Sofidel Achieves 77.2 percent Score in WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index 2019

Sofidel, the tissue paper manufacturer group, known for the Regina brand, has participated in all the four editions of the report, and has obtained constantly improving results on responsible sourcing and socio-environmental reporting.

The 2019 edition of the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) was published recently. The EPCI report is a biennial tool proposed by the environmental organisation to the companies in the pulp and paper industry to assess their environmental commitment and transparency. The Index is based on voluntary data disclosure on 50 indicator questions WWF considers important for tracking a company’s ecological footprint over time.

Sofidel has received an overall score of 77.2 percent which is better compared with the overall global tissue category score (67 percent) and marks an improvement over the last survey in 2017 (76.6 percent). Sofidel has further improved in two out of three sub-categories – Responsible Fibre Sourcing and Reporting & EMS (Environmental Management System) – demonstrating how the sustainability policies implemented by the Group keep on heading in the right direction, bringing international results and achievements.

On a scale from 0 to 100, Sofidel has achieved a score of:

75 percent for Responsible Fibre Sourcing (compared with 72 percent in 2017), related to raw material (pulp) sustainable procurement;
80 percent for the Reporting & EMS section (79 percent in 2017), with regards to social and environmental reporting.
77 percent in the Clean Manufacturing category (79 percent in 2017), which takes into consideration the reduced environmental impact of production processes. A result in slight decrease in particular compared to the previous survey, mainly due to the lower environmental efficiency of the Group’s plants following – as is standard – the implementation of new production capacity in Spain, Poland and the United States.

Sofidel has participated in all the four editions of the WWF biennial report, launched in 2013 to promote transparency and continuous improvement in the paper sector, showing an overall score progress of 12.4 points. Since 2015, the Group has provided data for the compilation of the report with reference to 100 percent of its production. This year, 30 out of 84 invited companies took part in the Index.

In addition to increased overall scores assessed in the WWF Index, Sofidel is committed to reducing direct emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere (reduction in carbon intensity). In order to achieve this goal, the company invested in ten years (2009 – 2018) about 100 million euros – of which 27.5 million euros in Italian plants – in cogeneration plants and energy production from renewable sources (photovoltaic and hydroelectric), biomass power plants and energy efficiency.

Another fundamental area of action is the sourcing of pulp certified by independent third parties with forest certification schemes (FSC®, FSC Controlled Wood and other certification schemes) which has reached a level of 100 percent. Furthermore, Sofidel works to safeguard water resources, limiting its consumption within the production processes.

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