Innovation underpins Sappi’s value proposition of sustainability

As a company whose main product focus was once graphic paper, Sappi has had to innovate and diversify to ensure its relevancy in a changing world. Today, it is a global leader in sustainable woodfiber products, including dissolving pulp for textile fiber, as well as packaging and specialty paper.  

“Sustainability is embedded into every aspect of our business – it’s part of our value proposition,” she says. “And one of the ways in which we can leverage our sustainability attributes and amplify our actions is through innovation and collaboration, so that those impacts can be seen throughout the value chain.”  

As such, the company has invested heavily in both upstream and downstream innovations. One area for upstream research and development has included plant-based fiber alternatives to wood.  This aligns with the company’s history and experience – its first ever paper mill used straw to manufacture paper. 

“Sustainability is embedded into every aspect of our business – it’s part of our value proposition. And one of the ways in which we can leverage our sustainability attributes and amplify our actions is through innovation and collaboration, so that those impacts can be seen throughout the value chain.”  

Tracy Wessels, Group Head of Sustainability and Investor Relations, Sappi.

In terms of downstream innovation, a primary focus for Sappi has been its development of sustainable packaging – namely as alternatives to plastics. 

“Sustainable packaging is not only a huge opportunity for us as a business – as consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental concerns of using plastic – but we know we can create products that will benefit the world,” says Tracy. 

Having said that, there are technical challenges that must be overcome to develop realistic paper-based alternatives to plastics in primary packaging. 

“Primary packaging must be able to perform its function, which is protecting and preserving the product inside,” says  Tracy. “For example, plastic is largely used as the primary barrier in food packaging. So there is lots of research and innovation as to how we come up with flexible packaging that can provide the right strength and the right properties to substitute plastic.”  

To provide workable solutions that cater to the evolving requirements of consumer goods businesses, Sappi has especially invested in barrier functionality and integrated sealing in its packaging solutions.   

Some of the company’s sustainable packaging innovations includes: 

Moreover, as one of the world’s largest producers of dissolving pulp, Sappi aims to supply the textile industry with a more sustainable and renewable resource than synthetic fiber. And Tracy says the company is innovating together with customers on a blockchain technology solution that provides traceability – an increasingly important requirement of the textile and fashion industries.   

“We’ve been collaborating in the use of blockchain technology with one of our dissolving pulp customers who produces textile fibers,” she says. “We upload the geolocation of our forests that have been used to make the pulp that goes into the textile fiber, and this information – these geolocations – are then transferred all the way through the textile value chain to the consumer. This means the consumer can be confident that the garment has been produced from wood that has come from Sappi’s sustainably managed forests and is deforestation-free.”