pettersson, director business development at SCA. “The pressure is increasing,” she notes. “The
EU is setting the direction, and some
countries are being even more ambitious than the EU requires.”
But this is only an advantage for
SCA, according to Pettersson.
TENA incontinence products are
often considered for public procurement. “We’ve been working with environmental issues for a long time,” she
points out. “Perhaps the questions are
a bit sharper now, and we have to be
structured to mirror what customers
ask for. But we’re well prepared.”
10 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
Patrik Isaksson, vice president
environmental affairs, SCA, is a bit
concerned about the way the standards are implemented on a national
basis. He’s keen to avoid a patchwork.
“It would be better to have a single
standard across Europe,” he says.
Pettersson is also concerned
about standards. “Some countries
favor national eco-labels, and that
creates problems for a global player
like SCA,” she says.
But the parameters have to be right.
Isaksson notes that other environmental negotiations have been bogged
down in trying to be fair to everyone.
“We need to keep it simple, effective
and to the point,” he says.
VERY YEAR, PUBLIC authorities
spend some 16 percent of the
European Union’s GDP on everything from major construction projects to scrubbing brushes. And
every time a public authority decides to
spend its money, it can help make the
world a better place.
That is the thought behind the European Union’s Green Public Procurement
(GPP) policy, under which public procurement policies should include environmental impact among their parameters.
THE POLICY IS NOT JUST designed to ensure that public money is better spent;
it also aims at changing attitudes in
Europe. If manufacturers make environmentally compatible products for
government contracts, those products
will be available on the general market
as well. As the former EU Environment
Commissioner Stavros Dimas remarks,
“By using their market leverage to opt
for goods and services that also respect
the environment, [public authorities]
can have a major influence on suppliers
and stimulate the production of more
sustainable goods and services.”
The EU wants 50 percent of public
contracts to include GPP by 2010, but
implementation is left up to national
governments, and they have very different
records. A 2008 study of the 10 best EU
countries showed that even they differed
widely: 75 percent of the UK’s procurement money was subject to GPP, while the
Netherlands only managed 27 percent.
GREEN TRENDS
Reforesting Brazil
For every tree SCA uses, three are replanted. This SCA promise is being
fulfilled in the Amazon forest.
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
A curious Macaw in
the Amazon forest is seeing
new trees being planted.
THERE’S A BOLD PROMISE on every
pack of Velvet tissues in the UK: “For
every tree we use we replant three.”
That’s the challenge which SCA’s British tissue brand has set itself, and it's
not as easy as it looks.
SCA is fulfilling its promise by
reforesting areas in Brazil. Stewart
Begg, Tissue Europe environmental
manager, says, “We’ve chosen an
area in the Amazon basin in the state
of Para which is well known for having been deforested.” SCA is planting
forests where forests used to be, but
where trees were removed in the past
to make way for pasture land.
The project includes financing and
planting different domestic tree species, including Parica, Tambori, Freijo,
and Cedro, encouraging biodiversity
and supporing the indigenous population. In the next stages, the project
will also involve trying to create a
sustainable economic market for the
domestic tree species, a conservation program and a social improvement program.
THE FIRST SEEDLINGS were planted
in the earth in Para state in October
2008, and the site underwent an external audit by the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) in December 2009. SCA
is awaiting the report from this audit.
Check the Three Trees website:
http://www.velvetbabymd.com/velvet/
plantthree.aspx
S?
L
A
O
G
R
U
O
Y
O
T
P
U
E
V
I
L
U
O
DID Y
SCA may be content with its environmental achievements in 2009, but
that doesn’t mean the company has
relaxed its focus on sustainability.
How did SCA live up to its environmental goals
in 2009, Patrik Isaksson, VP environmental
affairs at SCA?
One of our goals is to reduce CO ² emissions from
fossil fuels by 20 percent by 2020.
From 2005, our reference year, through 2008
we reduced our emissions by 2.2 percent. I am
not dissatisfied with such a modest reduction. In a
capital-intensive industry like ours, CO ² reductions
take time. Large reductions will be associated with
large investments.
Electricity suppliers switching to CO ²-free production will make other savings. The internal ESAVE
Patrik Isaksson
SCA, VP environmental
affairs.
Caroline Brent
SCA, VP HR operational development.
initiative will also help (read more about ESAVE on
pages 18-19).
What about improved water usage?
I am pleased that we are one year ahead on part of
the target. We have reduced the organic content in
effluent by 40 percent, 10 points more than the 30
percent target.
Caroline Brent, VP HR operational development
– how did SCA achieve in the social field?
Last year we had an active social agenda. We
involved a broad range of representatives from business groups in driving an agenda that is linked to
our Code of Conduct.
During the year we conducted Business Practice reviews in Russia to review our business ethics
and we introduced a whistleblower pilot in Asia, a
third-party Code of Conduct Compliance Hotline to
provide an alternative method of reporting Code of
Conduct violations.
Why does SCA do all this?
There are many aspects to our efforts. Twenty
percent of SCA shares are owned by investors
that actively evaluate our sustainability work. Our
customers are also increasingly interested in both
environmental and social issues.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 11
GREEN TRENDS
FSC gains momentum
SOME FSC HIGHLIGHTS
VMore than 117 million hectares of
forest worldwide in 82 countries are
FSC-certified.
VFSC-certified forests account for
five percent of the world’s productive forests.
VFSC is the fastest growing forest
certification system in the world.
VThe value of FSC labeled products
is estimated at over USD 20 billion.
12 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
printed on FSC-certified paper. Sales of
FSC-certified paper, pulp and wood
products reached an all-time high in 2009.
SCA’s Ortviken and Laakirchen paper
mills delivered 194,650 tons of FSC-certified paper in 2009, corresponding to a 45
percent increase compared with 2008. In
2009, 32 percent of SCA’s deliveries of solid
wood products were FSC-certified.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),
is an independent, non-governmental,
not-for-profit organization that promotes the
responsible management of the world’s
forests.
FSC is the world's toughest certification
for forest management and the only one
supported by organisations such as
Greenpeace and WWF.
“A credible certification scheme is
essential, since we know UK consumers in
general, and our readers in particular, think
that cutting down trees is always a bad thing,”
says David Halford, head of ethical sourcing
and environmental policy at BBC Worldwide.
“The FSC label is an excellent way to give
them the assurance they are looking for.
In 2009, all our magazine paper was FSCcertified.”
The FSC was established in 1993 in
response to concerns about global
deforestation. It provides internationally
recognized, standard-setting assurance
and accreditation services to companies,
organizations and communities interested
in responsible forestry.
With 2.6 million hectares of forest in
northern Sweden, SCA is the biggest
private forest owner in Europe. These
forests have been managed in accordance
with FSC standards since 1999.
3
CONSUMERS WANT TO READ MAGAZINES
The world wants responsible
forestry management!
SHRINKING THE FOOTPRINTS
FIGHTING CLIMATE change is a challenge
for all of us. To work with the carbon
footprint for a product is part of this
work. A carbon footprint, also called
global warming potential, is a single issue in a Life Cycle assessment (LCA). An
LCA includes the environmental impact
from a products complete life cycle.
SCA has been in the forefront working
in a structured manner with
developing environmental
sound products for almost
two decades. It is all about a
life cycle approach where we
source raw materials based
strict standards for suppliers, have energy efficient and
clean factories and develop
innovative product that have
improved the function with
less environmental impact.
By working with LCA for
personal care products has given us a
good knowledge of its products climate
impact, and it has significantly been
reduced over the last years.
”A good example is the Libero open
diaper in Europe that over the past 20
years, has reduced the carbon footprint
with 37%, product weight with 33%
and packaging weight with 40%,” says
Susan Iliefski-Janols Director Environment & Product safety.
Examples on reduction of carbon
footprint 2008-2009, percent.
FEMININE THIN TOWEL -14 %
LIBERO PANTS -8%
TENA FLEX -17%
TENA LADY -13%
RESULTS ARE THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION BY ELIN ERIKSSON,
IVL, SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY
t to know
n
a
w
le
p
o
e
P
“
orking
w
e
r
a
y
e
h
t
t
tha
mpany.”
for a good co
HIGH BUSINESS
STANDARDS
A new approach adopted by SCA
aims to ensure that the group
maintains the highest possible
standards in its business
practices.
TEXT: TOBIN AUBER PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
“OUR CODE OF CONDUCT COVERS MANY AREAS, such as health and
safety and human rights,” says Nils Lindholm, head
of the SCA Internal Audit function, “but one field that
we’ve found the trickiest to monitor is business practice. Corruption, conflicts of interests, issues concerning competition law – these things are very difficult to
properly audit in any conventional manner.”
In 2008, SCA’s internal auditing department instituted
a new system of Business Practice Reviews (BPRs) to
deal with these concerns.
“What we do is we identify the key management personnel operating in a country, and then do comprehensive
interviews with them,” Lindholm explains. “You can never
be certain whether you’re getting the whole story, but
we’ve found that people are actually very open. We can at
least identify risk areas and suggest improvements.”
To date, BPRs have been carried out in Poland, Romania, the Adriatic states, Ukraine and Russia. A review
is under way in Italy, and dozens of senior managers
have already been interviewed. A review is also planned
in Mexico during 2010.
LINDHOLM IS POSITIVE ABOUT the initial results. “What
we’ve found is that this process isn’t just for the benefit
of the head office or SCA investors, although that’s
obviously very important too. We’ve found that our customers are also encouraged when they realize that we
are using good business practices. We’ve also discovered something that I have to admit I hadn’t expected
– the BPR process has made recruiting the right kind of
employees much easier. People want to know that they
are working for a good company.”
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 13
SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY
Am I normal? Why
does it feel like grownups never understand
me? The Libresse
School Program
addresses the psychology of puberty.
A lesson in puberty
Entering puberty is no picnic. The Libresse School Program
informs Russian schoolgirls about the physiological and
emotional changes that girls experience during puberty.
TEXT: TOBIN AUBER PHOTO: BILDBYRÅN SILVER
H
OW DO I KNOW that I’ve
started puberty? When will
I get my period? Why do I
have hair under my arms?
Puberty brings up a lot of new questions
when your body – and your emotional
state – changes.
SCA and its feminine care brand
Libresse have a program that is aimed
14 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
at teenage girls in Russian schools. This
involves talking about the physiological
and emotional changes that girls experience during puberty and shows the positive connection between hygiene, the
right products and a good lifestyle.
“Programs of this kind only appeared
quite recently here. Before, children
could get information from women’s
magazines, from their mothers or from
girlfriends, but only in a piecemeal
fashion,” says Olga Zvonkova, a Libresse
marketing manager who helps administer the program. “During Soviet times
there were some lectures in anatomy
courses that covered physiological
aspects of puberty. There was nothing
about psychology or intimate hygiene or
sanitary protection products. Now the
girls are given comprehensive information and practical advice, as well as
samples that they can try, so that they
can make informed choices for themselves,” says Zvonkova. “It fills an important need in Russia.”
The classes are very popular. The girls
listen with keen interest and have a lot
of questions afterwards.
The need for relevant
information on puberty
aimed at school girls is
immense in Russia.
“ Before, girls could get
the information from
women’s magazines.”
Following its launch in 2006,
600,000 girls aged 12 to 16 at more than
4,400 schools in Russian cities have already benefited from the opportunities
that the program provides.
Zvonkova notes that the organizers
are aware that this is a sensitive subject
and that it must be handled with tact.
For this reason, the talks are given by
professional psychologists who have also
undergone special training in presenting the program.
THIS SENSITIVITY ALSO concerns the
response from schools, Zvonkova says.
“Some schools are very keen on the idea
of their children being informed about
this subject and these products, while
some are very negative, thinking that it’s
just a marketing exercise. We always get
the support of the local educational and
health authorities, but the individual
schools still have the right to refuse to take
part. It’s our job to convince them that this
really is an educational program comprising lessons about hygiene and how the
girls can really look after themselves.”
The feedback from the girls is very en-
couraging, Zvonkova says. “We regularly
carry out research and the girls are overwhelmingly positive about the program.
They tell us that this is a good thing,
that they find it interesting and that it’s
something that’s really needed.”
SCA’S LIBRESSE BRAND
SCA markets towels and panty liners
under different names depending on the
market. Other than Libresse the brand
names for the products are Bodyform,
Nana, Libra, Saba, Nuvenia and Nosotras. The products are sold in Northern, Central, Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, CIS countries (12 countries of
former Soviet Republics), Jamaica,
Malaysia and Venezuela.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 15
NEW TECHNOLOGY
WHERE NATURE TAKES
A new effluent water treatment system was
introduced at SCA’s tissue mill in Stembert,
Belgium, in autumn last year. The wastewater
is treated in two natural lagoons that will
reduce the organic content in wastewater by
60 percent. The system is completely natural
and ecological as the treatment is performed
by reeds. No energy is required since gravity
drives all stages of the process, and no chemicals are needed after the primary physicochemical treatment. And what’s most interesting: this system does not generate any
biological sludge at all.
This is how it works.
4. The flakes
accumulated in the
center of the turbo
circulator are pumped
into the sludge thickener before it goes to
the dewatering press to
be pressed to about
25% dryness. The
dried sludge is stored
in containers before
being spread in
agriculture.
Lagoon 2
Sludge
containers
PHOTO: SCA
Ortviken Paper Mill
in Sweden.
DID YOU KNOW?
VAll SCA's European paper and pulp mills
are equipped with mechanical and biological water treatment. In the future, watertreatment efforts will be focused on plants
outside of Europe.
16 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
3. The water passes
a settling water tank
before the effluent
water is returned to
the river.
Dewatering press
CARE OF THE WASTE
2. The treated water
overflows and goes
though two natural
lagoons for biological
treatment by plants.
Lagoon 1
Sludge thickener
Turbo circulator
settling tank
Decantation tank
Balancing tank
Fine screening
Waste water inlet (from mill)
ILLUSTRATION: SCA
Settled water tank
1. All wastewater
coming from the mill
arrives at the station
through a sewer. The
water passes though
a fine screening to
remove “big parts” and
then goes to a water
tank. A balancing tank
stabilizes the flow before it enters a first coagulation tank followed
by a turbo circulator
settling tank. Sedimentation in both of these
devices is supported by
flocculants.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 17
ENERGY
Many small drops make a river.
The energy-saving program ESAVE
proves that with its savings of
over 50 million euros and reduction
of carbon dioxide emissions.
TEXT: RISTO PAK ARINEN PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
Neuss Mill
GERMANY
ESAVE Eurostar award is given each
quarter to the best improver in specific energy
consumption (kWh/t) reached by good ESAVE activity. The winner for the last quarter in 2009 was Neuss
Mill in Germany, which has a motivated organization in
place to emphasize and improve energy efficiency. No/low
cost projects – such as process centerlining, energy loss
prevention and better utilization of waste heat – are given
the highest priority, and the whole mill acknowledges
the importance of ESAVE work and participates in
improving it in their own departments.
Annual savings 2009 vs. 2008:
9 GWh
18 SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010
Prudhoe Mill
UNITED KINGDOM
By installing a water-to-water heat exchanger, the mill uses the hot water coming out of the
air compressors to heat the make-up water,
decreasing the amount of steam needed for heating.
Estimated annual savings are some
1.14 GWh of gas (27,000 Eur)
Prudhoe Mill: Estimated
annual savings are some
1.14 GWh of gas.
W
Mill Valls
SPAIN
The vacuum system is a big electricity consumer
in any tissue machine. It has been given special attention
in Valls PM5, where the actual vacuum demand and variation
is followed during the whole lifetime of the felt. After a detailed
analysis it was discovered that at a certain point in the felt lifetime,
one of the four vacuum pumps can be completely shut down, and
even further regulation can be done with a variable speed drive,
already installed on the other pumps. This results in optimum
electricity consumption at any given time. Good experiences
from PM5 are currently being applied to PM6 as well.
Annual electricity savings have been
estimated at 1.7 GWh
(113,000 Eur)
HAT STARTED OUT as an energy-savings program in
2003 in SCA’s energy-intensive manufacturing units
has resulted in 900 projects, big and small, and has
also evolved into an environmental program.
“The purpose was originally to be more energy efficient because the costs had gone up, but these days,
environmental issues are a major driver, too,” says PerErik Eriksson, vice president, energy, at SCA.
ESAVE has a multi-tier structure as parts of it are
coordinated at the group level, but every business
group also has its own ESAVE coordinators, as do the
biggest manufacturing units.
“That’s where the work is done, at the factories.
We’ve had a lot of all kinds of projects that have resulted in savings. All in all, these projects have saved us
over 50 million euros,” Eriksson says.
ESAVE projects have reduced thermal energy consumption by approximately 1,000 GWh, and provided
electricity savings of 600 GWh annually.
The projects have also reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
THE SPECTRUM AND SCALE of the project varies from
major investments in new technology to ones where
the aim is to change behavior in everyday work.
“The timespan depends on the nature of the project.
We can make some changes in a week, but if it’s a major
investment, just taking the decision may take a year,”
Eriksson says.
Good projects and lessons are shared across mills
and business groups.
“We have people at the business unit level to coordinate that, but within business groups, we also arrange
workshops where we share the best practices,” Eriksson says.
ESAVE has already yielded results in the fight against
CO2 emissions, but in the future, that will be in focus.
“We’ve set a new goal which is to reduce our total
specific energy consumption from the 2005 levels by
7.5 percent by 2012. We’ll also track our impact on reduced CO2 emissions,” Eriksson says.
ESAVE is a continual process that will never be finished, though.
“We’ve began with the low-hanging fruit, and naturally, we can continually improve our energy efficiency.
And with time, new challenges will arise. We can
always get better,” Eriksson concludes.
SCA SENSE SUSTAINABILITY 1 2010 19
Forests have a unique ability
to offset climate change.”
DID YOU KNOW...
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
...that the growth in
SCA's forests is more
than 20% higher than
felling? Consequently,
a net 2.6 million tons of
carbon dioxide are absorbed by these forests
each year.
CARBON STORE
Forests have a unique ability to
offset climate change, thanks to
their capacity for absorbing carbon
dioxide from the air through their
needles and leaves.
The world’s forests are vital for
the earth’s climate, and if cultivated
correctly they can make a significant contribution to limiting climate
change.
Unfortunately, forests in large
parts of the world are felled and not
reforested. The IPCC (UN climate
panel) estimates that 20% of the
increase in carbon dioxide derive
from forest depletion.
If half of the earth’s forestland
were managed in the same way as
Sweden’s forests, the amount of
carbon dioxide absorbed by
growing forest would be so high
that climate change resulting from
fossil fuel use would be fully counteracted.