News
World Water Day: What does water mean to you?
On 22 March, we celebrate World Water day and the theme this year is “Valuing Water: what does water mean to you?” It is all about what water means to people, its true value, where it comes from and how can we better protect this vital resource. Bringing this closer to home Gerard Busse, Forest […]
Forest Restoration – The Paper Story (PAMSA)
March 12, 2021 2021 marks the start of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. The intended outcome is to increase ecological resilience and productivity by putting trees and forests back into degraded forest landscapes at a massive scale. It is thus no […]
Drive to Increase Recycling of Beverage Cartons
South Africa is ahead of the curve for paper recycling – 68.4% of paper we use is recovered for recycling, against a global average of 59.3%. However, only a small percentage of that includes food and beverage cartons – which, if included, could increase the country’s paper recovery and recycling rate significantly. Francois Marais, manager […]
Celebrating Women in Science
On Thursday 11 February – a day that is commemorated internationally by the United Nations to celebrate women who hold office in the field of science – we paid tribute to the women at Sappi for the role they play in helping us build a thriving world for all by unlocking the power of trees, […]
Sappi Achieves First International PEFC Forest Certification In South Africa
After years of collaboration and dedicated commitment in setting new forest certification standards for South Africa, Sappi is proud to announce that it has achieved the first PEFC endorsed SAFAS (Sustainable African Forest Assurance Scheme) certification in South Africa. This despite the unforeseen obstacles created by the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions.The SAFAS project has been a […]
Paper industry responds to Covid 19 with agility and compassion
Latest News & Features community, covid-19, health, hygiene, recycling
How our sector efforts eased the burden on communities
Five reasons why paper rocks
Latest News & Features #paperpartofmylife, economy, environment, Paper, recyclabe, renewable, versatile
Boxes. Labels. Books. Your child’s first report card. A tissue for their first heartbreak. It’s paper – a renewable, recyclable material that is an inextricable, often invisible part of our lives. Think about it…from the moment we wake up to when we nod off with a book in hand, paper is there. The Paper Manufacturers […]
Wow, can wood really make that?
The wooden economy and the world’s ultimate renewable JOHANNESBURG – December 2, 2020 – For millennia, trees have provided mankind with fuel, food, fibre and medicine from their fruit, flowers, roots, wood, leaves and branches. In fact, many things we use daily are connected to wood. Printer paper, chewing gum, planks, viscose fabric, vitamins, pallets, […]
We Are Printing Less – Why This Isn’t a Good Thing
There’s long been a move towards less printing, a paperless society, and this is even more true in 2020. With many working from home, and schools closed for a large part of the year, there has been significantly less consumption of office paper. But that’s not necessarily as good as it sounds. Imagine I suggested […]
Service Piece- Why You’re Unlikely to Contract Covid-19 From Packaging
The trouble with fighting an invisible enemy is precisely that – you can’t see it. And when that same enemy is highly contagious – and potentially on any surface you touch – it’s easy to see why people are worried about contracting the virus that causes Covid-19 from packaged goods. However, leading international health organisations […]
News
President Ramaphosa opens Sappi Saiccor mill expansion and environmental upgrade project – increased foreign earnings for South Africa
Largest expansion and environmental upgrade project in over 80 years undertaken by Sappi in South Africa Significant contribution to Sappi’s decarbonisation commitments Additional R1 billion per annum direct contribution to the KZN economy Strengthens South Africa’s role as key global supplier of Lyocell, the fibre of the future for sustainable textiles A mammoth expansion and […]
Why South African businesses going paperless can do more harm than good
With South Africa celebrating Arbor Month in September, it is a good time to appreciate the role that all trees play in greening our cities, as a food source, in providing timber for construction, as a fuel and, of course, as paper, packaging and tissue. When it comes to paper, however, there is a still […]
PAMSA announces South African paper production and recycling statistics
South Africa recycled 1.15 million tonnes of paper and paper packaging in 2021, representing a paper recovery rate of 61.4%. “The 2021 recovery rate reflects a 9% drop on the previous year, which can be attributed to Covid-disrupted supply chains coming out of 2020 and into 2021, as well as a shift in the economy […]
Young, green innovators invited to enter Blue Sky Awards
Young researchers and innovators who are focused on greener, sustainable innovations using forest-based science are invited to enter the South African round of the global Blue Sky Awards by 31 July. The awards aim to reward pioneering work such as transforming wood-based raw materials into novel products, improving forestry techniques or pulping processes, or contributing […]
Paper industry association ups its Master of Chemical Engineering bursary to R320 000
The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) has announced that its bursary and research programme is now open for applications for the 2023/2024 intake. The programme, which offers R320 000 per student over two years, provides a limited number of eligible Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering) final year students and graduates with the opportunity […]
EARTH DAY 2022 – A climate case for wood, pulp and paper
Media Releases, Member Releases
It’s fair to assume that most people, when considering ways to fight climate change, don’t immediately think of forestry. But there is a unique climate case for sustainable wood – it is the only material that can naturally and significantly decarbonise our planet by driving down demand for illegally harvested wood, and provide functional alternatives […]
Earth Day 2022: Invest in our Planet
Media Releases, Member Releases
The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and since then has grown into one of the largest environmental movements working with 50,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.The current drive is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep the global temperature below 1.5°C. That will […]
Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Awards for the Global Forest Products Sector 2022-2023
THEME: Building a Lower Carbon Economy with Climate Positive Forestry and Forest Products The Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Awards is a global competition for students and young researchers who are passionate about forest-based science, products using forest-based raw materials, process improvements, climate positive forestry and forest products, clean manufacturing, the forest bioeconomy or other […]
Sappi – Providing Exciting Careers for Engineers 
Engineering Talent Pipeline Sappi has launched an exciting campaign to encourage skilled engineers and production specialists to join its growing team, to help reach its objectives of pursuing a circular economy. Besides a number of current vacancies in various fields, the company is also building up a database of talent for apportionments into the future. […]
Enviro Champs and Eco Rangers doing their bit for World Water Day
When the community members of Nzinga requested assistance with the clearing of alien vegetation to improve access for their livestock for grazing purposes, the Sappi-WWF partnership saw this as a great fit for the work being done in the uMkhomazi catchment to improve water security in the area. As a result, a team of 10 […]