FSC and Esri strengthen partnership for innovation

The Navigator Company is the first Portuguese company – and one of the first worldwide – to take on the commitment of achieving carbon neutrality 15 years early, by giving all of its industrial complexes a net zero carbon footprint by 2035. In order to achieve this mission, Navigator announced today at its Sustainability Forum that it will be investing a total of €158 million. “It is with great pleasure that I address this Sustainability Forum and commend your dedication to the issue of climate change,” António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, wrote in a letter addressed to the event participants.

In a recent Q&A for Sanitary Maintenance magazine, Laura Ashley, Marketing Manager for Resolute Tissue, along with other manufacturers, discusses sustainable tissue and towel options, and what can be done to assist end users with their own green initiatives. What sustainable attributes are most important when differentiating between green towel and tissue options? Ashley: Three key attributes come to mind: fiber source, carbon footprint, and waste stream management. When it comes to fiber source, distributors should recommend options with certified fiber sourcing, recycled fiber (both pre- and post-consumer), certified sources (which can be a combination of certified forest and recycled fiber), and recycled sources both for the product and product packaging (these factors include recyclability, being compostable, and being biodegradable). Regarding waste stream management, this includes all phases of the product life, from production through end use. What selling points should distributors highlight when promoting sustainable towel/tissue options?  Ashley: Distributors, end users and consumers want assurances that their buying decisions represent a sound environmental choice. They are asking for proof that tissue products are made with raw material originating from sustainably managed forests, recycled material, and/or controlled sources. In the North American market, fiber certification gives that proof point.

Talk about upcycling—a Dutch treatment plant is recycling discarded toilet paper from the sewage into cellulose, and the resulting product has already been used for a practical purpose. The facility is touted as the world’s first in recovering cellulose from used toilet paper, Energy & Environment Management reported June 15. The technology was developed by Dutch company CirTec BV, which demonstrated that it was feasible to extract clean cellulose from sewage and create fibrous or pelletized forms. The plant, opened on June 29, has a capacity of about 400 kilograms/day. The cellulose will be exported to England for use as a raw material to produce biocomposite and other products, according to a CirTec press release. In one demonstration project, a bicycle path was made of asphalt processed in part with the recycled cellulose.