Posted on August, 08 2013

WWF has applauded Italian paper manufacturer Sofidel, following the company’s announcement they cut their CO2 emissions by 11% meeting their five-year Climate Savers target.

Sofidel is the only Italian company and the first worldwide in the tissue sector to sign up to WWF’s Climate Savers programme, which encourages companies to play a leading role in fighting climate change by pledging to reduce their greenhouse gases on a voluntary basis.

The company set a five year target when they signed up for the climate savers programme in 2008.

To meet their target Sofidel invested over 25 million Euros over five years in renewable sources (photovoltaic and hydro-electric), cogeneration (combined production of electricity and steam) and improvement works to increase energy efficiency.

“Meeting WWF’s Climate Savers objective whilst at the same time significantly strengthening the company’s position is proof that economic and environmental sustainability can go hand in hand,” said Luigi Lazzareschi, CEO of the Sofidel Group.

“Reducing its CO2 emissions is just one of Sofidel’s efforts to curb its environmental impact and to underpin a more general commitment: do more with less. Results obtained so far make us more determined to consider sustainability as a central lever for innovation and competitive consolidation”, Lazzareschi added.

WWF commended the company’s commitment to the climate savers program and for demonstrating that environmental sustainability can lead to growth and competiveness.

“Sofidel bears testimony to the success of a green economy by demonstrating how companies that invest in progressive improvements in terms of environmental sustainability and innovation and act in harmony with the climate and environment, can reap significant opportunities for growth and competitiveness”, said Gianfranco Bologna, Scientific Director of WWF Italia.

“The environmental choices of such an important market leader can positively influence the chain of values related to its business by encouraging its partners and stakeholders to adopt a virtuous and achievable model that not only has economic and environmental advantages but one that is also good for its employees and ensures energy stability,” Bologna added.

Thanks to this commitment, today the emissions produced by its companies that were active in 2007 have been reduced by 11.1% (approximately 186,000 tonnes, roughly equal to the amount of emissions made by 150,000 Italian families of four in one year for their electricity consumption).

Regarding specific emissions (emissions set against the amount of paper produced), Sofidel has recorded a reduction of 14.4%.

Not only has Sofidel met its environmental targets, these results are also significant because at the same time, Sofidel has been able to consolidate its position on the market, becoming the second largest player in Europe in the tissue sector.

In collaboration with WWF, Sofidel aims to consolidate its commitment to reducing emissions by 2020 and to extend these objectives to its newly-acquired plants in Europe and the US.

Its reduction in CO2 emissions is part of a wider commitment to sustainability that also sees the Group environmentally active in terms of responsible sourcing of raw materials (cellulose paste) from certified sources that are monitored in compliance with the main forest stewardship schemes and in limiting the use of water in the production cycle.


About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. 

About the Climate Savers programme
Since 1999, WWF’s Climate Savers programme has been encouraging large businesses to reduce their greenhouse emissions on a voluntary basis by developing innovative strategies and technologies that enable them to play a leading role in reducing CO2 emissions in a specific sector. The programme currently includes 30 companies worldwide, including Catalyst (Canada), Hewlett Packard (US), IBM (US), Johnson & Johnson (US), National Geographic (US), Nokia (Finland), Sofidel (Italy), Sony (Japan), The Collins Companies (US), Yingli Solar (China). 

The companies that were involved in the Climate Savers programme from 1999 to 2011 have jointly reduced their CO2 emissions by 100 million tonnes, i.e., double the amount of CO2 produced in Switzerland annually. By 2020, overall CO2 reductions are expected to reach 350 million tonnes, i.e., equal to the overall amount of emissions produced by Spain. (Source: report Ecofys “The carbon impact of WWF’s Climate Savers programme”