UltraThinPE Tec™ is a new innovation from Stora Enso that significantly reduces the share of plastic coating in foodservice [board (FSB) and applications such as single-use paper cups. With the help of UltraThinPE Tec™, Stora Enso has developed the thinnest polymer coating for FSB products on the market. This achievement allows for paper cup designs with less than 5% plastic – an important step in helping packaging converters, brand-owners, and retailers meet their plastics reduction targets. The technology is presently used in the production of UltraThinPE coatings for Stora Enso’s Cupforma product range for paper cups. Paperboard material used for producing paper cups requires a barrier – commonly made from plastic – that offers both protection against liquid and functionality in converting. UltraThinPE Tec™ greatly improves the sustainability of paper cups by yielding the lowest plastic coating weight available on the market and reducing the overall carbon footprint of the finished product. UltraThinPE Tec™ reduces plastic coating weight by up to 40% when compared to Cupforma Natura products with 15 g/m2 PE (polyethylene) or renewable PE Green coatings (bio-based polyethylene), therefore enabling a share of greater than 95% paperboard. Achieving a plastic share of less than 5% helps brand-owners meet the composite threshold for packaging in some European countries. As a result, UltraThinPE Tec™ coatings can significantly reduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees by as much as 75% in countries such as Germany.

Resolute is committed to managing the resources in our care with the highest respect, differentiating the company as an environmental supplier of choice. Our ongoing commitments and annually revised targets help us improve our environmental management performance and reduce our overall footprint. Here are some highlights from our 2020 sustainability reporting, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards. In 2020, we recorded 13 environmental incidents, surpassing our 2019 performance of 18 incidents. Continuous improvement moves us toward our long-term aspirational goal of zero incidents. We also trained over 200 directors, managers and superintendents to reinforce the company’s commitment to environmental incident management and regulatory compliance. Training took place via four virtual sessions led by our Legal team. We take a preventative and proactive approach to environmental management – driven at the local level by our operations’ managers and overseen by Resolute’s senior management. Our employees work collaboratively across all levels to develop and implement environmental risk audits designed to identify potential non-compliances or environmental incidents before these occur.

Stora Enso has completed the co-determination negotiations concerning the closure of one standard newsprint paper machine (PM3) and the deinking plant at Stora Enso’s Hylte Mill in Sweden. The maximum personnel impact is 140 people. As a result of the co-determination negotiations, PM3 will be shut down by the end of 2020 and the DIP latest in Q2 2021. Negotiations on organizational restructuring, including the risk analysis, have started. Stora Enso will continue to produce standard newsprint at Hylte, Langerbrugge and Sachsen mills. The closure of Hylte Mill PM3 will not impact Stora Enso’s newsprint product offering, and we will be able to serve our customers as today.