With Sappi becoming a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) in February 2019, it has used the opportunity to benchmark its sustainability initiatives within a global context. To the best of the company’s knowledge, Sappi is the first non-integrated dissolving wood pulp (DWP) manufacturer to complete the online self-assessment and looks forward to using the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) to galvanise and progress its leadership position as a sustainable producer of dissolving wood pulp.
This comes following Sappi Limited’s announcement that its three DWP production facilities, namely Cloquet, Ngodwana and Saiccor Mills, have completed the Higg FEM self-assessment via the SAC’s online portal. The Higg FEM is a sustainability assessment tool that standardises how facilities measure and evaluate their environmental performance, year over year. Sustainability performance is influenced by the effectiveness of a company’s Environmental Management System. In addition, the tool evaluates whether baseline measurements and continuous improvement plans are in place for water, energy and chemical use, as well as for wastewater, air emissions, and waste generation.
Krelyne Andrew, Sappi Dissolving Wood Pulp’s General Manager Sustainability commented, ‘The completion of this self-assessment has taken us one step further in our supply chain transparency journey, providing us with the ability to bridge the gap between the beginning and end of the textile value chain. We now have a deeper understanding of the environmental performance of our dissolving wood pulp operations, relative to this value chain benchmark, and see the opportunity to use the Higg FEM tool to support continuous improvement discussions and strategies.’
SAPPI www.sappi.com
