Transitioning to a circular bioeconomy
Circularity promotes sustainability in production and consumption, emphasising the need to minimise waste, maximise resource efficiency, and close the loop by recycling materials.
For Stora Enso, circularity is underlined by ensuring sustainable forest management, reducing our environmental footprint, and fostering a circular bioeconomy with our fiber-based, renewable products and projects for improving recovery and recycling infrastructure.
We are committed to efficiently use resources and reduce waste, design for recyclability, and expand possibilities for utilising recycled content in our materials. Among our targets, we aim to offer products that are 100% recyclable by 2030 and 100% circular by 2050.
Three key areas we are working with:
One: Efficiency and waste reduction
Stora Enso focuses on reducing waste and minimising our environmental impact, i.e. through implementing efficient manufacturing processes that optimise resource utilisation, energy efficiency, and water consumption. By investing in advanced technologies and research, we continuously seek innovative ways to reduce waste generation and improve overall operational efficiency.
Two: Recyclability and recycling
Recycling is an essential component of the circular bioeconomy. We prioritise designing for recyclability in our product development to ensure that our materials are widely accepted in recycling streams and capable of being transformed into new products.
Further, we take an active role in improving collection, sorting, and recycling of post-consumer paper and packaging materials in Europe. For example, our site in Ostroleka, Poland features a beverage carton recycling facility that provides scope to absorb the entire volume of beverage cartons sold in Poland, as well as additional volumes from neighbouring countries.
Three: Recycled materials
Recycling keeps renewable material in the circular bioeconomy and stores carbon. Stora Enso is a recycler at scale. In 2023, we utilized 1.4 million tonnes of Paper for Recycling (PfR) in our products, like recycled newsprint and containerboard. By actively collecting, sorting, and recycling materials, we do our part in ensuring that the value of renewable materials is prioritised with recycled content directed to the highest-value applications. By offering recycled materials, we reduce the demand for virgin resources and minimise waste.
