Sustainability Report 2014 Southern Africa Sustainability Report 2014 Living the rainbow “South African belongs to all its peoples. We, the people, belong to one another. We live the rainbow.” National Development Plan 2030 Our key issues Like many other industries, the pulp and paper industry globally is facing many challenges, including unpredictable energy costs, slowing growth in mature markets, over-capacity and increasingly rigorous environmental regulation. In addition to these broad challenges, there are certain issues that are key to ensuring our ongoing viability as a business. These are determined in conjunction with our Risk Management Team and with input from stakeholders. It may or may not happen. Companies can plan for a risk, based on the probability of it occurring and the potential impact on the company (and its environment). Risks may be tolerated, treated, transferred or avoided. An issue is a problem, concern or opportunity that has arisen within the company or within its economic, social or natural environment. It may have a real or perceived impact on the company. Importantly, an issue needs to consider the viewpoint of all stakeholders, not simply economic stakeholders. of October 2013 to the end of September 2014. Reporting framework As Sappi is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, we abide by the King III Code on Corporate Governance (King III). Joint ventures excluded Lignotech South Africa, located at our Sappi Saiccor Mill, our 50:50 joint venture with Borregaard, is excluded from this report as we do not manage this operation. We demonstrate our global commitment to sustainability through our participation in the UN Global Compact and we are equally committed to ensuring that the companies in the supply chain operate safely and comply with international standards with respect to human rights, discrimination and freedom of association. In this report, we have placed greater emphasis on materiality throughout the value chain, as well as stakeholders’ concerns, in accordance with the core principles of the Global Reporting Initiative’s recently released G4 reporting guidelines. ind s n Cycle of de ve Rising livi n standard g s Strong leadership t en pm Gro ty w lo t ver h Po uction E d re It’s important to note that we differentiate risk and issues in the following manner: A risk is an event that may have an impact on the company or its economic, social or natural environment. This sustainability report for Sappi Southern Africa (SSA) is aligned with the Sappi Limited 2014 Integrated Report and 2014 Group Sustainability Report (available online at www.sappi.com) and covers the period from the beginning Effective government Active citizenry s Our efforts to do so are set out in the following pages. Scope of this report portunities Op Co tio South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP) is a broad strategic framework which sets out an holistic approach to confronting poverty and inequality through faster and more inclusive economic growth. We are determined to play a strong role in aligning with the NDP by promoting economic growth and enabling greater levels of social cohesion to live up to the ideal of the ‘rainbow nation’ – a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, to describe post-apartheid South Africa. About this report Cap a b ilit ie Sappi’s roots in South Africa go back almost 80 years and our commitment to this country is highlighted by the fact that our global headquarters have remained in South Africa. yplo m ent m About our theme Source: National Development Plan 2030 Social cohesion Sustainability Report 2014 1 Contents Our business 2-7 Our vision 2 Our goal 2 Our operations 3 Our value add to Southern Africa 4 Our sustainable business model in South Africa 6 Leadership messages and reviews 8-15 Leadership messages 8 Review of 2014 targets 9 Our approach to sustainability 11 Engaging with our stakeholders 12 Our sustainability governance structure 15 Our key issues - Prosperity 16-26 Profitability 16 20 Fibre supply Our key issues - People 27-41 Skills 27 Education 31 Safety, health and wellbeing 33 Employee engagement 36 Transformation 38 Our key issues - Planet 42-47 Water 42 Energy 44 Waste 46 Our South African sustainability council 48-49 Messages from the members of the Regional Sustainability Council 48 All references to Forest StewardshipCouncil® (FSC®) in this report are, according to the below definition. FSC® and FSC™ – in terms of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) scheme – refer to two types of certification. In order for land to achieve FSC™ endorsement, its forest management practices must meet the FSC™’s 10 principles and other assorted criteria. Logs with FSC™ – FSC – C012316 (certified originate from own plantations as well as on the Sappi Grant Scheme (FSC – C017054) with other logs from controlled sources) is for manufacturers of forest products, including paper manufacturers like Sappi, Chain-of-Custody certification. This involves independent verification of the supply chain, which identifies and tracks the timber through all stages of the production process from the tree farm to the end product. Sappi’s Mills in South Africa are licenced – Cape Kraft Mill – FSC C074733, Enstra Mill – FSC C022126, Ngodwana Mill – FSC C021636, Saiccor Mill FSC C011012, Stanger Mill – FSC C019831, Tugela Mill – FSC C012468. 2 Sustainability Report 2014 Our business Our vision Our goal We are inspired: To be an exciting, growing and profitable leader in paper, • By life packaging and specialised cellulose (also known as dissolving • By nature wood pulp or DWP), providing value for our shareholders, • By the interactions with our customers and suppliers • By our observations of what is happening around us. We use this inspiration and understanding to create solutions and products that are sustainable and relevant to the world. people and customers in a safe, responsible and sustainable manner. Sustainability Report 2014 Our operations Sappi Specialised Cellulose Saiccor and Ngodwana Mills Dissolving wood pulp (also known as specialised cellulose) Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging Cape Kraft Mill Containerboard and coated packaging paper from recycled paper Enstra Mill Uncoated graphics paper, specialities, office kraft paper and containerboard from recycled paper Ngodwana Mill Kraft linerboard and newsprint Stanger Mill Uncoated graphics and office paper, specialities and tissue Tugela Mill Semi-chemical fluting, and corrugated medium form recycled paper, lignosulphonates Sappi Forests and Sappi ReFibre KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Forests Pulpwood Sawlogs Lomati Sawmill Structural and industrial timber ReFibre Recovered fibre 3 4 Sustainability Report 2014 Our business Our value add to Southern Africa Sappi contributes just under 1% of South Africa’s total export revenue R2.5 billion Gauteng 3 2 11 5 7 21 35 4 7 North West 5 R335 million Western Cape 7 2 3 15 18 14 7 6 Northern Cape 28 % Reinvested % Maintenance and other services % Customer logistical services % Timber and related logistical services % Pulp, recycled paper and bagasse % Chemicals and additives % Utility services % Packaging and consumables % To employees % To financiers % Taxes and PAYE Western Cape Cape Town Port Elizabeth Sustainability Report 2014 R4.2 billion Mpumalanga 10 2 23 3 8 Limpopo 7 16 5 Gauteng Mpumalanga 18 8 Johannesburg R49 million Swaziland Swaziland 15 Free State KwaZulu-Natal 47 27 Durban 11 Eastern Cape R8.7 billion KwaZulu-Natal 8 2 20 2 9 12 Corporate head office 16 6 7 Regional head office Mill Sales office 18 5 6 Sustainability Report 2014 Our business Our sustainable business model in South Africa Our 3Ps: we have aligned the six capitals model with our long-established approach to sustainable development – the 3Ps of Prosperity, People and Planet. Prosperity Manufactured capital Material issues 4 paper mills 1 specialised cellulose mill 1 paper and specialised cellulose mill 1 sawmill Intellectual capital Financial capital US$28.6 million R&D global spend Technology centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Total assets: R20.4 billion Net debt: R1.1 billion People Human capital Worldclass safety systems Employees 5,486 employees Contractors Approximately 12,000 contractor workers Energy Education and skills Environmental legislation Fibre supply Focus on high margin, high growth markets Innovation Safety, health and wellbeing Transformation Water Waste Chemicals: We aim to source chemicals locally Energy: 40% energy self-sufficient Water: Used 88 million m3 Inputs Fibre: 4.8m tons, of which 69% was supplied by our own, leased are managed plantations Recycled fibre: 31% of all paper sold Social and relationship capital R23.2 million corporate social responsibility (CSR) spend Ongoing stakeholder engagement Planet Natural capital 40% of energy derived from renewable resources 495,000 hectares of owned and leased plantations Bagasse (Stanger Mill) Recovered fibre 82% of fibre supplied to our mills is certified Our plantations used 15% of water available in our catchment areas Commercial forestry plantations in South Africa account for only 3% of total water use in the country; by comparison irrigated agriculture accounts for 60% The papermaking and dissolving wood pulp processes Performance Significant improvement in financial performance R&D paying dividends Increased investment in CSR with greater focus on community engagement and skills development Ongoing environmental improvement Improved safety Sustainability Report 2014 At the heart of our sustainable business model is a natural, renewable – woodfibre. At the heartresource of our sustainable business model is a natural, renewable resource – woodfibre. Outcomes Outcomes Governance Prosperity SETS Committee Governance Prosperity SETS Committee Strategy and resource allocation Strategy and resource allocation Water Energy Water Waste Energy Chemicals Waste Chemicals Outputs Outputs EBITDA margin: 18% 53% of revenue from DWP 26%Strategy increasedelivers in EBITDA strong earnings growth EBITDA excluding special items US$658 million (up 25% year-on-year) EPS excluding special items 22 US cents Net debt US$1,946 million, down US$301 million year-on-year Increase in saleable production of 5.8% over five years People Expanding pool of skills BBBEE: Level 3 contributor Expanding of skills Focused CSR –pool education andBBBEE the environment compliance in South Africa 96 training employee Focusedhours CSRper – education and the environment Training and development spend of US$8.6 million People Planet Outlook Specialised cellulose demand growing Outlook Adjacent market potential Specialised cellulose using our woodfibre demand growing Strong packaging demand Adjacent marketpaper potential Weak graphics paper market Speciality paper products Papermaking Papermaking Dissolving wood pulp Dissolving wood pulp Ongoing focus on forestry stewardship 88% of water drawn after being treated andPower cleaned is sufficiency: returned to the environment self 56.8% OneOngoing third of land managed for focus on forestry stewardship biodiversity conservation (SA) 93% of water drawn returned 82% of woodfibre used was certified to the environment One third of land managed for biodiversity conservation (SA) Planet 7 8 Sustainability Report 2014 Leadership messages and reviews “Entrenching sustainability in its broadest sense (environmental and all other activities essential to business sustainability) into our everyday business is an ongoing process and not an event, but I am convinced you will see continuous improvement in all facets of sustainability over the next few years as we sustain a very strong board and management focus on these areas.” Jock McKenzie Chairman, Sappi Social Ethics Transformation and Sustainibility Committee “Since taking over as CEO, I have been constantly impressed by the depth of talent within Sappi and the commitment of all our people to putting us back on the road to profitability, without compromising our values. Having the right people executing a clear strategy is key to our ongoing sustainability. The Southern African business has delivered a fantastic performance over the past year, returning the paper business to profit and reaping the benefits from the investment in specialised cellulose. I want to thank the Southern Africa team for all their efforts and for the solid foundation which has been laid for strong performances into the future.” Steve Binnie Chief Executive Officer, Sappi Limited Message from the CEO of Sappi Southern Africa Stakeholder trust is the foundation of our sustainable development journey. The high levels of trust within Sappi Southern Africa were reflected during 2014 in our engagement with employees and unions, with regulatory bodies, as well as with customers. We concluded negotiations with trade unions in a spirit of positivity and we worked with communities to meet their needs – most notably with regard to Early Childhood Development (see page 31 of this report). We engaged the Department of National Treasury via our industry representative, the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA), to motivate the carbon tax design to incorporate opportunities for carbon sequestration. We met customer needs for lighter weight packaging with the launch of Ultraflute (see page 18 for further details). Essentially, this light, strong product allows our customers to move more tonnage in the same amount of boxes, with obvious economic and environmental benefits. Our employees’ alignment with and efforts towards realising our strategy of returning to profitability paid off, with the business showing good financial results. Our employees also took our safety strategy on board, in terms of which safety is a responsibility for everyone, not only for management. I am pleased to report that this meant there were no fatalities for the first time in a number of years. However, we have to continue our safety drive to ensure that all our people – both own and contractor employees – go home safely to their families at the end of every day. Still on the subject of trust, we continue to take our role as custodians of the 495,000 hectares of land we own, manage and lease very seriously and this commitment extends to our manufacturing operations. Environmental legislation in South Africa is becoming increasingly onerous. We have to strike a balance between what is good for the Planet and what is good for People and Prosperity and we are committed to working with the regulatory authorities to achieve this. The changes we have had to make to return to profitability over the last few years have been wide-reaching and, in many cases, difficult. I would like to thank all our people who have placed their trust in the regional leadership and worked so hard to build a more prosperous, sustainable Sappi. Alex Thiel Chief Executive Officer, Sappi Southern Africa Sustainability Report 2014 Review of our 2014 targets Sustainability is the driving force in every decision we make as a company. As we focus on creating value for our shareholders, we take cognisance of our impact on this planet and stakeholders to ensure that all benefit in the long term. In 2010, we set certain targets to be achieved by 2015 with progressive interim targets. Our current year’s achievements against those progressive interim targets are discussed below. Profitability Return on net assets (RONA) to be equal to or greater than 15% on a five-year rolling basis 2014 Target Status 10% 11% Our performance was above target due to both our specialised cellulose and paper businesses. Our coated fine paper business struggled throughout the year with depressed local demand for print paper. We continue to focus on reducing costs, adjusting capacity and streamlining our product range which will lead to further improvements in our paper division in 2015. Adherence to planned skills training for employees 80% compliance to the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) 2014 Target Status 75% 68% There was ongoing focus on planned training to improve skills in the right areas of our business, and to enhance our employees’ ability to add more value to the business, as well as their chances of promotion and career development. Commitment to training employees Provide training and development opportunities of an average of 60 hours per employee per annum 2014 Target Status 57 hours 96 hours per employee per employee Training was predominantly learnerships, particularly apprenticeships, together with knowledge and capacity building. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Achieve spend of 1% of net profit after tax (NPAT) 2014 Target Status 1% Spend of 1.63% of NPAT of NPAT Our key areas of focus were on education and the environment as well as support of local communities in the geographic locations where we have operations. Safety 2014 Target Status LTIFR of < 0.27 LTIFR of 0.38 Combined Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) for own employees and contractors to be better than best ever achieved on a continuous 12-month basis. Safety remains a key focus area for us and we made good progress on previous years but did not achieve target. We had no fatal accidents during this financial year. This is the first time in our history that this has been achieved. 9 10 Sustainability Report 2014 Leadership messages and reviews Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Achieve Level 3 compliance in BBBEE. 2014 Target Status Level 3 Level 3 contributor contributor 2014 Target Status Reduction Reduction of 9.5% of 26.2% Successfully regained our Level 3 status this year. Specific Purchased Fossil Energy (SPFE) Achieve 15% reduction in SPFE with 2000 as a base year We have managed to reduce our SPFE beyond our commitment to government which was 15% by 2015. We will continue to focus on improving this even further into the future with some significant interventions expected in 2018. Specific Fresh Water Usage (SFWU) Reduce total SFWU by 10% with 2007 as a base year 2014 Target Status Reduction Reduction of 8.8% of 7.6% While we did not manage to achieve our target this year, it was a 62% improvement over the previous year. We have made some significant strides in certain areas where we have been able to displace fresh water with industrial water in our processes. Further initiatives are being implemented which should result in us improving on the current year. Recovered fibre usage 2014 Target Status 31% recycled Recover 28% of fibre put into the market 27% paper in all paper sold We achieved the highest ever recovered fibre volume usage during 2014; ending significantly better than our target for the year as well as our 2015 target. Our startup of the new waste plant at Enstra Mill has been the biggest contributor to this. Sustainability Report 2014 Our approach to sustainability Our approach to sustainability is based on a holistic view of Prosperity, People and Planet (the 3Ps). It also takes into account the requirement for doing business in South Africa with its unique priorities which are driven largely by the need to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate. Being a sustainable organisation means that we balance and integrate the 3Ps into our business decisions, strategies and processes to help us create value for all our stakeholders. We belong to the following associations: • Industry bodies: Forestry South Africa (FSA); Packaging Council of South Africa (PACSA); Paper Manufacturers’ Association of South Africa (PAMSA); Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (PRASA), Forest Stewardship CouncilTM (FSCTM). • Business and voluntary associations: South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI); Business Unity South Africa (BUSA); Business Leadership At the heart of our business is a renewable, recyclable natural resource – woodfibre. We use this to create pulp, paper and dissolving wood pulp solutions which enhance the lives of consumers around the world. We have developed a number of globally and locally applicable policies which guide our performance in terms of the 3Ps, including: • Climate Change Policy South Africa (BLSA); National Business Initiative (NBI); Energy Intensive Users’ Group (EIUG); Manufacturing Circle and TwoSides. • Civil society: World Wildlife Fund South Africa (WWF-SA); Birdlife SA; Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA). • South African Institute of Entrepreneurship (SAIE). • Code of Ethics • Corporate Social Responsibility Policy • Environmental Policy Sappi Forests is a founding member of the Tree Protection • Human Resources Policy Co-operative Programme (TPCP) based in the Forestry and • Human Rights Policy Bio-technical Institute (FABI: http://www.fabinet.up.ac.za/) • Occupational Health and Safety Policy at the University of Pretoria. Through the TPCP we are also • Stakeholder Engagement Policy • Supplier Policy • Sustainability Charter • Wood and Fibre Procurement Policy. Policies specific to South Africa: • Forestry Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Policy members of the internationally collaborative programme BiCEP (Biological Control of Eucalyptus Pests) (http://bicep.net.au/) at the Australian Centre for Industrial and Agricultural Research (ACIAR). We also belong to the Eucalyptus Genome Network (EUCAGEN) based at the University of Pretoria. • HIV/AIDS Policy. Through our membership of the Manufacturing Circle, • Occupational Health and Safety Policy we supported the Buy Back South Africa campaign • Pulp and Reclaimed Material Sourcing Policy launched in November 2013. • Railway Safety Policy • Quality Policy S P E R I Y P T R O • • T P O N E E P L E • P L A Occupational Health and Safety Policy These policies are all available under the sustainability tab at www.sappi.com. External policies and charters • Eskom’s 49M campaign. •The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Policy Guidelines for Preventing Corruption are incorporated into our Code of Ethics • The UN Global Compact (signed in 2008) •Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Labour Organisation While the safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and visitors is one of our core values at Sappi, we also recognise that excellence in health and safety is integral to the success and sustainability of our business. In support of this general commitment • We believe that all occupational injuries and diseases, as well as safety incidents, are preventable, and our goal for all of them is zero • We will continually strive to attain the highest industry standards for the safe operation of our facilities, and for the protection of employees, contractors, visitors, customers and communities • Compliance with the applicable legislation will be the minimum standard • We will continue to grow and strengthen our businesses by making health and safety management an integral part of our business activities • We will continually improve our practices in light of advances in technology and new understandings in health, safety and related sciences • The management of occupational health and safety practices and its impact is a prime duty of Sappi line management, from the most senior executive to the first line supervision • Employees and contractors will receive appropriate health and safety instruction to enable them to perform their duties in a safe manner • We will continue to set objectives for health and safety performance • Regular audits will be undertaken to ensure consistent and measureable progress is made throughout our operations • We will continue to provide the required resources and support to achieve these objectives. • This policy will be reviewed from time to time to ensure its relevance. Going forward, we will continue to develop our manufacturing, human, social and natural resources in a way that ensures our sustainability approach enhances our long term viability and overall Prosperity. Alex Thiel Chief Executive Officer Sappi Southern Africa This policy is available on www.sappi.com or on request from: sappipolicies@sappi.com Tel +27 (0)11 407 8307 Fax +27 (0)11 403 8236. Document no SM-02 Revision no 02 Revision date 19 November 2014 www.sappi.com Copyright © 2014 Sappi Limited. All rights reserved. In terms of external policies and charters, we are guided by: • Energy Efficiency Accord 11 12 Sustainability Report 2014 Leadership messages and reviews Engaging with our stakeholders Our focus is on understanding our stakeholders’ needs Our key stakeholders are parties who can affect or be of materiality, completeness and responsiveness. Our affected by our activities, objectives and policies. We stakeholders and the ways in which we engage with them identify and prioritise stakeholders and their concerns are set out below. and building trust by engaging with them on the basis through ongoing engagement with individuals and organisations (government, industry bodies, suppliers, Our engagement with our stakeholders has highlighted NGOs and communities), and surveys of selected groups certain key issues which have formed the basis for the (employees, customers and investors) and audits (suppliers). content of this report. These are highlighted in bold below. Employees and unions Our management approach Our focus is on building a skilled, engaged workforce in which diversity is encouraged and valued, and people are provided with ongoing development opportunities so that they can develop to their full potential. In so doing, we enhance productivity and our ability to service global markets. Our regional CEO engages with staff through site visits and discussions. We also have suggestion lines at some facilities. Unions have formal channels for engagement with management. We encourage full engagement between managers and their staff. Other avenues of engagement include: • Employee engagement survey (Recent survey done in 2013 – refer page 38) Our engagement • Global, regional and local newsletters • Global intranet • Letters, roadshows and presentations by the global and regional CEOs • Various forums - National Employment Equity and Skills Development Forum - Shop Steward Forum - Partnership Forum • Wellbeing committees at business units • Health and safety committees at mills. •Employee developments, particularly in respect of transformation, job security and promotional opportunities. •Higher levels of employee involvement in our behaviour-based safety system and wellbeing initiatives. •Use every opportunity available to improve communication on all matters pertaining to employment at Sappi. Key issues •Ethical behaviour, The refreshed Code of Ethics was rolled out across the group. In South Africa, we initiated dialogue discussions and introduced an interactive ethics board game. The dialogue discussions included 15 – 20 minute sessions covering topics relating to the core values and sustainability facilitated through an interactive board game which triggers discussion relating to possible ethical questions in the workplace. 39 Facilitators from the mills were trained in conducting discussions and facilitating the board game. •Enhance employees’ understanding of sustainability, We rolled out the Sustainaville Earthkind Agent e-Learning game whereby employees are exposed to Sappi’s sustainability information via a new and innovative platform. For 2015 the game is being developed into an offline version as well as a tablet version (Android and Apple, i05) which will be made available to staff and their families. •Wages, The new forestry minimum wages gazetted by the Minister of Labour were implemented at the beginning of April. In the pulp and paper sector, agreement was reached on an 8% increase on basic wages and 9.5% on shift allowances. In the sawmilling sector, there was five-day strike action before reaching an agreement. However, our Lomati Sawmill did not participate in the strike. Sustainability Report 2014 Communities Our management approach Our engagement Having a mutually respectful relationship with the communities in which our business units are situated is critical to our success. We also try to motivate and encourage communities situated close to our operations to share our commitment of treading more lightly on the planet. In terms of social projects, we engage with communities on a case-by-case basis and encourage projects which facilitate partnerships and collaboration between communities, government and the private sector. Environmental issues: We have environmental liaison committees at most of the mills and forestry operations. These committees include members from various regulatory authorities, residents’ associations, conservancies, municipal representatives and NGOs. Members of the public and other parties participate in the environmental impact assessments (EIAs) conducted before the start of any major project. Social issues: Engagement takes place on a regular basis with the communities close to our operations, in respect of their needs and issues. In 2014 we conducted a survey in our communities in KwaZula-Natal see page 38 for further details. Key issues discussed: • Water usage and quantity, effluent quality and air emissions Key issues • Employment and business opportunities • Protection of our plantations from fire •Utilisation of non-timber products such as firewood and grazing. Customers Our management approach We adopt a partnership approach, whereby we offer customers innovative products and high levels of service that enable them to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. Meeting the need of environmentally-conscious customers throughout the world with dissolving wood pulp, paper and paper-based solutions that add value to everyday life, derived from a renewable, earth-kind resource. We follow an approach of regular engagement with customers by senior and executive management in support of the ongoing engagement by the relevant sales and marketing teams. We communicated extensively with our customers during the current year, keeping them abreast of the changes initiated during the year. Our engagement Paper Profiles and information sheets give details regarding the composition of our papers, as well as key environmental parameters relating to our pulp and paper production processes and information on environmental management systems and woodfibre sourcing policies. In 2012, we published a brochure entitled ‘Paper. Here today. Here tomorrow’, which sets out the advantages of Sappi paper and dispels some of the myths around paper. There is also a series of technical brochures available on our website (www.sappi.com) regarding our products and processes. An informal customer survey indicated that the key issues for our customers are: • Water usage in paper production Key issues • Recycled content in our products • Investments in our communities • Certification in respect of our fibre and whether it comes from sustainably managed forests • Our carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of the paper used by our customers. 13 14 Sustainability Report 2014 Leadership messages and reviews Government, civil society, industry and regulatory bodies Our management approach We engage with government, civil society, industry and regulatory bodies to: Provide input into issues and regulations that affect the industry and society; Build understanding of our operations and our contribution to society; Explain our management processes and our actions to minimise any impacts we have. Our engagement Consultations take place on an ongoing basis with these bodies in the regions where we operate. Key issues • Carbon tax • Environmental legislation and compliance • Energy efficiency • Support for local employment and BBBEE • Water Investors Our management approach Our aim is to provide investors with transparent, timely, accurate, relevant communication that facilitates informed decisions. As a public company, our shareholders can raise issues at the quarterly results presentations and the AGM. We also publicly display our Integrated Report on our website. Our engagement Key issues Our investor relations (IR) team engages with shareholders on an ongoing basis. This team has direct access to the executive directors and any issues shareholders raise that would be relevant for the board are channelled through the IR team. Our chairperson also engages with shareholders on relevant issues. We also do ad hoc mill visits and road-shows, and issue announcements through Stock Exchange News Services (SENS), in the press and on our website (www.sappi.com). • Return on investment • Management of risks and opportunities, including reputational risk • Sustainability, specifically raw materials sourcing, labour, emissions, water and carbon footprint. Suppliers and contractors Our management approach Our engagement Understanding what is required to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. We also require our suppliers and contractors to uphold ethical, social, health and safety and environmental standards consistent with our own. The procurement executives from each region co-ordinate at global level to improve relations with suppliers and contractors and provide benefits to all parties through better understanding of the requirements of the Sappi group. We work with communities to help them establish and manage timber farms. In terms of Project Grow, our enterprise development initiative, we provide interest-free loans and guaranteed markets. Key issues • Security of fibre supply • Human rights • Responsible sourcing Sustainability Report 2014 Our sustainability governance structure Accolades in 2014 • Rather than having a separate sustainability department, Professional Management Review (PMR) awards in Mpumalanga province: we focus on integrating sustainability into our everyday - Ngodwana Mill – top producer business processes. We achieve this by allocating - Sappi Forests – top forestry company - Sappi SA – environmental conservation. responsibilities, reviewing progress, setting targets, involving stakeholders, driving communication around the issues and incorporating the principles of sustainable • Two Sappi-sponsored mountain biking trails traversing development into our core business model. In addition to our land have secured the number one and two our policies, we also have an integrated sustainability spots on Bicycling magazine’s ‘Top 100’ list of governance model in place which helps to integrate best loved mountain biking trails in South Africa: sustainability into our business. The Sappi Karkloof trail in KwaZulu-Natal was At the highest level, sustainability is overseen by the Social, Ethics, Transformation and Sustainability (SETS) Committee. This is a statutory Sappi Limited board committee which has an independent role and accountability to the board. Further detail is available in our Integrated Report. voted by readers as SA’s top mountain biking route, while the Mankele trail in Mpumalanga came second, ahead of other trails counting among the top 20 in the Western Cape and Gauteng. • At the LRMG FutureShip 2030 conference held shortly after year-end, Sappi received the award The Global Sustainable Development Council (GSDC) for the best learning programme for the Sappi reports to the SETS Committee and oversees the work of Earthkind Agent game (see page 12 of this report) the Regional Sustainability Councils (RSCs). in the category ‘Environmental Change’. There are RSCs in Europe, North America and South Africa. Each RSC focuses on key material issues relevant to their specific region and on incorporating sustainability into everyday business processes. In South Africa, this is achieved by incorporating milestone setting on targets into the budgeting process and by reporting back on progress against targets on a quarterly basis to the South African Executive Committee. Sappi Limited board Social, Ethics, Transformation and Sustainability Committee (SETS) Endorse Sustainability Charter Group Sustainable Development Council (GSDC) Ensure SETS requirements are incorporated into regions Sappi Southern Africa Executive Committee Regional Sustainability Councils Strategy development and implementation Employees Target setting Spread our sustainability story Budgeting Report back on targets and initiatives Data collection and verification 15 16 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity At a glance ialised cellulose R3 billion •Officially opened the new spec fibreline at Ngodwana Mill st Products Company •Finalised the sale of Usutu Fore in Swaziland weight semi-chemical fluting •Launched Ultraflute, a new light rporates bagasse inco h whic n, and Typek Triple Gree ) fibre te was cane ar (sug plantations are 100% •All Sappi’s owned and leased FSC™- certified y managed from seedling to •Our fibre sources are intensivel maximise yield and mitigate and ly supp re plantation to ensu ther, pests and pathogens environmental risks such as wea primarily through the • Pest problems are addressed l control gica biolo deployment of In FY2014, this paid off, with the expanded specialised cellulose (also known as dissolving wood pulp or DWP) business and the restructured paper business in South Africa consistently delivering enhanced margins. Aligning with our strategy • Achieving cost advantages In the last two years we have taken the following actions to achieve cost advantages: - Merged the kraft and fine paper businesses to reduce overhead costs - Restructured support services (human resources, procurement, finance, communications and IT), to reduce duplication, increase efficiencies and reduce costs to the business - Tested the possibility of making our current products on different machines to reduce cost and improve “We are a people at work. We work to create plenty. Our work brings us ever closer to our dreams. market service and profitability, and Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) of South Africa Work grounds our dreams even the more fantastic they are. against cheap imported office and packaging papers The reality of work connects us to our dreams.” to protect local employment and all those businesses National Development Plan 2030 Material issue: Profitability that are dependent on our paper mills. • Optimise and rationalise declining businesses - Rationalised the paper and packaging paper portfolios and exited non-profitable grades. Materiality focus Profitability (Prosperity) is essential for the viability of any - Submitted anti-dumping applications to the International - In line with our strategy of moving away from declining business. Profits benefit the economy as a whole, directly market segments, we are now concentrating on high adding value to governments in the form of taxation; to growth segments, and focusing less on graphic paper employees as salaries and training, to suppliers as payments and more on packaging. for goods and services. Indirectly, profitable businesses - In June 2014, we officially opened the new R3 billion establish the foundation for other businesses to grow and specialised cellulose fibreline at Ngodwana Mill in flourish. In South Africa, the international over capacity in Mpumalanga province. Project GoCell, as the project the graphics, specialities and office paper markets has was known, converted a paper fibre line at the mill to impacted negatively on paper companies. This has been produce 210,000 tons per annum (tpa) a year of exacerbated by an influx of imported products and weaker DWP, in addition to existing newsprint and linerboard demand for certain papers. (packaging paper) production. As a beneficiated woodfibre, DWP is a sought-after natural, renewable fibre with a wide range of uses in the textile, consumer Our strategic approach to Prosperity Our view is that the ability to create value for our shareholders is the foundation of our commitment to sustainable development. goods, foodstuff and pharmaceutical industries. The expansion has helped to increase Sappi’s total global production of DWP to 1.3 million tpa, entrenching In the light of declining demand for graphic papers, particularly our position as the global leader in this market. DWP is in developed markets, the Sappi group’s key challenge in also produced at Saiccor Mill in KwaZulu-Natal recent years has been to return our operations to levels of (800,000tpa) and Cloquet Mill in Minnesota in the profitability sufficient to generate acceptable shareholder United States (330,000tpa). returns on a sustainable basis. To achieve this, we embarked on a thorough review of all our business processes, product • Grow through moderate investments mix and cost structures and implemented wide-ranging actions. – Covered under ‘Going forward’ on page 17. Sustainability Report 2014 • Strengthening our balance sheet In line with the Sappi group strategy, over the next two years, - In the year under review we completed our sale of as a group, our focus is on having a stronger balance Usutu Forest Products Company to local Swaziland sheet so that we can then accelerate our growth in company Montigny Investments for R1 billion which adjacent businesses: was used for general corporate purposes and to • Achieve cost advantages - We will work to lower fixed and variable costs, increase reduce Sappi’s net debt, and cost efficiencies and invest for cost advantages. - We are currently in the process of disposing of • Optimise and rationalise declining businesses 30,000 hectares of softwood (pine) plantations in - Recognising the decreasing demand for graphic Mpumalanga province. This is in line with our increased focus on DWP, which uses hardwoods paper, we will manage our capacity to strengthen our (eucalyptus) rather than softwoods. leadership position in these markets, realising their strategic importance to the group and maximising • Looking to adjacent business - We are investigating sustainable bio-energy opportunities which will not only enhance energy efficiency, their significant cash flow generation. • Moderate investments in growth opportunities We will make smaller investments in existing areas with but also revenue streams. These investigations are strong potential growth, including pulp, speciality nearing completion and we will report back in our 2015 SSA Sustainability Report. We are also increasingly focusing on the valorisation of waste (See page 46 in grades and packaging papers. Our plans include: Enstra Mill the Planet section of this report). Our strategy going forward - Increasing the volume of packaging papers made at - Increasing our use of recycled paper in line with the above - Exiting coated paper production at Stanger Mill and manufacturing uncoated grades at this mill Our goal in 2015, is to actively transform Sappi into a growing and profitable diversified woodfibre group focused pulp capacity at Tugela Mill and unbleached softwood on specialised cellulose, cash generative and profitable capacity at Ngodwana Mill, and paper businesses and other high margin industrial products which will provide value to our customers and wealth to our - Expanding neutral sulphite semi-chemical (NSSC) - Developing lightweight capability. people and shareholders. No radical change in direction in the next two years while preparing for renewed growth Achieve cost advantages •Continuously improving operational performance • Optimising energy usage in mills •Maximising global procurement efficiencies Grow through moderate investments Rationalise declining businesses •Continuously balance graphic paper supply and demand in all regions • •Convert paper machines where possible to higher margin paper business • Generate cash to strengthen balance sheet Growing paper packaging grades •Growing specialsed cellulose product portfolio Extracting value from waste Accelerate growth in adjacent businesses from a strong base • Restructuring debt • Selling non-core assets • Optimising working capital •Evaluating opportunities in specialised cellulose, packaging and complementary industrial products 17 18 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity Meeting evolving market needs with new products •Ultraflute About anticipated growth in the packaging market The middle-class in Asia is set to boom to 1.75 billion by – Rising transport costs and issues related to carbon footprint have driven a trend towards lightweight 2020 and by 2030 is predicted to host almost two-thirds of packaging. To meet this trend, in 2014 we launched the global middle-class and account for over 40% Ultraflute, a new lightweight semi-chemical fluting. of global middle-class consumption. As a result of the The high percentage of virgin fibre enhances the rising affluence, changing lifestyles and growing consumption, product’s strength properties, resulting in stronger this growing middle-class will drive a strong demand for boxes and improved stacking strength. packaging with an emphasis on increased convenience These attributes, together with high humidity and functionality. Better package integrity and higher food performance, enhance durability throughout the safety standards are some of the key components in food, supply chain, particularly for products sent to beverage and home and personal care packaging being market via the cold chain. sought by consumers. – In terms of convertability – influenced by paper Source: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/paper-packaging-material.html properties and machine running speed – Ultraflute offers improved flexibility, as well as enhanced tensile, stretch and tear properties which allow for increased corrugator speeds and the optimum use of raw materials. – In addition to these attributes, Ultraflute is Sappi’s Technology Centre in Pretoria, based at the biodegradeable and recyclable, making it a Innovation Hub, is one of three Sappi Technology Centres responsible choice for agricultural and industrial in South Africa, all of which play a key role in enhancing our packaging requirements. competitive advantage. The other two are focused on DWP •Typek Enhancing our competitive advantage – We built on the popularity of the familiar Typek brand to launch a new addition to the range – an A7 size, ideal for desk use and an alternative to the plastic memo desk cubes currently available on shop shelves. The perforated mini box carries the Earthkind mark and contains 750 sheets of A7 paper (80g/m2). We have also launched Typek Triple Green made at the Stanger Mill with bagasse (post agricultural sugar cane waste) fibre. This icon, a heart symbolising humanity, placed inside an orb shape depicting the earth (people and nature), captures the essence of Sappi’s approach to sustainability and corporate citizenship. developments and innovations and on tree breeding and propagation (See page 24 of the Prosperity section for further information on the latter). All the pulping and bleaching work for the global Sappi operations is carried out at the Pretoria Technology Centre, as well as the regional research and development for our paper, packaging, chemistry and environmental needs. The Technology Centre is accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) for specific chemical and physical test methods, in accordance with the recognised ISO/IEC 17025 International Standard. Sustainability Report 2014 Maintaining our confidence in the global DWP market Despite the prevailing over-supply in the DWP market, our confidence in this market segment and its ongoing growth is high, based on the following: • Global GDP growth, global population growth and increasing affluence particularly in Asia According to a report by the OECD Development Centre:1 - The global middle-class population is set to boom to 3.2 billion people by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030, with most of the growth coming from Asia. - Global middle-class spend is expected to grow to US$35 trillion/year by 2020 and to US$56 trillion each year by 2030 with Asian spend at US$15 trillion and US$33 trillion each year of this by 2020 and 2030 respectively. - These trends are important for Sappi because the bulk of our DWP is sold into Asian markets. - Increasing affluence and population levels will accelerate the need for more comfortable clothing. • Breathability properties - The bulk of Sappi’s DWP is sold into the viscose staple fibre (VSF) segment. VSF is a cellulosic based fibre which makes it breathable and comfortable to wear as opposed to petroleum based fibres which are less comfortable. • Substitution of competing fibres - Derived from woodfibre grown in sustainably managed forests, VSF has a long term sustainable future when compared with fibres produced from finite resources such as fossil fuels. - VSF is also a substitute for cotton in many applications, with cotton being highly dependent on the availability of arable land and also being far more susceptible to capricious weather conditions. In the future, a decline in arable land is forecast, accompanied by a simultaneous rise in the global population. This in turn will lead to increasing demand for available land to be used to grow competing agricultural and food crops rather than cotton. Conversely, plantation trees can be planted in less ideal locations, which do not compete with other food-planting or building-development locations. • Environmental considerations - The sustainably managed plantations and forests from which we source the woodfibre used for our DWP depend solely on rainwater – unlike many other crops. For example, 73% of the global cotton harvest comes from irrigated land. - In addition, we use minimal pesticides and insecticides. Any such usage is strictly controlled in terms of forest certification systems. This cannot always be said of other crops. - The yield for each hectare of woodfibre is two to three times higher than that of cotton. Kharas, H.: The emerging middle class in developing countries, working paper no 285, January 2010, available at: http://www.oecd.org/dev/44457738.pdf 1 Accurately measuring residual pentose sugars in DWP During the production of DWP, lignin and hemicellulose are selectively removed to ensure a high purity end-product. Viscose manufacturers who use Sappi’s DWP, stipulate that the concentration of pentose sugars five-carbon sugar contaminants should be reduced to below 3,5% of the total pulp in order to eliminate dark specks in the pulp and prevent reduced strength quality. Against this backdrop, it’s important that this parameter is accurately measured before the pulp leaves the mill. The Technology Centre in Pretoria developed an accredited analytical method to determine the pentose content in pulp, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, some years ago. The laboratories at the mills are however, not equipped with HPLC technology, so the challenge was, to establish a quick, reliable, alternative method for routine analysis of pentoses. Several test methods were evaluated and the results were compared to those produced by our accredited HPLC analytical method. Following this investigation, we have now included additional steps to improve the test method – and the quality of DWP. 19 20 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity Material issue: Fibre supply Materiality focus Maintaining a steady and sufficient supply of high quality woodfibre is integral to the viability of our business and is achieved through the internationally recognised concept of sustainable forest management (SFM). This aims to achieve a balance between all the different ways people use natural and man-made forests (plantations) while maintaining unique values such as biodiversity, clean air and water, habitat and cultural heritage. It is the key to managing forests for the long term. standard for sustainable forest management were incorporated into the EMS. Our plantations are regularly audited by the FSC™. The EMS is backed up by an effective corrective action reporting (CAR) system, a comprehensive internal audit system and an effective awareness-training programme. The CAR system provides information on non-conformance and is a tool to record and manage gaps, thereby growing and improving the system. Input into the review process includes results from audits (internal and external), progress with objectives and targets, trends from corrective action reports, legal updates from environmental lawyers, and monitoring reports. Forest certification systems such as the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) have specific criteria. Broad examples of these criteria include: • Conservation of biological diversity Internal audit performance is scored and is used to promote a competitive spirit, with winning plantations being awarded trophies. •Maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems and their health and vitality Highlighting our commitment to sustainable forest management, this year we have established a regional target regarding sustainable cut. This refers to the practice of harvesting timber where the volume of wood removed from a plantation each year must at least be equalled by regeneration through replanting. •Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources • Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles •Maintenance and enhancement of long term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet needs of societies. Through the inspection of forest management activities and the tracking of timber, pulp and other forest products, forest certification verifies that these products originate from forests managed according to a strict set of environmental, social, and economic standards. This is important at a time when deforestation of the world’s tropical and endangered forests is still taking place. It’s estimated that this deforestation is responsible for 17-20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In South Africa, it’s estimated that there are only 530,000 hectares of natural indigenous forests in the country. We do not harvest trees from indigenous forests, but source woodfibre from sustainably managed commercial plantations. Sappi’s strategic approach to sustainable forest management Sappi has had an environmental management system (EMS) in place since 1995. This has ensured: •The implementation of sound environmental practices throughout the division in a structured, systematic manner • Compliance with all applicable legislation, and •Credibility and recognition from interested and affected parties though external audits and certification. All Sappi’s owned, managed and leased plantations are 100% FSC™-certified. The 10 principles and criteria of the FSC™ Our planting mix Approximately 46% of our owned, leased and managed plantations are located in KwaZulu-Natal, with 54% in Mpumalanga. Currently, we have 357,000 hectares planted to hardwood and softwood, with a further 138,000 hectares unplanted and managed for biodiversity conservation. Recovered fibre It’s estimated that South Africa lost an estimated R17 billion worth of resources through the disposal of waste to landfill in 2012. According to the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (Prasa), 62.1% of recoverable paper was collected in 2013. Globally, recovered paper is a valuable commodity and a significant portion of paper recovered in South Africa is exported. Against this backdrop, and given our plans to extend our range of grades incorporating recovered paper from Enstra Mill, the availability of recovered paper is an important issue for Sappi. Even though we have exceeded our target in terms of recovered fibre (see page 10 of this report), we could be facing shortages in the short term. We are currently assessing models in industry and in the private sector to ensure security of supply and will report in our 2015 Sustainability Report. Sustainability Report 2014 Woodfibre: Overview Sappi’s clonal programme began in 1992 and since Given that woodfibre is one of our key inputs, ensuring strong 1998 Sappi has been commercially propagating E grandis growth from healthy trees is integral to our sustainability. hybrid clones using traditional vegetative techniques, specifically through the use of rooted cuttings. Since then Sappi has a well-developed, mature tree-breeding programme. one of the major hurdles to clonal deployment has been This programme comprises the screening, selection and poor production efficiency driven by poor rooting percentages deployment of the best genetic material aimed at: of the cuttings. Initially this was at 50% but following a • prolonged drought in the region, dropped to below 30% Increasing yields •Selecting fibre that meets the requirements of our mill processes and products and • Reducing the risks of pests, pathogen and climate change. Increasing yields The process of increasing yields begins in our seed which prompted research into a new means of Eucalyptus cutting production. The adopted protocol was originally developed in Brazil and while essentially the same in principle to the traditional cutting production system, uses mini hedges in a contained orchards and extends through to our laboratories. system (see figure below). The major differences between All seeds and cuttings come from Sappi’s own seed mini-cutting protocol are the size of the hedges and their orchards where the parent trees have been specially location as well as the type and size of cutting that is selected for their growth qualities and desirable timber harvested for rooting. characteristics. Seedlings are grown in Sappi’s own nurseries in the provinces of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. All seedlings leaving the nurseries are assessed in terms of the Sappi Plant Quality Index (PQI). Developed in-house, it assesses the quality of seedlings and cuttings, the traditional macro-cutting production system and the Thousands of seedlings supplied from nurseries 2013/2014 Destination Own Projects Outsiders Total Hardwood Softwood 18,941 7,673 164 26,778 11,145 130 12 11,287 Total 30,086 7,803 176 38,065 thus ensuring that they meet certain physical and physiological specifications and that acceptable survival and growth is achieved. The Sappi Forest Research department is based at the Shaw Research Centre (SRC) in Howick, with satellite offices at KwaMbonambi and Ngodwana. There are three active research programmes: •Tree-breeding Macro-hedge Coppice shoot Macro-cutting Mini-hedge Mini-cutting Rooted cutting •Propagation • Seed orchards. This research effort is supported by a total of 624 active field trials and 140 seed orchards. Clonal deployment represents the ultimate means of capturing the genetic gain of Eucalyptus grandis hybrids, recognised for their fast-growth, disease tolerance and volume production compared to pure E grandis. In addition, clones produce a uniform crop, well-suited to high productivity sites. 21 22 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity of construction to enable a total production of 17 million Reducing risk through improved pest, pathogen and climate change adaptation eucalypt and pine hybrid cuttings using this technology. The movement of pests and diseases around the world The impact of this technology on the productivity of the is accelerating due to increasing global trade. This is nursery has been significant and has also enabled exacerbated by climate change, which leads to the commercialisation of E grandis x E nitens hybrid clones evolution of more virulent pathogens and the increasing and even that of E dunni. Neither of these taxa could have potential for host jumps. Against this backdrop, pests and been economically commercialised using the traditional pathogens are a continuous threat to the sustainability approach (clone banks), due to inadequate rooting. of our plantations. Our response to pests and pathogens The Clan Nursery is currently undergoing the second phase follows an integrated pest/pathogen management Rooting (%) 76.2 (IPM) principle, as set out in the table below. 80 Pest/Pathogen 70 53.7 60 50 40 30 Genetic resistance Biological control Mating disruption Chemical control Integrated pest/pathogen management (IPM) Remote sensing Risk modelling Monitoring 20 10 0 Macro Mini Rooting efficiency of cuttings from both mini-and macro-hedges, based on trial data over a period of three years. Mini-hedges result in about 20% increase in rooting at the Sappi Research Centre. Host Environment Avoidance (site species matching) Silviculture prescriptions (planting windows) Rapid deployment of resistant genotypes Pest problems are addressed primarily through tree-breeding and deployment. Chemical control is only considered Selecting fibre that meets the requirements of our mill processes and products One of the key objectives of Sappi’s tree-breeding programme is to improve not only the quantity but also the quality of the fibre for our mills. All new material identified for deployment into our forests is selected for wood and pulping properties. These traits include density and pulp yield, as well as a number of specific chemical traits that will be of benefit to our DWP mills. Our focus in this regard is to: •Measure and quantify the variation currently present within our breeding trials. This involves sampling a large number of trees, processing and preparing the wood samples and assessing a variety of relevant traits •Identify those trees that exhibit outstanding characteristics and should be selected, and •Evaluate new methodologies as part of a continual improvement process. Gains in tree-breeding are driven largely by being able to assess large numbers of trees, rapidly and cost effectively. Considerable resources are invested in testing new procedures and processes that will increase these efficiencies. under extreme circumstances where no other alternatives to controlling a specific pest/pathogen exists, taking into consideration the impact of these pesticides on the broader environment and the possible health risks they might pose. To mitigate risk we either avoid deploying susceptible genotypes in locations where the pests/pathogen is prevalent through site species matching, or we develop silvicultural prescriptions to minimise the impact of the pests/pathogen during the seasons when these pests/pathogens are prevalent. Sappi’s researchers at the Shaw Research Centre have developed the propagation of mini-hedges and micro-cuttings which will enable the rapid deployment of pests/pathogen resistant hybrid or pure species clones in response to new outbreaks. Sappi’s remote sensing specialist and GIS department has developed various bio-climatic risk models in order to predict the exposure to and spread of specific pests/ pathogen. This enables us to respond more proactively Sustainability Report 2014 in mitigating the risks associated with new pests/pathogens which are introduced into the country. The risk models also allow us to focus more specifically on the monitoring and locating of pests and diseases in areas where they are more likely to occur. Collaborating to counter pests and pathogens Sappi is a founding member of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) based in the Forestry and Bio-technical Institute (FABI: http://www.fabinet.up.ac.za) at the University of Pretoria. This programme is recognised internationally as the single strongest programme dealing with pest and pathogen problems in plantation forestry in the world. The TPCP has a technologically advanced and well-equipped facility for the testing and rearing of bio-control agents against forestry pests. Sappi is supporting the current expansion of this facility. Through the TPCP we are also members of the internationally collaborative programme BiCEP (Biological Control of Eucalyptus Pests) (http://bicep.net.au) at the Australian Centre for Industrial and Agricultural Research (ACIAR). We are addressing eucalypt pathogen issues through our membership of the Eucalyptus Genome Network (EUCAGEN) based at the University of Pretoria. In collaboration with the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, EUCAGEN has decoded the Eucalyptus grandis genome. The information from the Eucalyptus genome sequence and resources from EUCAGEN will allow the next significant steps to be taken with the development of DNA markers for wood properties and pathogen resistance which will allow the breeding of more pathogen resistant trees within the next three to four years. Forestry sector receives research and development funding Forestry South Africa was successfully awarded a Sector Innovation Fund from the Department of Science and Technology to boost research and development to address key challenges facing the forestry industry. The R25 million grant over three years is the first substantial public funding to be directed to the commercial forestry sector in 19 years. Some of the identified priorities for research include: Development and application of biotechnology in tree improvement and tree protection; Application of spatial technologies in forestry including remote sensing; Forest engineering; Technologies and capacity to predict risks, monitor and manage the continuously increasing number of threats to the forest industry. The research proposals should further aim to increase private sector investment; increase general level of R&D in the South African Forestry sector; develop human capital and enhance transformation through the development of opportunities for emerging new role players. 23 24 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity Disease Impact Hardwood diseases Puccinia psidii (Myrtle rust) Originally from South America, this pathogen, which can affect various Eucalyptus species, has now spread around the world. It was first detected on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast of South Africa in 2013. Hardwood pests Coryphodema tristis (Cossid moth) Gonipterus scutellatus (Eucalyptus snout beetle) Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Bronze bug) Leptocybe invasa (Eucalyptus chalcid) Indigenous to South Africa, in 2004, the Cossid Moth was found to be extensively damaging mature E nitens in Mpumalanga province. Larvae bore through the bark into the wood constructing a set of extensive galleries. This causes loss of wood volume and quality as well as eventual tree death. Was introduced into South Africa in 1916. Adults feed on the new flush of the growing tips of various Eucalyptus species. The bug attacks mature trees. Affected leaves become discoloured and drop off prematurely; this has a negative impact on the photosynthetic potential of the tree and its resultant growth. Fortunately infestations are sporadic and tend to peak in late Autumn and Winter when the effects are most visible. Infestations of this insect cause severe galling of the leaves and stems, which impacts on the growth and form, of susceptible Eucalyptus species. Glycaspis brimblecombei (Red gum lerp psyllid) Glycaspis adults and nymphs are sap suckers which attack the newly expanded foliage of eucalypts. Ophelimus maskelli (Eucalyptus gall wasp) While the presence of Ophelimus maskelli has been confirmed in South Africa, samples have also yielded adults of its bio-control agent Closterocerus chamaeleon. The insects form red blister like galls on the newly unfolded leaves of Eucalyptus which ultimately results in premature leaf drop. Softwood diseases Fusarium circinatum (Pitch Canker Fungus (PCF) This pathogen results in high levels of mortality of Pinus patula seedlings in forestry nurseries and has also caused poor post-planting survival of newly established compartments. Sirex noctilio (European wood wasp) Infestation inhibits the natural immune responses of the tree allowing fungus to develop, eventually resulting in the death of the tree. Sustainability Report 2014 Sappi’s mitigation measures Industry response Collaborative screening tests conducted by TPCP and ACIAR in Australia prior to the arrival of the pathogen in South Africa indicated that Sappi’s E grandis x E urophylla (GU) hybrids genotypes are resistant. Resistance to the pathogen in E. grandis is variable depending on provenance. Following the results of a screening trial, we have concluded that the strain of Puccinia which was found is most likely not a pathogen of Eucalyptus. Collaboration with TPCP and ICFR resulted in a predictive risk model for the possible spread and impact of Puccinia has been developed. We are now mitigating the risk by planting E nitens on areas where the mean annual temperature is below 15 degrees Celsius and harvest at below 12 years. The potential impact on seed orchard trees is high, as mature trees offer better seed production. Scientists at the TPCP have managed to identify the individual components of the female sex pheromone of C tristis. The pheromone has been artificially reconstituted and tests are underway which will enable us to control infestations of Cossid moth through trapping and mating disruption. Research is underway to understand the mechanisms which lead to the seasonal failure of Anaphes nitens to control the pest. Investigations are also underway to source additional biocontrol agents through BiCEP. The introduction of bio-control in the form an egg parasitoid Anaphes nitens and the replacement of susceptible host trees with E grandis reduced the impact of this pest to negligible levels. On Sappi plantations, replacement of E grandis with more drought tolerant and better pulp yielding E dunnii in the warm temperate zones and the introduction of disease resistant better yielding E grandis x E urophylla hybrids in the sub-tropical zones has led to localised seasonal outbreaks of Gonipterus. Monitoring is on-going and to date no known infection of Eucalyptus has occurred in South Africa. Industrywide co-operation with the TPCP has resulted in the releases of the biocontrol agent Clerucoides noackii since September 2013. Releases have been conducted in all the summer rainfall zones and will continue indefinitely. Species affected are mainly E grandis and its hybrids with camaldulensis and E nitens. Sappi’s response has been conduct extensive screening of its pure species and clonal hybrids to determine the most Leptocybe invasa tolerant strains. Expectations are that we will not be severely impacted by the appearance of this pest unless it manages to spread to commercial forest areas without its bio-control agent in tow. During the last 20 years, our research centre has been working on a programme to develop and commercialise the Pinus patula x Pinus tecunumanii hybrids, as a replacement for Pinus patula. Pinus tecunumanii, has been shown to be tolerant to this disease and thus a comprehensive hybrid production and testing phase was implemented. We are now planting the hybrid commercially and this has meant a gradual reduction in area planted to Pinus patula. Efforts to prevent an epidemic from occurring in Pinus patula in Mpumalanga involved the development of a climatic risk model and the deployment of a series of trap tree plots for monitoring of Sirex noctilio populations and introduction of bio-control agents. Trap tree plots consist of ten herbicide stressed trees and are deployed in high-risk areas at a rate of one plot per 100ha of pine older than 12 years during September/October annually. Industry-wide co-operation with the TPCP has resulted in the release of the biocontrol agent Selitrichodes neseri at more than 360 sites, since September 2012. Trapping results indicate that the biocontrol has become established at over 85% of the sites where it has been released and that it is spreading naturally from these release sites. Screening tests are underway to determine the Glycaspis tolerance of the various genotypes. The TPCP is currently busy with the final host specifity trials on the bio-control agent Psyllaephagus bliteus. Once host specificity is proved application for permission to release the biocontrol agent will be given. 25 26 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Prosperity Climate change is expected to make some parts of South Africa hotter and some colder. Our exposure to climate change related risk in this region is moderated by: •Maintaining wide genetic variability in our planting material. This enables us to breed trees for a wide range of conditions and the rate of change in conditions is likely to be slow enough for us to respond in the breeding programme. In other words, we will produce better trees as conditions change. •Continually monitoring and reviewing forest best practices in the light of changing environmental factors, thereby helping to mitigate any increased threat from environmental conditions. •Implementing extensive planting of more drought-tolerant eucalypt hybrids. • Mapping frost (see case study below). •Climate change could potentially increase the severity of fires – already an ongoing risk on our plantations. Fire risks are mitigated via an integrated fire risk management system comprising a comprehensive risk assessment, monthly compliance checks for monitoring, management procedures, standards, and general back-up information. We also involve our neighbours and communities in fire prevention. Mitigating risks by mapping frost Frost damage in South Africa can be severe in the Highveld of Mpumalanga and certain areas in KwaZulu-Natal, especially in the valleys and drainage areas. Most frost damage occurs in Winter, following planting, in the form of tip scorching and/or total scorching depending on the frequency and severity of the frost. The occurrence of frost risk on Sappi landholdings has been mapped using ground temperature data from satellite images obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite. These images, covering an eight-year period over the Winter months June to August, were used to determine actual minimum ground temperatures and the frequency of frost occurrence on pixel areas measuring one kilometre by one kilometre. This data was further downscaled to one hectare (100 metre x 100 metre) blocks by modelling cold air pooling and flow accumulation in the landscape using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The application of the map has the following benefits: • Assistance with site-species matching and prioritisation of planting compartments • This in turn, will reduce the frost damage area that has to be replanted annually •The identification of frost-free areas in the cool temperate silvicultural zone where more productive, but less frost tolerant genotypes, can be deployed. Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People At a glance ent initiatives • Made progress in skills developm • Sappi performance improved: - LTIFR down from FY2013 - Zero fatalities and communities: • CSR spend prioritised education m entu mom ering - ECD initiatives gath erform their peers outp to d inue cont ents stud ec - Prot ed highly in employee •Sustainable engagement scor engagement survey an Institute of Entrepreneurship •In association with the South Afric ing modules to assist larger train three d (SAIE), we develope agement of their plantations. community projects with the man “South Africa needs an economy that is more inclusive, more dynamic and in which the fruits of growth are shared equitably.” National Development Plan 2030 Material issue: Skills Materiality focus From a business perspective, skills development leads Recognising that a more strategic growth path is needed, to higher levels of employee engagement, productivity Sappi has been working hard for many years to promote and profitability. From an individual point of view, higher levels of skills. skills development leads to enhanced employability and career prospects. South Africa has an enabling policy and legal framework to address the challenge of skills development in the country. South Africa is suffering from a technical skills shortage which The National Skills Development Act of 1998, the National is compromising industrialisation and global competitiveness. Skills Development Levy Act of 1999 as well as the National At the same time, as reported by Statistics SA, at the Human Resources Development Strategy of South Africa beginning of 2014, the unemployment rate was 25.2% of which forms part of the National Development Plan 2030, 1 the population . Jobs lift people out of poverty, while skills provide a framework for strengthening the skills of the work help to drive business growth. force and the unemployed in South Africa. A Sector-specific Education and Training Authority (SETA) to manage the skills In focusing on skills development, cognisance needs to be development process has been established. taken of the difference between low, medium and high levels of skills. A recent McKinsey survey2 points out that while the shortages of high- and medium-skilled workers could potentially be significant going forward – with global shortages of highly skilled workers standing at 13% of the total workforce by 2020, there is a likely to be a surplus of low-skilled workers. http://beta2.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02111stQuarter2014.pdf 1 http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/employment_and_growth/the_world_at_work 2 27 28 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People Sappi’s strategic approach to skills development Our training programmes are outlined below: Our skills development strategy is aligned with • Graduates in training programme government’s focus on workplace integrated learning This is aimed at learners who have completed their and skills development and aims to develop a pool of the studies at a university and hold a degree in a relevant scarce and critical skills needed to enhance our own engineering discipline – electrical, mechanical, chemical sustainability and that of our industry. engineering etc – and who require 24 months workplace experience as per the Engineering Council of SA (ECSA) Sappi is a member of the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing (FP&M) SETA. In addition, we have developed an internal learning and development strategy. We submit Workplace Skills and Annual Training Plans to the SETA, thereby confirming our support for the development of skills in the country and also meeting compliance requirements in terms of legislation. This is done on an annual basis and is monitored by the Sappi National Employment Equity and Learning Forum, a formalised structure comprising trade unions, management representatives and other employees elected to represent the interest of employees from different occupational categories and levels. In terms of number of learners per category, we plan ahead requirements. • Diplomates-in-training This programme meets the needs of learners who are studying at a university of technology for a diploma in electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering. In terms of existing qualification requirements at universities of technology in South Africa (called ‘technikons’ prior to 2003), learners in specific study disciplines have to complete a practical work module in order to obtain a qualification. This is supported by a log book which confirms that they are competent in the critical cross-field outcomes required by the National Qualifications Framework. over five years to ensure that learners are absorbed into our business as far as possible. Accordingly, we are able Universities of technology to place the majority of learners within Sappi. A university of technology is characterised by being research informed rather than research driven where Integrating theory and experiental learning into the the focus is on strategic and applied research that workplace encourages people to develop a greater sense can be translated into professional practice. of responsibility, place more reliance on their judgement, Furthermore, research output is commercialised, and find greater meaning in their studies. We collaborate thus providing a source of income for the institution. with Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, Learning programmes, in which the emphasis on universities of technology, universities, secondary schools, technological capability is as important as cognitive skills, the FP&M SETA and the Paper Manufacturers’ Association are developed around graduate profiles as defined by of South Africa (PAMSA) to develop in-house training industry and the professions. programmes. Learners are generally sourced from the communities we serve, mainly through PROTEC (see page 32 of this report for further details) to ensure we have a talent pipeline to reduce external recruitment and develop our own talent. This gives us a ‘line of sight’ in developing our talent pool, particularly in critical and scarce skills. The learners are coached and mentored by qualified • Apprentice programmes These are occupationally directed programmes, directed by a SETA, presented by an accredited training provider which, when completed, allow qualification as artisan in various trades such as fitters and electricians. • Recognition of prior learning programmes employees to ensure that their workplace exposure is These programmes allow learners to determine their related to their field of study, to monitor their progress and knowledge and skills against a qualification through to enhance their permanent employment opportunities post practical experience. the workplace experience either at Sappi or in the industry. Sustainability Report 2014 • Learnership programmes These involve a structured learning process for gaining theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the workplace leading to an NQF-registered qualification. The programmes are outcomes based as they allow for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of employees, who while they might have many years’ experience in various trades, do not hold a qualification. • Leadership development programmes These involved the identification of high potential employees for leadership development: Master of Business Administration, Management Development Programme and Executive Development Programme and the Sappi Leadership Academy. The latter a 12-month in-house programme designed for managers to develop their leadership behaviours. It comprises three one-week residential blocks as well as project work spread over the year. • Bursaries Both Sappi and the FP&M SETA provide funds for tertiary studies at a university in our critical and scarce skills - Perseverance pays off electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering. While studying for Grades 11 and 12, Sakhile Zincume worked after school at a funeral service to pay for school for himself and his younger brother and assist his mother financially in providing for his other five siblings. He worked at the funeral home every day from 16:00 to 23:00, and then studied from 24:00 to 02:00, waking up again at 06:30 to go to school. Sappi Regional talent pool Race and gender per category (No of people) 90 80 70 40 60 50 40 9 27 26 21 6 22 5 9 7 1 1 3 31 13 11 12 21 3 Bursary - Tertiary Learnership (18.2) Learnership (18.1) Leadership Development Graduates in Training Diplomates in Training Repairman/Aide Sect 28 African female Indian male White female 12 11 10 5 3 11 5 2 4 4 4 6 24 18 33 10 1 8 2 Apprentice Sect 13 African male Coloured female White male 30 20 10 0 Coloured male Indian female He began studying for the NCV: Process Plant Operations and Pulp & Papermaking Technology qualification at the Mandeni Campus of Umfolozi FET College. Theoretical lessons were conducted at the college and practical sessions were conducted at the Sappi Stanger and Tugela Mills as the college did not have a workshop with the necessary equipment. Sakhile displayed exceptional leadership skills and in 2012 was elected as the Student Representative Council (SRC) president for Mandeni Campus as well as President of the Umfolozi College SRC. In July 2013, after completing their Level 4 theoretical studies, Sakhile and his fellow students were offered 12-month internships at Sappi. In April 2014, Sakhile was offered permanent employment at the Sappi Stanger Mill as water/effluent operator in the water treatment plant. His message to others is: “Perseverance is the mother of success, also respect for other people especially your elders and hard work. You should tell yourself: ‘I am not what I am but what I want to be’.” 29 30 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People Sappi Technology Centre helps to address graduate unemployment On International Nelson Mandela Day, 18 July 2014, Sappi Southern Africa’s Technology Centre was honoured by the Department of Labour with an award for its efforts in providing work experience to unemployed graduates. During the awards ceremony, the Deputy Director of the Public Employment Services, Esther Tloane, on behalf of the Minister of Labour, recognised 67 private companies for their services to South Africa’s unemployed. The awards were made in recognition of the 67 years of Nelson Mandela’s public service. The involvement of private companies in providing graduates with relevant job exposure not only improves their employability, but also helps to address the problem of youth unemployment. Graduate internship programmes help open doors to graduates for future employment. Beginning in 2013, internship programmes at the Sappi Technology Centre include: •The BSTEP Programme, a collaborative effort by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Black Science, Technology and Engineering Professionals (BSTEP) to provide engineering students with an opportunity for experiential learning in industry. The Sappi Technology Centre took on two students in this programme, both of whom had studied Chemical Engineering (Diploma) at the University of Johannesburg. •The Technology Top 100 (TT100), another DST-initiative which assists in addressing the gap in terms of engineering and science skills. Host companies develop expertise in the interns in planning, management, business acumen and etiquette, self-development and systems management. The Technology Centre took on two TT100 graduates in 2013, one of whom is working as a fixed-term contractor, while the other graduate has been permanently employed in our Paper Sciences department. Two more TT100 graduates were taken on in 2014. •The TSP Internship Programme, governed by the Project Funding Agreement between the DST and the Technology Innovation Agency. The Tshwane University of Technology has entered into an agreement with Sappi to place two students for experiential training to fulfil their training requirements. •The fourth initiative, the Itukise Unemployed Graduates Programme launched by the Department of Trade and Industry, began in August 2014. Through this programme, government aims to place 1,200 unemployed graduates in private companies over the next two years. One graduate has been selected to work at the Technology Centre, and several more will be taken on at Sappi Enstra Mill in Springs. Sustainability Report 2014 Materiality issue: Education Materiality focus As a developing country, South Africa is still struggling to address the huge backlogs left by 40 years of Apartheid inequality – particularly in rural areas. One of the biggest challenges is in the field of education. Sappi’s strategic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) Our support is focused on the communities where we have an impact. We have prioritised education, environment, health and welfare as well as community engagement projects. Total CSR spend in FY2014 was R23.2 million, representing 1.63% of net profit after tax. SA CSR spend by category in 2014 (%) Despite education accounting for 20% of total state expenditure, South Africa’s level of education is rated at 0.8 146 out of 148 countries according to the 2013-2014 Global Competitiveness Report published by the World 29.8 Economic Forum.1 The poor level of education is fuelling the skills gap, with a workforce management company2 recently estimating that at the beginning of 2014, there were 829,000 vacant jobs for highly skilled workers across a wide range of occupations 64.1 5.3 in South Africa, most notably in the medical, accounting, engineering, and IT fields. In 2012, of 623,897 learners, 461,060 obtained their National Senior Certificate, while only 165,957 received university endorsement, with a significantly lower number Education and literacy Community support Environment Health and welfare actually enrolling for any form of higher education in 2013. Levels of skills in mathematics and science are extremely low. Of those that do enroll in public universities, only 15% to 20% will actually graduate according to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s annual statistical report. This means that South Africa will not be able to fill the skills shortage gap for a number of years, with serious repercussions for the country’s economic growth. The government’s newest strategy for turning education around is known as ‘Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025’, which aims to improve learning and the work of teachers. Priority areas in the plan include improving school infrastructure, strengthening school management and emphasising early child development and universal access to Grade R. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2013-14/ GCR_CountryHighlights_2013-2014.pdf Supporting early childhood development Given the strong link between paper and learning, as a paper company, Sappi has for many years prioritised literacy and education in terms of CSR. This has now expanded to include support of early childhood development (ECD). Our support is based on a growing body of international evidence which shows that language and cognitive development are especially important during the first six months to three years of life and that the more stimulating the early environment, the more a child develops and learns. Significantly, findings also indicate that early learning experiences determine health, education and economic participation for life. 1 http://www.southafrica.info/abroad/skills-140114.htm#.VD6ZefYcRYc 2 Unfortunately, many of South Africa’s young children, particularly in rural areas where some of our operations are situated, are not exposed to early learning – which is why we decided to step in. In KwaZulu-Natal we have partnered with Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE), a non-profit organisation (NPO) to train 25 women across KwaZulu-Natal as ECD practitioners. TREE is a non-profit organisation that assists 31 32 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People adults (mostly women) from disadvantaged communities to The table below indicates that the positive trend continues provide young children with access to qualified ECD. through to tertiary level. In Mpumalanga, we are working with our long-standing partner, Penreach, an NPO with 20 years’ experience in ECD. Penreach provides educational interventions and solutions in under-resourced schools in rural communities and is training five ECD practitioners in a four-year module at two schools close to our operations. Supporting Protec (the Programme for Technological Careers) Protec, which has been operating since 1982, is a national 2013 results: Sappi-sponsored Protec branches Average Protec feeder Branch/province Bachelor school pass passes Umkomaas KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Stanger KZN Pietermaritzburg KZN Mandeni KZN KZN average Nelspruit Mpumalanga (MPU) MPU average 83% 40% 78% 94% 66% 33% 10% 21% 32.5% 35% 16.3% 75% independent non-profit educational service provider in South Africa that specialises in science, mathematics and Resource centres near Stanger and Ngodwana Mills technology education. Its main clients are provincial education give every member of the surrounding community the departments, schools, educators and learners. opportunity of using state-of-the-art information technology, regardless of personal means. The centres comprise a Sappi became involved in 1995 and we have invested digital village with computers, a dedicated study centre R26 million in the programme over 19 years. We currently and reference library, as well as televideo and DVD sets. support five branches close to our mills and forestry operations. The branch programme offers advanced science, mathamatics, Supporting communities technology, IT, World-of-Work and English education as We support schools close to our forestry communities well as career development support to Grade 10 to 12 based on requests and needs-analyses. Projects include learners from disadvantaged communities. The programmes fresh water supply, ablution facilities, fencing, buildings and are run in parallel to formal schooling and are delivered structures and vegetable gardens. Hospices are supported mainly through Saturday and vacation school activities. in each community. Our support of public events such as mountain biking provides direct benefit to local communities For all Sappi branches, 213 learners wrote Grade 12 exams. through increased tourism. All branches performed better than the provincial pass rates, whether these were for the feeder schools from which the learners came or peer schools with similar circumstances to the feeder schools. Based on these results and feedback from branches that many students’ plans to study further are curtailed by lack of funds, in 2014 we introduced a special financial award available to those matriculants who had achieved distinctions in mathematics and physical science during the 2013 examinations. A total of 27 learners qualified for the awards, with 14 of them earning distinctions in both mathamatics and science, bringing our contribution towards furthering their studies to R410,000. From 2013, Sappi has contributed R10,000 for each ‘A’ pass in mathamatics and science achieved by Protec learners, towards their tertiary education. Mandela Day Sustainability Report 2014 Material issue: Safety, health and wellbeing Our approach to safety is based on the principles of Materiality focus Project Zero is a global initiative that aims to accelerate Maintaining a culture of safety and focusing on health and wellbeing is not only the right thing to do, it also has impacts on the bottom line, both directly and indirectly. Direct costs include lost productivity, workers’ compensation, insurance and legal fees. Indirect costs include reduced worker morale and reputational impact. On the positive side, Project Zero – zero fatalities and zero injuries. improved safety performance in areas of concern and to develop a safety awareness culture in all parts of our business. The initiative includes integrated health and safety planning and management; training at all levels; participative information and control structures and adherence to international best practice and safety standards. a safe working environment boosts employee morale, which, in turn, increases productivity, efficiency and profit margins. According to the International Labour Organisation, Our safety performance in 2014 despite systems, policies and global standards for safety, Sappi Southern Africa ended the year with a lost time injury still every year, hundreds of thousands of people die in frequency rate (LTIFR) of 0.38 for all personnel employed workplace accidents. compared to 0.43 achieved during FY2013. The accident injury frequency rate (AIFR) for the year was 4.78 and the LTISR for the year was 9.57. This indicates that, Sappi Southern Africa’s view on safety although the number of injuries was not well contained, Our view is that safety is both a right and a responsibility the severity was much less than in FY2013 when the and that the safety of our contractor employees is as severity as measured by the Severity Index (II) was 54.93. important as that of our own employees. We all have the right to work in conditions where there are procedures and equipment that help create a working environment where the overall aim is zero harm. However, we all also have a responsibility to ourselves, our families and our colleagues to go home safety at the end of every day. This responsibility means understanding what is expected from all our people in all conditions, at all times, that will ensure their safety. This does not only mean using personal protective equipment or adhering to safety rules, it also means being involved in safety management by bringing unsafe conditions or situations to the attention of colleagues and line management. In 2014, we continued with our Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) revitalisation programme, focusing on the most severe actual and potential hazards. Our safety approach comprises four behaviour-based steps: •A behavioural observation and feedback process observation of employees and the documentation of safe and unsafe behaviours. Employees are then given positive feedback on safe behaviours and non-threatening feedback on unsafe behaviours and provided with suggestions on correcting unsafe behaviour •A formal review of observation data - following the step outlined above, data is analysed to determine an employee’s or department’s improvement in safe Safety challenges change constantly, depending on the particular project, the team working on the project, behaviours and the data is shared with employees •Improvement goals - these are established to increase the place and even the time of day or night the work the effectiveness of the feedback and the success of is taking place. While it is not possible to predict future the behaviour-based safety process, and safety challenges, it is possible to work together in order to anticipate and put plans in place to promote safety. •Reinforcement - improvement and goal attainment are recognised and reinforced. 33 34 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People On the contractor side, the good performance of the LTI is a lost time injury. previous year was improved upon with an LTIFR of 0.30 for LTIFR is the lost time injury frequency rate, and is the year compared to the FY2013 figure of 0.37. This was, calculated by dividing the product of lost time injuries however, still above the target of 0.20. There were 40 own and a groupwide standard for man hours by the unit’s employee lost time injuries (LTIs) which resulted in an LTIFR man hours, ie LTIFR = LTI * 200,000/unit’s actual for own employees for the year of 0.58 against a target of man hours. 0.60. Both own and contractor employees achieved the LTISR is the lost time injury severity rate and is calculated Injury Index (II) target of less than 10. as LTISR = number of days lost * 200,000 man hours. II is the Injury Index, a product of the LTIFR and the LTISR and provides an overall sense of safety within the measured unit, ie LTIFR * LTISR. This positive safety trend was reinforced by the fact that 2014 was the first year of zero fatalities for the Southern Africa region and the group. Fatalities 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 0 2010 0 0 2011 2012 Own 1 1 0 2013 0 2014 0 Contractor Going forward Our objectives for FY2015 are to: Global Safety Awareness Day • Southern Africa Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) and Injury Index (II) 2010 - 2014 0,7 0.65 0.60 0.58 0.54 0,6 0,5 0.46 0,4 0.37 0.36 0.30 0.24 0.20 0,3 0,2 0,1 2010 Own LTIFR Own II 2011 2012 2013 2014 Contractor LTIFR Contractor II 0,0 Continue to achieve zero fatal accidents •Achieve an LTIFR of better than 0.53 for own employees and better than 0.27 for contractor employees, and •Achieve an II of less than 7.60 for all categories of employees. We plan to achieve this by continuing to engage our employees and contractors in our safety drives through mini safety conferences and coaching to entrench a safety culture into the hearts and minds of all our employees. We will also be piloting a fatigue management programme at one of our mills. These activities will be underpinned by maintaining momentum in terms of the BBS programme and by addressing unsafe conditions by maintaining all safety systems in line with the requirements of our OSHAS 18001 certification. Sustainability Report 2014 Promoting health and wellbeing Using the statistics from medical aid schemes, we are able to establish on an annual basis the health and wellbeing risks experienced by employees and this helps develop our annual agenda. We categorise our health and wellbeing programmes in the following manner: occupational health, primary health care and employee wellbeing. • Occupational health: The major risks we are challenged with due to our work environment are noise, vapours, fumes and ergonomic risks. Approximately 52% of our employees are exposed to noise levels above 82 decibels for more than eight hours per day. We do repeated hearing loss measurements and to date have 0.8% cases of hearing deterioration. Corrective action has been put in place with the assistance of the risk department and line managers, to implement an effective hearing conservation programme. The major focus is to try to reduce/eliminate noise levels in the work environment. • Primary health care: This year we continued to focus on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis as primary health care issues. Please refer to the HIV/AIDS FAQ on www.sappi.com • Employee wellbeing (EWB): Our programme includes various initiatives and awareness programmes, eg substance abuse (alcohol and drugs), cancer awareness days, weight-loss programmes and awareness programmes related to testing cholesterol, blood glucose, body mass index, blood pressure, HIV/AIDS and TB. The programme also includes basic counselling for referrals to external providers, financial wellness, trauma counselling, work stress issues and other health and relationship issues. The focus is on educating and empowering employees with the skills to take ownership of their wellbeing to make better lifestyle choices, and where necessary, to support them and provide care and treatment. The total cost of our occupational health and wellbeing programmes for FY2014 was R20.6m. Safety in Sappi Forests According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), forestry is one of the most dangerous occupations globally. Sappi Forests prides itself in having a comprehensive Risk Management System (RMS), which is designed to minimise the negative impacts and maximise the positive impacts of forestry. All safety is monitored, contractor and own operations, in terms of our RMS system on a weekly basis. The RMS comprises: •A Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) policy committing the company to implementing sustainable (ecological, social and economic) forest management in a manner that ensures the health and safety of its employees •A risks register containing Sappi Forests’ risk exposures and detailed action plans for effectively managing each risk exposure •Registers highlighting most environmental and health and safety statutes relevant to forestry operations in South Africa. These registers also link statutory requirements to the relevant RMS processes that need to be followed in order to ensure legal compliance by forestry operations •A set of ‘best practices’ which set out detailed procedures by which all forestry activities must be conducted to minimise SHEQ impacts •A training programme to ensure all Sappi Forests staff and all contractors conducting forestry-related activities on Sappi land are fully trained in the SHEQ aspects of the RMS monitoring programmes and to measure the success of the system and ensure conformance to procedures, and •A programme of ongoing review of the RMS to ensure that both it and our SHEQ performance, are continually improving. The system is fully documented, integrates all management activities and is designed to improve performance over time. It is designed to conform to the international standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and FSC™. 35 36 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People Detecting and managing TB in Sappi According to Statistics South Africa, tuberculosis (TB) is currently the leading cause of death in South Africa – and has been since 1997. We work to reduce the instance and impact of the illness on our workforce through early detection and active follow-up. Our health assessments include a questionnaire, compiled in accordance with the Department of Health (DoH) guidelines. If this indicates a possibility of TB, health workers at our on-site clinics administer a rapid TB test and send positive results to the DoH, which then supplies Sappi clinics with the appropriate medication. Left alone, many TB patients fail to take all their medication, thereby contributing to the spread of drug-resistant TB. Sappi complies with the direct observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) control strategy recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and practised by the DoH. The five key elements of DOTS are: • Case detection by sputum smear microscopy • Standardised treatment regimen directly of six to eight months observed by a buddy for at least the first two months • A regular, uninterrupted drug supply • A standardised recording and reporting system that allows assessment of treatment results, and •Government commitment (including political will at all levels, and establishment of a centralised and prioritised system of TB monitoring, recording and training). Health workers in our on-site clinics are at greater risk than other employees, and they are made aware of the mitigation measures set out by the DoH. Material issue: Employee engagement Materiality focus annual net income of organisations whose employees lag behind on engagement. (Source: The Impact of Employee Engagement. Kenexa) •A study conducted across 39 organisations indicates Research shows that companies with high levels of that organisations with highly-engaged employees sustainable engagement outperform those with low achieve seven times greater five-year total shareholder engagement, and even for those with high levels of return (TSR) than those whose employees are less traditional engagement. A recent Forbes article highlights engaged. (Source: The Impact of Employee Engagement. Kenexa) the benefits of employee engagement:1 Employees who are favorable on these topics are more •Companies with high levels of employee engagement likely to be sustainably engaged: improved 19.2% in operating income while companies with low levels of employee engagement declined 32.7% over the study period. (Source: The ISR Employee Engagement Report. Towers Perrin-ISR) •A bank reported that in 2007 they found that branches with a statistically significant increase in levels of employee engagement (0.2 or more on a scale of five) had a 16% higher profit margin growth than branches with decreased levels of employee engagement. • Availability of development opportunities • Clarity of job responsibilities •Clarity of company values and visibility of ethical business activity • Availability of necessary information, and •Collaboration. Because it predicts company performance, engagement is (Source: Engaging for success: Enhancing performance through used to focus analysis of the results on the most strategic employee engagement, UK Government Study) areas to drive future success. •A study of 64 organisations revealed that organisations with highly-engaged employees achieve twice the http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/09/04/why-employee-engagement/2/ 1 Sustainability Report 2014 Employee Engagement Survey: Overview 79 77 78 74 76 79 70 78 79 80 business performance and employee retention. In 2013, 60 50 categories: 42 45 measured sustainable engagement on the basis of three 70 55 58 51 54 53 51 we conducted an Employee Engagement Survey which 70 65 62 67 66 67 69 69 69 70 70 engaged workforce’. An engaged workforce drives both 69 70 75 73 73 One of the drivers within Sappi is to have a ‘fulfilled and Employee engagement survey results 40 • Traditionally engaged – which measures the belief in company goals and objectives, the emotional 30 connectedness to the organisation and willingness 20 to give discretionary effort 10 • Enabled – which measures the availability of resources Organisational Change Diversity and Inclusion Teamwork and Communication Talent Management Recognition Measuring levels of engagement in South Africa Sappi global results Global manufacturing norm Sustainable Engagement which has been proven to deliver better business results. Supervision The above factors together result in sustainable engagement Safety and Well Being enthusiasm or accomplishment at work. Operational Efficiency place within the work environment and feelings of Leadership and Direction Energised – which measures the social networks in Image and Customer Focus • Ethics and Values obstacles to getting the work done, and Development and Empowerment to achieve excellent performance and the lack of 0 SA results Engagement levels (%) 12 The Sappi 2013 survey was designed to: •Gather baseline data on employee opinions and perceptions of Sappi as a place to work • Measure Sustainable Engagement, and 18 •Discover what it means to drive sustainable engagement 51 among employees within Sappi. The survey was open to all permanent employees including salaried and hourly employees, in and out of bargaining 18 units across all regions. A total of 3,661 employees participated in the survey which represented approximately 71% of Sappi Southern Africa. A total of 10 core categories plus two additional items for South Africa – ‘Diversity and Fully engaged Detached Unsupported Fully disengaged Inclusion’ and ‘organisational change’ were measured. The The graph above indicates engagement levels. While more results were also compared to the global manufacturing than half of the employees are fully engaged, almost a third norm which includes responses from 150,000 employees of employees are either detached or fully disengaged. across 143 organisations globally. This indicates that performance could be optimised with these employees. Engagement survey results The global survey results were compared to the global manufacturing norm in order to ascertain Sappi’s performance against organisations that operate within a similar industry. The South African results are detailed in the graph and compared to both the global results as well as the global manufacturing norm (where possible). To enhance our understanding of the results, these were analysed in terms of location, job activity, tenure, age, level and race. Results were communicated to all employees in the form of articles in Sappi publications, presentations by HR Managers to business and e-Mails to all employees. Workshops were also held to discuss areas of concern and to develop action plans to address these. 37 38 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People The focus areas for South Africa are to: •Increase focus on ethics and values in the form of an ethics board game as well as the roll out of a values initiative for all employees •Integrate the talent review process with a stronger focus on development of high potential employees including leadership development as well integration to performance management and recruitment, and •Improve communication across the region on all matters pertaining to employment at Sappi. Reaching out to communities In 2014, Sappi commissioned external Community Development experts DevCom to conduct research in some of our targeted forestry communities in KwaZulu Natal. We interviewed almost 600 individuals in nine communities over a two week period and came to some interesting conclusions. We were extremely concerned to find that almost 94% of the community people we spoke to were not employed, with most of them being young, aged between 18 and 25, while others were either employed by Sappi or by our contractors. Overall, we came to the conclusion that the unemployed were often disillusioned young people sitting at home, ill-equipped to deal with the challenges with which they are faced or with the skills to lift themselves up out of these conditions. Those who were employed by Sappi or our contractors were also disenchanted by poverty and poor living conditions and circumstances. This disenchantment was often aimed at Sappi and at society in general. The external experts and Sappi have come up with a community stakeholder engagement and communication strategy which we believe is going to make a significant difference. We aim to do this by introducing our Abashintshi training programme, which will train two young people from each of the nine communities selected in our pilot programme (18 in total). These community change agents will reach out into their communities and bring about real social mobilisation and change for the better in the communities where we operate by sharing with their peers the life-skills training to which they are exposed. The Abashintshi programme involves: • A Life Skills Youth Training programme, and Material issue: Transformation Materiality focus Twenty years ago, at the advent of democracy, South Africa was a fragmented society, divided along racial lines and characterised by social and economic inequality. Societies characterised by entrenched gender inequality or racially or ethnically defined wealth disparities are unlikely to be socially and politically stable, particularly as economic growth can exacerbate these inequalities. This is particularly true in an era where globalisation tends to enhance unequal distribution as it discriminates against the unskilled in the sense that employment in the modern economic environment is primarily skills biased. Against this backdrop, following South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994, legislation relating to Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) was introduced to accelerate economic and social transformation. This Act seeks to promote the economic empowerment of all black people2, including women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies. Among these is the Employment Equity Act which was enacted to give effect to the right to equality in the context of the employment relationship. The Act places positive obligations on employers to prepare employment equity plans and implement affirmative action. Through the Skills Development Act, the government seeks to improve the employment prospects of persons who were previously unfairly discriminated against. In terms of this Act, employers are required to contribute to the Skills Fund a total of 1% of the wage bill per annum. The monies can be claimed back by employers who are able to demonstrate that they have developed and implemented training programmes. Performance is measured by the BBBEE scorecard which, in addition to employment equity and skills development, measures management and ownership control, and preferential procurement, enterprise and social development. Defined as Black, Coloured and Indian people 2 Sappi’s strategic approach to BBBEE As a company headquartered in South Africa, with significant •The Ifa Lethu Legacy building programme with elders in the community, introducing the Asset–based Community Development (ABCD)1 concept to communities and holiday programmes during school holidays. assets and people, Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment ABCD focuses on appreciating and mobilising individual and community talents, skills and assets (rather than focusing on problems and needs) and most importantly – it is a community-driven process rather than a programme driven by external parties or agencies. helping to bring the black majority into the economic mainstream. 1 (BBBEE) is an important component of our reputation and licence to trade. We recognise that BBBEE is not just a moral imperative, but a pragmatic growth strategy that aims to realise the country’s full economic potential while While we accept that achieving a sustainable transformation state in the organisation is a complex and challenging task, Sustainability Report 2014 we believe that sound transformation practices also offer numerous practical opportunities and benefits. Our focus, In the first half of 2010, the shareholders of Sappi approved in terms of BBBEE, is to make a meaningful difference. a BBBEE equity transaction involving the issuing of We measure our progress in this area through our BBBEE approximately 4.5% (24.3 million shares) of the group’s target (see page 10 of this report). issued share capital, which translates into the empowerment of 30% of Sappi’s South African business. The total value New BBBEE generic codes come into effect on 30 April 2015, of the transaction was R814 million. Sappi, however, will be reporting under an amended Forestry Sector Codes, should the amended codes be finalised and The transaction recognises the contribution made to the gazetted by that time. We have been part of the Industrial company by our South African employees; helps to attract Group of the Forestry Sector Council working on the new and retain staff and in particular highly-skilled black managers; codes. The final codes have been drafted and sent to the and reinforces Sappi’s position as a responsible corporate Department of Trade and Industry for approval. In our citizen within the communities where we operate. engagement with government, there has been recognition of the fact that the forestry sector is uniquely positioned to The shares will vest in 2019. address rural development and that both business and government need to be accountable for resolving priority issues in accelerating transformation. Sappi is committed to transformation in the work place. Aligning with government’s focus on rural development Guidance is received from our Social, Ethics, Transformation Encouraging entry into the industry and helping to develop and Sustainability (SETS) Committee. We also have a Regional tree farmers consolidates the industry and aligns with the Transformation Steering Committee and regional and mill South African government’s focus on rural development. Employment Equity and Learning Forums where the focus is on driving employment equity and skills development goals. We recently expanded our small grower initiative, Project Grow beyond the borders of KwaZulu-Natal It is clear from the graph that we still have a long road province to the Eastern Cape. In 2014, Project Grow ahead of us in terms of trying to mirror the Economically farmers supplied us with 11% of our hardwood fibre intake, Active Population (EAP) demographics of our country, this valued at R169 million. (For further details please refer to is not just in race but also in gender. the Project Grow FAQ available at www.sappi.com.) Further interventions will be introduced in 2015 aligned to management incentive bonuses to assist in improving our employment equity. Sappi EAP vs South Africa EAP 82.4 85.0 76.5 65.2 68.0 50.9 59.5 44.4 35.7 29.1 34.4 38.6 43.8 42.5 34.0 16.5 22.1 3.4 1.7 3.4 1.7 6.6 10.1 13 2.2 1.3 6 2.6 5.3 1.9 0.9 8.6 10.5 14.4 16.7 9 3.8 2.2 1.1 5.2 3.8 1.5 Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Target % Sappi all employees % Sappi management % African Coloured Indian 51.0 25.5 Business in a Box Sappi is also in the process of developing a ‘Business in a Box’ toolkit to assist participants in Project Grow with the effective management of their projects. The aim with the ‘Business in a Box’ toolkit is to provide growers with all the necessary process flows, forms and templates to effectively manage their own forestry business. Forestry is classified as a streamflow reduction activity which means water-use licences need to be obtained before plantations can be established. We are working with communities in the Eastern Cape to obtain water-use 17.0 licences for the establishment of new plantations. To date, 8.5 we have assisted several communities in the Eastern Cape 0,0 in obtaining a total of 7,654ha of water-use licences, White+foreigners including 3,108ha of new licences awarded during 2014 financial year. We are also assisting recipients of water-use licences to secure grant funding from government. 39 40 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - People We are also active in the land reform area. We are assisting several land reform beneficiaries (communities) with the management of their plantations, and have signed supply agreements with 34 land reform/restitution projects totaling 4,710ha planted. With regard to funding which can be an issue in land reform projects, Sappi has compiled business plans for most of these projects and submitted the business plans to government to secure Recapitalisation and Development Funding. We are also in the process of negotiating with suitable funding agencies to secure funding at a reduced interest rate. In association with the South African Institute of Entrepreneurship (SAIE), we have developed specific training initiatives to assist with the management of these projects. Developing entrepreneurial skills In association with the South African Institute of Lillian Jacana and Project Grow: Making a difference Lillian Jacana is a small forestry grower in the Umzimkhulu area in southern KwaZulu-Natal. She received help from Sappi’s technical team, together with seedlings and a Sappi loan at a discounted rate. One of the biggest costs for growers like Mrs Jacana is transport. Sappi assists the growers to manage and pay contractors, thereby ensuring that they charge fair prices. Mrs Jacana recently celebrated her first harvest of 1,393 tons which was delivered to Saiccor Mill. She supports two households, even though she is a grandmother and so the money she received for the first harvest has made a big difference to her and her family. She says she has managed to save some of the money to see her through to the next harvest. Her total loan with Sappi amounted to R89,000, all of which has been paid back out of timber sales. Entrepreneurship (SAIE) we have developed three training modules to specifically assist larger community projects with the management of their plantations: • Forest Biz: During this course growers are exposed to the forestry business through a board game. The game is played with ‘play’ money to simulate the expenses and revenue of a normal forestry enterprise. Through the use of ‘wild’ and ‘life’ cards the effects of Creating bee entrepreneurs At Venus and Inkwazi plantations, we have set up beekeeping projects under the auspices of the African Honey Bee Keeping (AHBK) project. Through AHBK, a commercially viable beekeeping incubator was established on the two plantations, and about 20 new beekeepers are employed every year. fire, timber theft and market changes are role-played. This gives the growers an insight as to what can be expected in their own forestry businesses. • Understanding business basics: Running a simple business: The course focuses on business development and simulates cash flow and is played as a game The farmers are enrolled in an 18-month learnership programme to obtain a National Qualification Framework Level 1 qualification. During this time they work as commercial beekeepers which helps to develop their entrepreneurial skills. They are also exposed to Sappi’s stringent safety and environmental management practices. with play money. The candidates play a simulation game which covers the income and expenditure of a manufacturing business. Through the use of ‘life’ cards, common day problems are encountered showing the effect this has on cash flow. The outcome is to introduce the grower to very simply accounting practices, financial planning and record keeping. • Community Trusts/Communal Property Associations (CPA) – Leadership and Management: The course aims to develop leaders within Community Trusts and CPAs and covers the different legal structures, roles and responsibilities of Communal Property Institutes. Special attention is given to the effective management of these structures to ensure good corporate governance. New entrants work under the guidance and mentorship of experienced senior beekeepers and when they have completed the incubation process, they become fully fledged African Honey Bee franchisees. Through AHBK, bee-keepers receive ongoing training, mentorship, advance payment on their future honey production, equipment at preferential prices and access to global and South African markets for their produce. Sustainability Report 2014 Inputs and activities BBBEE Scorecard elements Planet (Natural) Prosperity (Financial, intellectual and manufactured) People( Human, relationships and social) Capitals Ownership Sefate deal in terms of which shares were issued to a black owned company, a black womens’ development trust and ESOP, MSOP and Foundation trust created. Management control Targets have been allocated to management and now form part of the management incentive scheme. We will focus on gender imbalance, training based on career development move our employees closer to the demographics distribution and work on interventions that create transformation within the business. Skills development Training expenditure has a focus on black employees with further focus on black women and disabled training. Training of unemployed people in some of our communities. Enterprise and supplier development Started Project Grow just over 30 years ago with three farmers, the project now has 5,000 farmers. Socio-economic development Socio-economic spend on communities where Sappi has a footprint, with a focus on education, environment and upliftment (R23.2 million in FY2014). Projects initiated whereby communities make use of our by-products. Reduced waste to landfill. Outcomes BBBEE score Targeted score (New scorecard) 24.5 15.28 25.00 Review current scheme to determine whether there is a better opportunity to transfer wealth to our employees which does not result in financial stress to the company or its shareholders and creates the once empowered always empowered situation. Improved skills levels in South Africa Improved alignment to the demographics of our country. 9.00 7.57 7.67 9.00 Have interventions in our company that will result in an employee base that represents the economically active population demographic distribution of the country. Promotions within the company, certain of the unemployed people in our communities have been employed by our contractors and other businesses in the area. 10.00 9.00 9.55 15.00 Implement industry initiatives and create a disabled business which is supported by industry as well as create a training facility for the unemployed, focused on general tradesman skills. Our spend on Project Grow in FY2014 was approximately R150 million. 11% of our hardwood fibre intake supplied by Project Grow. 32.50 34.54 32.29 27.00 Focus on improving our suppliers’ BBBEE scorecards and introducing new incubational enterprise/supplier development models that have a larger impact on our communities. Improved conditions in our communities. 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 Focus on where we have the largest impact on our communities. 75.00 83.61 72.79 84.00 Inputs and activities Actual prior year 15.50 Planet (Natural) More than 51% of our South African business (based on equity equivalent calculation) is in the hands of black people. People( Human, relationships and social) Black employees, managers, black companies, black women development trust and communities have access to shares to the value of R1 billion. Prosperity (Financial, intellectual and manufactured) Actual current year Aspirational Current year target Capitals 41 42 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Planet Proportional water use per main economic sector in South Africa (%) At a glance 60 3 production of pulp and •Extracted 54 m /adt of water for (47.6 m3/adt) to the 88% ned retur and mills our paper in it ing treat and environment after cleaning s (23% over sion emis il •Decrease in Scope 1 and 2 foss five years) Mill’s energy self-sufficiency •Project Buyisa increases Saiccor from 55% to 57.6% hased energy has decreased •Over five years – specific purc by 26.2% fill of 38.3% over the last •Reduction of solid waste to land five years 50 40 30 24 20 3 3 3 Agriculture Urban domestic Mining and industry Rural domestic Forestry Conservation Power generation We live and work in it, on it with care, preserving it for future 10 5 2 “South Africa, our country, is our land. Our land is our home… 60 0 As the line chart indicates, forestry accounts for only 3% of South Africa’s total water use by reducing run-off into rivers and streams. Irrigated agriculture, on the other hand, accounts for 60% of the country’s total water use. generations. We discover it all the time. As it gives life to us, we honour the life in it.” National Development Plan 2030 Material issue: Water Materiality focus South Africa is a semi-arid country with rainfall varying from less than 100mm per annum in the west to over 1,500mm per annum in the east. South Africa is ranked the 35th driest country in the world. The average rainfall in the Sappi’s strategic approach All our pulp and paper mills use Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), a methodology which aims to balance the capacity and utilisation of water resources to provide water of a specific quantity and quality. This means balancing the volume of water we abstract for use in our manufacturing processes against our impact on the water resource on which we depend. country is 450mm per year, well below the world average of 860mm per year. Much of the country’s economic activity occurs in areas with reduced water availability. In addition, there are concerns about declining water quality and increasing infrastructure challenges, and there is a continuing legacy of unequal access to water in the country. Accordingly, at Sappi, we focus on ensuring that we use water responsibly in our manufacturing operations and on our lands. Approximately 50% of the weight of a tree is water and this is used in the pulping process Water is primarily extracted from the rivers on which our mills are situated (78%) – a process strictly controlled in terms of licence conditions, from our own dams (14.4%), from municipal sources (potable water: 1.8%), from municipal sources (Enstra and Cape Kraft Mills: 5.8%). Approximately 50% of a tree is water and this water enters the manufacturing cycle when trees are pulped. We recycle water many times in our manufacturing operations. Approximately 88% of the water we abstract is returned to the rivers from which it was extracted or for agricultural irrigation purposes. At Ngodwana Mill, for example, effluent is irrigated onto agricultural pastures where it is filtered through the soil en route to the groundwater zone. The filtered treated effluent re-enters the Elands River through natural springs. The DWA has set concentrations and load limits for chemical contaminants in the mill’s Sustainability Report 2014 treated effluent in order to ensure that effluent irrigation practices do not impact on river courses beyond accepted levels. An extensive monitoring network is maintained to assess the impact of our mills on receiving water courses. streamflow, but forestry hardly ever exceeds 75% of the area of quaternary 8catchments and usually only make up about 60% of the quaternary catchments. Consequently, forestry’s maximum use per primary catchment is 14.5%.1 Quaternary catchments are the principal water management units in South Africa 1 SA water withdrawal by source (%) Achievements in 2014 In the year under review we achieved water savings through 1.8 the increased use of process water. 5.8 14.4 In our plantations, we optimise water quantity by delineating riparian zones and wetlands and ensuring these are kept free of commercial trees. Water quality is managed by regulating drainage and minimising erosion, thereby preventing run-off into streams and rivers. Our roads are planned and constructed to prevent erosion and ensure water runoff is not directed straight into rivers. Sappi Forests also has a number of procedures to ensure runoff after harvesting is 78 kept to a minimum. These include leaving harvesting residue on the ground and ensuring that the correct harvesting and Rivers Municipal (potable) extraction methods are used. Our water management initiatives do not happen in isolation Own dam Municipal (industrial water) – we engage with other water stakeholders in the catchment Wetlands on our lands areas in which we operate (See for example the case study: Currently, approximately 2,000ha of Sappi Forests’ Saving the Midmar Dam on page 44). landholdings are classified as wetlands (this excludes rivers and streams that are also sometimes classified as wetlands). Given Sappi’s move to increased production of dissolving These are all inland wetlands (as opposed to coastal wetlands) wood pulp, which uses hardwood (eucalypts) rather than and consist of a variety of wetland types including freshwater softwood (pines), some stakeholders have expressed marshes, peatlands, springs, swamp forests and floodplains. concern that converting plantations to eucalypts will Sappi’s wetlands yield all the benefits that make these areas increase water use by our plantations. Growing under the so important – from inhibiting flooding and filtering water, to same conditions and at similar ages, eucalypts use 15-30% storing carbon and thus helping to mitigate climate change. more water than pines. This does not imply that converting a pine plantation to a eucalypt plantations will reduce stream Sappi was involved in the development of a wetland flow by 15-30% because they are harvested at different ages: assessment toolkit, called Wet-Health, the first comprehensive eucalypts at age 8–10 and pines at 18 years. At any given wetland health assessment tool to be developed for assessing point in time there will be a difference in size between the South African wetlands. The toolkit enables us to: eucalypts and pines. However, at certain periods in • Evaluate wetland condition the rotation of the crop, stream flow will be materially less • Identify causes of wetland degradation – especially during low flow periods – in a catchment • Prioritise rehabilitation initiatives • Measure the effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts, and • Evaluate possible impacts of land use on wetland planted with eucalypts as opposed to a catchment planted to pines. Depending on a number of conditions, including the nature of natural vegetation and soil depth, eucalypts (gums) reduce streamflow by between 30 and 200mm while pines reduce it by between 20 and 150mm. In a fully planted-up wet quaternary catchment, forestry could use 25 to 30% of the functioning. For further details, please refer to our Forest and Wetlands FAQ on www.sappi.com 43 44 Sustainability Report 2014 Saving the Midmar Dam The lifespan of any dam depends on the ecosystem health of its surrounding catchment. In KwaZulu-Natal province, the Midmar Dam is recognised as one of the most important dams in the province, given that it plays a significant role in supplying water to almost half the population in the second largest economic region in South Africa and also provides multiple recreational values to society. The dam is sustained by ecological infrastructure which includes three major rivers – the Lions, uMngeni and Mooi and a myriad of wetlands and riparian zones within these ecosystems. Unfortunately, the dam is located within a highly complex socio-ecological network and high levels of sewage pollution, solid wastes, industrial and agricultural activities (dairies, feedlots, intensive agriculture and maize production) are threatening its existence. A significant proportion of Sappi’s landholdings are situated within the dam catchment area. The uMgungundlovu District Municipality in partnership with Sappi and other local stakeholders, including the uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership to which Sappi belongs, are co-ordinating an ecological infrastructure initiative called ‘Save the Midmar Dam’. The project aims to restore and maintain degraded wetlands, riparian zones and grasslands, creating and maintaining water resource buffer zones and educating water users on the importance of conserving critical ecological infrastructure within the area. The project also involves the rehabilitation of the Sappi Lions River wetland. Material issue: Energy Materiality focus Purchased energy costs as a percentage of cost of sales (COS) (%) Electricity prices have been rising significantly in South Africa for a number of years and in 2014, the country once again 16 faced managed blackouts previously experienced in 2008. Shortly after Sappi’s year-end, the National Energy Regulator 13.68 12.76 14.43 14.05 14 13.04 of South Africa (NERSA) announced that the hikes in power 12 prices from April 2015 onwards would be higher than first planned. 10 Electricity tariffs charged by the state power utility Eskom, 8 will increase by an average of 13% – more than double the 6 country’s inflation rate, which stood at 6.4% in August 2014. This is significantly more than the 8% initially approved for 4 the year through to 31 March 2016. 2 This is material to Sappi, given that our manufacturing 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0 operations are energy intensive. The graph indicates that energy costs as a percentage of cost sales are decreasing the result of a concerted focus on energy efficiency and self-sufficiency. Eskom’s electricity generation is primarily coal-fired, which has obvious carbon implications. The NDP proposes a move to less carbon-intensive electricity production through procuring at least 20,000MW of renewable energy. This offers an opportunity for Sappi, given the fact that 40% of our energy in South Africa is derived from renewable sources – primarily black liquor. Black liquor is the spent cooking liquor from the pulping process which results when pulpwood is digested into paper pulp by removing lignin, hemicellulose and other extractives from the wood to free the cellulose fibres. The resulting black liquor is an aqueous solution of lignin residues, hemicellulose, and the inorganic chemicals used in the process. Black liquor contains more than half of the energy content of the wood fed into the digester. Sustainability Report 2014 Sappi’s strategic approach SA renewable energy breakdown (2014) There is a high probability that the risk of supply constraints and increased energy costs will escalate in the near future. In addition, it seems extremely likely that the government will introduce a carbon tax in 2016 (discussed in further detail in our 2014 Group Sustainability Report, available on www.sappi.com). 11 Sappi Southern Africa’s high use of renewable energy (40%) and long-established focus on reducing carbon footprint, decreasing our reliance on fossil fuel and increasing energy self-sufficiency positions us well for dealing with these challenges. So too, does the fact that our plantations mitigate global warming by absorbing carbon: during photosynthesis, trees use energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic compounds essential for their growth, storing carbon and releasing oxygen in the process. Without this vital daily exchange, life on earth would simply not be possible. 98 Own black liquor Renewable energy in purchased power Specific purchased energy per year (SPE)(GJ/adt) 27.43 30 26.86 23.95 In planning new projects, energy efficiency is a priority. For example, with our GoCell expansion at Ngodwana Mill to partially convert the mill to produce dissolving wood pulp in line with our strategy of growing our existing high margin businesses, high-efficiency motors and lighting were installed and all new equipment was based on best available technology (BAT). The efficacy of our strategic approach is highlighted by the fact that over five years, our total greenhouse emissions have decreased by 23%. In terms of the Kyoto Protocol, as a developing country, South African companies can register for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which allows emissions reduction projects to generate Certified Emission Reduction units which may be traded in emissions trading schemes. We have registered two projects, but are waiting for clarity on the Department of Energy’s co-generation ruling before proceeding. Own biomass (mostly bark) 25 21.20 20.50 20 15 10 5 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0 45 46 Sustainability Report 2014 Our key issues - Planet Project Buyisa: Increasing renewable energy and generating savings Project Buyisa (meaning ‘to return’ in Zulu) at Saiccor Mill is an example of our strategic approach to increasing our use of renewable energy. At Saiccor Mill, black liquor is used as a fuel in the recovery boilers to generate 339t/h of high pressure steam at 85bar. The steam generated by the boilers is sent to turbines for the generation of electricity. The project, still in progress, involves increasing black liquor solids recovery and processing in order to increase steaming rates on the recovery boilers from the current average of 339t/h to 400t/h. This is being achieved via improved evaporation and liquor recovery in the magnesium oxide plant. The project will increase the mill’s energy self-sufficiency from 55% to approximately 60% (it is currently 58%), thereby reducing its reliance on fossil based fuels and generating savings. Annual savings are estimated to be R63.7 million based on reduced heavy fuel oil (HFO) and coal consumption as well as increased electrical power generation. Estimated payback is 1.5 years, based on a capital cost of R87 million. Specific Scope 1 emissions per year (t CO2/adt)[fossil only] Specific Scope 2 emissions per year (t CO2/adt)[fossil only] 2,0 1,00 0.79 0.72 0,75 0.64 1.57 1.57 0.57 1.47 0.53 1,5 0,50 1.32 1.28 0,25 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1,0 Material issue: Waste Materiality focus Reducing solid waste has positive environmental implications as solid waste generally sent to landfill and landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with approximately 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. There are also positive economic implications. By re-using input materials such as chemicals, costs are reduced. Waste minimisation is also an avenue for revenue generation. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0,00 Sappi’s strategic approach Our success in reducing waste is highlighted by the fact that our mills have reduced their waste to landfill by 38.3% over the last five years. As a group, Sappi is increasing focus on the valorisation of waste (discussed in further detail in the 2014 Group Sustainability Report, available on www.sappi.com). In South Africa, we have various waste minimisation initiatives: •During the recovery of cooking chemicals, some of our mills generates lime which has been registered as a fertiliser with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Sustainability Report 2014 Fisheries. The fertiliser is used by the agricultural SA breakdown of solid waste by disposal method (%) sector to neutralise acidic soils and improve the workability of soils. 21.4 •Our paper mills use waste paper in varying degrees in their production processes. Sappi buys waste paper from an extensive network of agents across South Africa. This comes directly from homes, offices, wholesalers, 41.4 retailers and manufacturers in both the formal and informal sectors, as well as from our own customers. By using waste paper to replace a certain amount of virgin woodfibre, the amount of waste paper going to landfill is reduced. Because waste paper is the cheapest fibre available, it is an important cost saving to the mill. •We are increasingly valorising lignosulphonates wood extracts produced during the pulping process that contain the mineral elements naturally present in trees and that are sold to the building, chemical, food, mining and transport industries. For a detailed description, please refer to pages 24 – 25 of the 27.5 1.5 1.9 5.1 1.2 Landfilled on-site Landfilled off-site Combusted on-site for heat use Composting (on- or off site) Other use (on-site) Environmentally beneficial re-use/recycling Secondary material 2013 Sappi Southern Africa Sustainability Report. •At Stanger Mill in KwaZulu-Natal, bagasse (sugar cane waste residue) is used to manufacture the Triple Green range. This fibre is sourced from local suppliers, many of them previously-disadvantaged growers. This practice supports the development of entrepreneurial enterprise and contributes to the KwaZulu-Natal Responding to stakeholder concerns regarding use of boiler ash from Saiccor Mill Sappi was accused of dumping ‘potentially toxic ash’ that was allegedly seeping into the river systems south of Durban and possibly threatening the environmentally sensitive Aliwal Shoal off the coast. region’s socio-economic growth and stability. Local buying also eliminates the need for long-distance road transport, reducing wear and tear on the country’s roads, fuel consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases from haulage trucks. The resulting cost savings also have a positive influence on pricing. Sappi Saiccor Mill has been providing ash free of charge to the block-makers in the Umkomaas area for many years, in line with our commitment of promoting socio-economic development. The provision of this ash is very important for the survival of these businesses. Following complaints, we took the following actions: •Despite previously commissioned tests by an independent third party to test the ash with results showing the ash to be chemically fit for purpose in the block-making process, Sappi agreed to have the ash re-tested at a laboratory of the choice of the complainants. This laboratory again confirmed that the ash is not toxic and reassured complainants that Sappi was not disposing of ash in an irresponsible manner. •We have been working closely with the relevant authorities and role players particularly Members of the Umkomaas Block-makers Association and the Department of Environmental Affairs. The latter has now agreed that we can supply members of the Association for nine months, whereafter the conditions of the exemption might be reviewed. 47 48 Sustainability Report 2014 Our South African sustainability council “Sustainability is the balance between prosperity, environment and equity. It is not negotiable, it is the essence of our survival and will determine our future.” Pat McGrady Manufacturing and Technical Director SA “We continuously look at improving and developing our products to deliver value and solutions to our customers. This continuous product engineering is becoming all the more important to ensure that customers continue to work with us in developing solutions for their businesses. We are placing increased focus on sustainability scorecards that are reviewed at all operations on a regular basis and have become an integral part of the business practice and management focus.” Richard Wells General Manager, Commercial “Our corporate drive for sustainability is meaningless unless we, as individuals, believe in it. Truly believe in it. It is not a nice company slogan or a feel good promotional tool. Sustainability is our future.’’ William Morrow Marketing Director, Sappi Papier Holding GmbH “At Sappi, our sustainability efforts strive to find the balance between business and nature, to ensure our natural resources are protected for future generations whilst generating a return of our shareholders.” Deon van Aarde IT Director “For me, sustainability equals responsibility. We take our responsibility to the environment very seriously at Sappi and this is highlighted by our performance: over time we are reducing the amount of solid waste we send to landfill, increasing our use of renewable energy while decreasing fossil fuel emissions and improving the quality of the effluent we discharge.’’ Anel Nagel Technical Specialist - Energy and Emissions Sustainability Report 2014 “Sustainability is the measurement of success for our industry which is founded on a renewable resource but has a significant environmental footprint.” Charlie Clarke Technology Centre Manager “Any organisation must be sustainable to remain in business it goes without saying. The importance of having a focus on sustainable development for Sappi therefore lies in the setting of, and working towards targets which will make us lighter on the environment, better for all people and more prosperous.“ Dave Everard Divisional Environmental Manager “A company does not operate in a vacuum. It must create value for all its stakeholders. We therefore ensure that we support and build the communities where we operate.” André Oberholzer Group Head Corporate Affairs, Sappi Limited “Sustainability means the capacity to endure over time. Sustainability matters because we create future generations and we acknowledge that the resources we have today are not only for us, but for all.” Renée Van Hoeve Regional Environmental Manager “Sappi as a company is enviably advantaged to make a real difference through our environmental footprint, responsible and caring people and the opportunities to create value for all our stakeholders.” Lucia Swartz Group Head Human Resources, Sappi Limited “My wish is for a future South Africa where all citizens are free and prosperous. It is critical that leaders from all stakeholders have a cohesive vision and execution plan to achieve this. ‘Living the Rainbow’ encompasses this idea through working together to gain that ‘pot of gold’ at the end.” Tyrone Hawkes Director: Strategy and Business Development 49 g/m². e Art 250g/m² and 135 Printed on Sappi Galeri d at fine papers, manufacture Sappi Galerie Art coated ached are made from pulp ble Sappi’s European mills, p is e. The wood for this pul without the use of chlorin ntations. managed forests and pla derived from sustainably with ISO 9001 quality and These mills are certified n. environmental certificatio ISO 14001 and EMAS . ble ycla rec fully and d free Sappi Galerie Art is aci mmunications – 2014 © Sappi Corporate Co www.sappi.com