Foreword: Your goals are our goals

Clear themes emerged from the 60 individual meetings held in Barcelona by the Sales Directors, some of which I was able to attend. There’s great interest in working together, both to find more sustainable logistical solutions to lower the industry’s carbon footprint (such as our Conscious Delivery offering) and also to communicate the sustainability message of the industry to the consumer. 

Just about everyone agrees we all still have work to do to communicate the green credentials of the sector further down the value chain. We are keen to engage with customers and collaborate on new ways to get the message across. If the consumer feels too far away for now, let’s start with those closer to home and your customers’ customers.

It was fantastic to see a record number of participants at this year’s Fibre Education course in June. We all face the immense challenge of climate mitigation and the race is on to innovate for a more sustainable future. In this context, collaboration has never mattered more. Understanding each other’s positions in the value chain is a great place to start.

If you missed the event it’s not too late. We will organise a customised visit to address specific questions and show you our sustainable forest management in action. Bring your Sustainability and/or Marketing & Sales Director and your customers. Visitors are very pleasantly surprised when they see a member’s forest estate for themselves. I often hear “I had no idea this pulp had such a great story to tell!”

If we take it one step at a time, together we can move closer to the consumer and enhance everyone’s understanding of the value chain. The more partners we can involve in the discussion, the more we can help reach further down the value chain and communicate with the consumer. The more voices we hear, the better our understanding of the bigger picture and how best to add value – to your business and to a more sustainable future.

Hannah Stenberg, Customer Experience Manager