How can Mondi’s responsible sourcing help your brand to fight deforestation?

These are the kind of packaging solutions consumers want more of in the fight against climate change and which support the transition towards a circular economy. But as demand for wood grows, so too does the pressure on our forests. To truly unlock the benefits of replacing fossil-based materials with renewable fibre, we must prioritise the needs of our ecosystems.

This includes sustainable forest management and the best practice measures we implement in our own South African landholdings to promote tree growth and resilience. When we procure our wood externally, we rely on a very robust, risk-based procurement process built around close supplier engagement.

These are the steps we take to deliver on our long-term commitment to zero deforestation and to minimise supply chain risks for our corrugated packaging customers:

1. We only procure through supply chains covered by Chain-of-Custody certification schemes

Forest and wood certification programmes work to ensure that forests are managed in a sustainable way, with a focus on protecting biodiversity and the rights of local stakeholders. We believe that these schemes are an effective way to promote supply chain integrity for us and for you as our customers.

Since the adoption of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the certification schemes are working to align their certification standards and processes with this regulation to support compliance, while addressing risks of deforestation and forest degradation at scale. 

We aim to maintain high certification levels despite limited availability of certified wood on the European market. As of 2024, PEFC is the prevailing certification scheme in most of our wood fibre sourcing areas in Central and Northern Europe, while in regions such as Bulgaria and South Africa, FSC is more relevant.

2. We source our fibre locally

Certification is most effective when a high proportion of forests in a region are certified, but only around 10% of forests around the world currently reach this standard.

That’s why it’s so important that we source 90% of our wood from the countries where our pulp and paper mills are located, which concentrates our procurement in Europe where certification is high.

90% of the wood we source comes from the countries where our pulp and paper mills are located

Europe’s high levels of certification and enhanced regulation (like the EUDR) helps to oppose the trend of deforestation that continues around the world. In fact, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that forest area in Europe grew by 9% from 1990-2020, while it decreased globally by 5% during the same period.

Finally, by sourcing our fibre locally, we unlock shorter transportation distances with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while contributing to local economies and livelihoods.

3. We eliminate illegal and controversial fibre sources

We do not source tropical tree species, species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or the International Union for the Convention on Nature (IUCN), or wood from genetically modified trees. We also do not accept wood fibre from sources where critical biodiversity and important ecosystem values are threatened, or where the fundamental rights of workers and communities are violated.

How can Mondi’s responsible procurement practices help you?

Our purpose, strategy and culture all rely on eliminating deforestation. It is at the heart of our role as forest guardians – for the benefit of our ecosystems and to minimise your supply chain risks as you navigate the path towards fibre-based circular solutions. We would love to hear from you to discuss how our responsible fibre-sourcing practices and commitment to zero forestation can help you on your brand’s journey.