Paperboard specialist Holmen Iggesund was recently awarded a ‘platinum level’ sustainability rating by EcoVadis, a global sustainability rating agency. This certification puts them in the top 1% of all companies assessed by EcoVadis.
But what does this award mean in practice? We spoke with Johan Granås, Holmen Iggesund’s sustainability director, to find out.
Broadly put: what does packaging sustainability mean to Holmen Iggesund?
Our contribution to packaging sustainability is to offer a recyclable non-fossil packaging material that is produced from renewable material. The production is driven almost entirely by bioenergy with low climate impact.
For readers who might be unaware, could you introduce EcoVadis and talk a bit about the work it does?
EcoVadis are specialised in sustainability ratings on a global level. They annually assess more than 25 000 companies in global supply chains. We report in the system, and the Holmen group, to which we belong uses the system to monitor our suppliers. More than 50 customers and stakeholders subscribe to information about our results. We also use their reports and scorecards to inform companies and stakeholders who are not subscribers.
In the context of Holmen Iggesund’s wider sustainability strategy, what drew your company to the project?
The demand for sustainability information from the supply chain has risen gradually over time. We wanted to find a better way to exchange sustainability information than sending home-cooked excel questionnaires around. After screening the market, we found that EcoVadis was a good alternative. Over the years we have found that a number of prominent brand owners seem to have come to the same conclusion.
Both of Holmen Iggesund’s mills have been certified as ‘Platinum’. Could you give us some background on this and let us know what this certification means in practice?
The Platinum level means that the sustainability work at our two mills belongs in the top one percent of all assessed companies. This is reassuring our customers that we are a business partner with sound sustainability practices. To ourselves, it is a confirmation that we are on the right way.
Looking ahead, what does the future hold for your company’s sustainability practices?
We have come very far in our own operations. The big challenges ahead lie in areas where we need to cooperate with both suppliers and customers in order to jointly reduce the climate impact from raw materials and transport.
This content was sponsored by Holmen Iggesund.
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