Saturday 21 March marked the International Day of Forests and, while the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means that initiatives to raise awareness are likely not to be at the forefront of people’s minds, it’s worth taking a moment to acknowledge the vital role of forests across the globe, particularly in tackling the climate crisis.

Although momentum is building against a backdrop of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), action is needed to halt deforestation and improve the resilience of the world’s forests to the impacts of climate change.

The IPCC has highlighted the vital role they play in limiting global warming and we must take a holistic approach that integrates responsible forest management, water stewardship and reducing emissions.

Forests are second only to oceans as the largest global stores of carbon. Trees and forests are one of the most effective nature-based solutions to combating climate change. These incredibly diverse ecosystems are the best and most cost-effective carbon-capture technology available. Up to one-third of the annual carbon mitigation needed could be achieved by addressing deforestation and forest degradation.

Forests are key to managing climate change and water

The world’s forests provide vital ecosystem services. They regulate climate and water cycles, provide food, shelter and an income for over a billion people, and are home to roughly 80% of the world’s land-based animal and plant species (FAO, Eleventh World Forestry Congress, ‘Protective and environmental functions of forests’).

Up to 75% of the fresh water used globally for agricultural, domestic, industrial and environmental purposes comes from forests, and 90% of the world’s cities rely on them for their water supply. With more than three quarters of the world’s population facing water insecurity, the management of forests for water is crucial.

Deforestation is responsible for 15% of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. Globally, about half of all forest cover has been cleared or degraded. This is a major problem contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty.

Forests are threatened by growing consumption, infrastructure, and food production. While climate change means that some areas will see a longer growing season, it will also bring about increased losses due to frequency of drought, storms and forest fires, and the expansion of pest outbreaks.

The need for a holistic approach

As countries and companies look for solutions to meet their climate targets and move towards more sustainable development pathways, new and innovative ways to protect forest landscapes are needed.

We all have a responsibility in ensuring forests are protected and managed sustainably. At Mondi, its Working Forest model acknowledges that forests take many forms around the world – from high-yield plantation forests in the south to vast lower-yield boreal forests in the north.

It integrates productive renewable forest sites with effective ecological networks to ensure thriving biodiversity, water and other ecosystem services, with the ultimate goal of maintaining and increasing their natural and social capital.

Primary wood sourcing regions are South Africa, North West Russia and Europe, and Mondi apply a risk-based approach through our Due Diligence Management System to ensure it sources responsibly across its entire supply chain. Of its more than 2 million hectares of managed forests in Russia and South Africa, 24% is set aside for conservation, and the company plant more than 28 million seedlings each year.

Mondi also want to understand and mitigate the impacts of its industry on fresh water resources across both its manufacturing and forestry operations and are continually identifying opportunities to reduce its water use and safeguard freshwater ecosystems on a landscape level. Since 2014, Mondi have promoted a landscape approach to water stewardship, encouraging individual and collective action across entire water catchments. This means working together with farmers, local government, and industries, who all share a common interest in maintaining freshwater ecosystems and services at the water catchment level.

As it looks to the future, Mondi is confident that sustainably managed forests – and responsibly manufactured fibre products – can play a crucial role in managing the climate crisis and meeting society’s need for sustainable packaging and paper solutions.

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MONDI https://www.mondigroup.com/

Over the past decade the packaging industry has undergone a massive change due to the rise of e-commerce, the growing importance of shelf-ready packaging and stringent requirements for logistics packaging. With traditional, volume-driven stationery retail and distribution in decline, the packaging industry now has to accommodate individual product sales via smartphones and e-commerce platforms.

Concurrently, the huge range of products available on the supermarket shelves demands space-efficient yet eye-catching solutions. What is more, in the industrial sector, packaging manufacturers have to carefully assess when to use lightweight and when to use heavy-weight materials in order to meet the high standards of global logistics while also minimising the use of natural resources.

These trends have their ups and downs for the packaging industry – on the one hand, retail and logistics now consider packaging as more than just a commodity, but rather as a tool to appeal to customers, inform them about their products and create a long-lasting experience.

On the other hand, packaging manufacturers need to come up with creative designs that are aesthetically pleasing, but also transport the product safely and cost-effectively to its destination. Above all, packaging must be sustainable, using materials that are light, recyclable, reusable or compostable. Fibre-based packaging, as a renewable material, is hard to beat.

Thinking outside the box – in order to innovate it

Most recently, the World Star Awards, a global competition that recognises innovative packaging solutions, honoured seven of Mondi Corrugated Packaging’s solutions. Among the awarded products was the Glass7Box, a packaging solution designed for Riedel, a company with a long-standing tradition and expertise in the production of premium wine glasses.

Glass7Box is a universal glass packaging, unique in that its compartments can fit seven different types of glasses without compromising on product protection. This design is the answer to demand for packaging solutions that are suitable for a whole range of products, which is also beneficial in terms of sustainability, including material and resource efficiency.

Cindy Stephan, project manager at Riedel, commented, ‘The Glass7Box is a real breakthrough in terms of packaging for Riedel, as it reduces our need to hold large quantities of different packaging. Its ability to hold seven different glass formats ensures faster product changeovers where production is concerned, and we also benefit from the economies of scale associated with bulk orders. Crucially, the product does not compromise on product protection and it also feeds directly into our own sustainability initiatives.’

Focusing on sustainability, Mondi’s side support product won an award in the Transit category for its considerable contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in transit packaging. Developed by Mondi Tire Kusan in Turkey, the product is a corrugated cardboard corner insert which acts as a corner support when transporting heavy items. The new product replaces EPS foam filler and offers far better impact absorption capabilities due to its hollow structure – a fact that has been verified in official customer drop-tests. Where corrugated board is substituted for foam, some 86% less warehousing space is required to store it.

In addition, its production produces 56% less CO2 when compared to EPS, while up to 81% less CO2 is produced in the transportation of products. For example, where EPS allowed 144 pieces of white goods to be transported on a pallet, some 752 are possible using side support, reducing the number of trucks required from 347 to just 67 per year.

Another example of a successful innovative partnership comes from a customer in the automotive sector. In an attempt to simplify the transportation of valuable but heavy goods, Mondi and Scandinavian partner aPak AB collaborated on the ‘Simple Sphere’ project for a Swedish car manufacturer, which received both a WorldStar Award and a ScanStar Award.

Mondi developed transport packaging for car bonnets, which are exported from Sweden to China. The judges, and the customer, were impressed by the innovative twist-lock construction for extremely fast set up in less than 30 seconds without screws, glue or tape. In addition, the new heavy-duty cardboard material is lighter than the previously used wooden crates; withstands humidity and condensation; and features a unique anti-corrosion solution using patented VCI technology. As a result, the ‘Simple Sphere’ offers shorter assembly and dismantling times and is an environmentally friendly alternative to wood crates.

MONDI https://www.mondigroup.com