Environmental tissue paper: choose the sustainable path - Environmental tissue paper: choose the sustainable path

Why did Sofidel create the Suppliers Sustainability Award?

Andrea Piazzolla: We place much importance on sustainability for growth and development, and wish to contribute to many of the UN's sustainable development goals. These include climate action (goal 13), affordable and clean energy (goal 7), good health and well-being (goal 3), clean water and sanitation (goal 6), responsible consumption and production (goal 12), and partnerships for the goals (goal 17).

In 2016, we launched the first edition of the Suppliers Sustainability Award, also known as the 3SAward, in order to promote the ethical and responsible management of the supply chain, and the event was attended by more than 300 companies from several countries.

The 3SAward is an annual event that aims to incentivise, disseminate and enhance best practices and improvements among Sofidel's suppliers in social and environmental sustainability. We believe that sustainability is built step by step through the constant improvement of the supply chain and strongly believe in valuable collaboration with our partner companies.

The 3SAward also aims to reduce risks as suppliers' actions can have an impact on those of Sofidel and on the reputation of its products.

The 3SAward is an annual event and aims to incentivise, disseminate and enhance best practices and improvements among Sofidel suppliers in social and environmental sustainability.

Which companies received awards this year?

The 3SAward has different categories and subcategories that reward the environmental and social sustainability efforts of our partners.

For the 'Best Suppliers' category, we have four awards covering different supply chain areas. The winner of the Pulp Producers prize was Suzano Pulp and Paper Europe; Valmet won the Procurement and Purchasing award; the Logistics Services prize went to Kuehne + Nagel; and Vizeum Deustchland won for Marketing and Sales.

Among the 'Best Improvers' - those companies that have undertaken new ecological procedures - were Zellstoff- und Papierfabrik Rosenthal, which was awarded the prize for Pulp Producers, Windsor Engineering (Hull) for Procurement and Purchasing and LKW WALTER Internationale Transportorganisation for logistics Services.

The final 3SAward is the 'Best Sustainable Project', a prize given to companies that have implemented effective and important environmental and social responsibility initiatives. The award is split between large companies and SMEs. There were four main categories and winner in 2017:

  • Large Enterprises Category - Social: Fibria International Trade
  • Large Enterprises Category - Environmental: Skymark Packaging International
  • Medium/Small Enterprises Category - Environmental: Dasara trasporti
  • Medium/Small Enterprises Category - Social: Groupe SGP.

What is the 'TenP - Sustainable Principle Supply Chain Self-Assessment Platform', and how does Sofidel use this tool to evaluate suppliers?

The Ten Principles (TenP) is a sustainable supply chain self-assessment platform conceived and promoted by the Global Compact Network Italy (GCNI) foundation, of which Sofidel is a founding promoter member.

The tool aims to support the self-evaluation of performance, which, following the most relevant and up-to-date standards and conventions on sustainability, takes into account the areas of human rights, labour conditions, environmental protection and the fight against corruption, to identify common challenges and solutions to improve sustainability within the supply chain.

By completing a self-assessment, suppliers are given a score between zero and 100, and are divided into three categories: red, yellow or green, in compliance with the monitoring and evaluation system of their sustainability.

The red category includes suppliers with an overall average result below 50%, the yellow category for those with an overall score of 50-79%, and the green category for those companies of 80% and above.

The analysis of the supply chain highlighted 13 different reputational risk categories, and our aim is to help companies enter the green category by 2020. For this, we are implementing action plans for those companies in the two lower categories, planning activities such as online training, help desks and remote diagnosis.

How has Sofidel collaborated with other organisations to make the 3SAward a success?

Some partners of ours have supported the 3SAward, as they share the same values concerning social and environmental sustainability. We are incredibly grateful to Elettric 80, Fabio Perini, Södra, Henkel, A.Celli, Kemira, Industria Cartaria Pieretti, Pulsar, Fondazione Ecosistemi, Touchwa.re and Tissue World Magazine for making this initiative possible.

How does Sofidel employ sustainability as a strategic level for development and growth?

Sofidel's sustainable growth strategy is completely in line with the UN's aim to build an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet through its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, set to be achieved by 2030. Agreed in September 2015, the plan of action for people, the planet and prosperity is supported by the governments of the 193 member countries.

Sofidel implements policies to limit environmental impact and maximise social benefits throughout the value creation chain: from sourcing to production processes, and from products to logistics.

Why is it important for companies like Sofidel to champion and promote sustainability?

It is very important for us to avoid reputational risks in our supply chain. This is consistent with our sustainability values and we wish to share these with our partners. That's why we have decided to undertake the 3SAward project, to encourage sustainability throughout the supply chain. The analysis of our current supplier portfolio has clearly indicated a new challenge for Sofidel: transferring our sustainability values to our SME suppliers.

Although truly committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR), small and medium-sized companies have significant difficulties in implementing its principles along the supply chain. These difficulties occur due to different reasons, including the absence of CSR culture, a limited structure to control the policies, limited spending capacity, inadequately qualified personnel, an inability to get the qualified advice of external specialists and a focus that is often shifting to other priorities, such as the company's development and growth process.

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Contact Details

Sofidel
Via Giuseppe Lazzareschi, 23
55016 Porcari, Lucca, Italy
Tel: + 39 0583 26 81
55016
Lucca
Italy

Sofidel is a leader in the tissue paper market, producing more than one million tons of paper each year.
Sofidel is committed to encouraging ecological and social responsibility, and the company strives to limit its impact upon the environment.
Andrea Pizzolla, CPO for Sofidel, speaking at the Sofidel Suppliers Sustainability Award last year in London.
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