Renewable future

The switch from plastic to environmentally friendly materials is a complex challenge – particularly in the area of single-use items – and is not necessarily solved by one solution. In this podcast, we look at the differing views on single-use and multi-use, with a special focus on food service items, such as paper cups. How should brand owners think about how to serve food and beverage in coffee shops and quick-service restaurants? And can consumers continue to use takeaway cups with good conscience? At the heart of the discussion is the recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study by the European Paper Packaging Association (EPPA) on the topic of Single Use vs Multiple Use. Guesting the pod are: Emiliano Micalizio, Principal and Operation Manager, Ramboll, Veronika Abraham, Senior Consultant Sustainability, Ramboll, Antonio D'Amato, CEO of Seda International Packaging Group, and Maria Holopainen, Business Lead on Circular Economy, Packaging Materials, Stora Enso.

The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The plan is that the world will have achieved these goals by 2030. Companies can have a critical role in reaching the goals, but are they ambitious enough or are they just “rainbow washing” – using the SDGs as colorful logos with no meaningful action? Guesting the pod are: Anna Kruip, Manager Environment and Climate at UN Global Compact, Filippo Veglio, Managing Director at World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and Antti Marjokorpi, Head of Forests, Plantations, and Land use Sustainability at Stora Enso.

Adult incontinence is very common but the stigma around it means that there’s not so much talk about it. Why is that, and what consequences does this have for the development of better and more sustainable incontinence care products? Parts of the incontinence pads are already based on renewable materials, but parts are still made from fossil-based materials. What's going on in the research world, and will we ever see incontinence products made from 100% renewable materials? Listen to our latest podcast to find out what the experts say. Guesting the pod are: Katri Laatikainen, Academy researcher at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, and LAB University of Applied Science, Finland; Tiina Vaittinen, Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tampere, Finland; Marianne König, Product Manager, Fluff Pulp, Stora Enso; and Stefan Klang, Vice President, Head of Fluff Pulp Segment, Stora Enso.

The life cycle of wood has other benefits besides sustainable use of materials: when wood is used for construction, wood can increase the well-being of people spending time in the surroundings. Biophilic building designs using wood enhance health and well-being in indoor environments, and it makes us feeling closer to nature. What is the building industry doing today to enable and support biophilic design? Listen to our latest podcast to find out what the experts say. Guesting the pod are Stephen Richardson, Director - Europe, World Green Building Council, Antto Kauhanen, Business Development Manager, Stora Enso, Sari Raunio, Director of Real Estate, Varma, and Selina Anttinen, Architect at Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit Oy.

Business and human rights - a combination that has not always had a very positive cling to it. But the landscape is changing rapidly, with CEO's taking a stand for respecting human rights and encouraging their colleagues to do the same. At the same time, stakeholders such as investors are requiring evidence of the work done. But human rights work takes time and the indicators can be challenging to quantify. How can companies and stakeholders have a meaningful and long-term dialogue on these topics? Guesting the pod are Kitrhona Cerri, Director, Social Impact, WBCSD, Elena Espinoza, Manager, Social Issues, PRI, and Ylva Stiller, Director, Human Rights, Stora Enso.

11% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions come from construction, an industry also struggling with material efficiency. Digitalisation and other technological innovations, along with wooden building materials, could help transform the industry into a circular and sustainable one. Guesting the pod are Ursula Hartenberger, Global Head of Sustainability, RICS, Ken Dooley, Technology Director, Granlund, and Matthew Linegar, Director R&D and Product Management, Building Solutions, Stora Enso.

Biodiversity loss at global level is considered potentially catastrophic. What does biodiversity mean and why is it important? How serious a problem is biodiversity loss and what is being done in the forest sector? Listen to our latest podcast and learn about some of the actions being taken in the Nordic forests. Guesting the pod are Joakim Hjältén, professor in Animal Ecology at Swedish University in Agricultural Sciences and Robert Berg, Sustainability manager in Stora Enso Wood Supply Sweden

We are increasingly thinking about the environmental impact of products before we decide to buy them. But how do we perceive packaging? Turns out that what we as consumers think are environmentally friendly packages and what the experts think are not necessarily the same thing. A recent study carried out by Stora Enso aimed to find out how consumers perceive liquid packaging and to understand what they perceive to be environmentally friendly or not. We discuss the results with Marcus Dehlin, Business Development Director, Stora Enso, and Katja Ollila, Brand Director, Stora Enso.

What is the future for single-use disposable items in a society striving to reduce plastic usage and excess waste? In the latest episode of our podcast Renewable future, we take a look at three items in particular; the disposable bag, cup and straw. We examine the pros and cons of each and look at what kind of future they have. Experts on the program include Maija Bigestans, brand strategist at the Stockholm brand agency BVD, and Hanna Ljungkvist Nordin, Senior Project Manager with Waste at the Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Construction in wood has started to take off, particularly in the multi-storey building segment. While the possibilities to construct large buildings in wood have been around for some time, the industry hasn’t been asking for it. But today, investors and developers are showing interest in wood. What’s happened?

Consumers want to make the right environmental choices when they go shopping but how exactly do you go about it. What tips can we all bear in mind the next time we need to make a purchase and how should we be thinking about the packages our purchases arrive in? Guests on this episode: Åsa Stenmarck, Manager of the waste group, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute Tiina Pursula, Director of Sustainability, Consumer Board division, Stora Enso

Anna Cummins, co-founder of the 5 Gyres institute, has devoted her life to fight the plastics that are contaminating our waters. Did you know that today there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastics on the surface of the oceans? Water bottles, plastic bags and other waste that end up in the water fragmentize and are subsequently eaten by fish – and then go further up the food value chain. Anna tells about the plastic pollution we see in all our oceans and what can be done about it. Guest on this episode: Anna Cummins, co-founder and Global Strategy Director of 5 Gyres institute.

No one has ever seen the paperless office. While the world embraces digital technology, there is still a good future for paper. In fact, paper and digital often coexist, complementing each other. For instance, printed advertising drives e-commerce, direct mail is found to be a way to cut through the digital noise and studies show it’s easier to take in information read from paper than a screen. For news, paper is declining but for other sectors it’s actually doing quite well. In Asia, print is even a growing market. Guests on the episode: Martyn Eustace, Director of the organisation Two Sides Liisa Nyyssönen, SVP Communications, Stora Enso Paper division

2 billion people in the world are obese. 800 million people go to bed hungry. 30% of all food produced is lost or wasted before being consumed. And, the population is growing. Something needs to be done. What can companies do and what is the role of packaging in making sure that food safely reaches the consumer and stays fresh as long as possible? Guests on this episode: to Helén Williams, lecturer in environment and energy systems at Karlstad University, Sweden and Alexi Ernstoff, Project Manager for the programme ‘FReSH’ – Food Reform for Sustainability and Health, run jointly by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the EAT foundation.

E-commerce is taking off in a big way. But is it more environmentally friendly than doing your shopping in the store? It definitely has the potential to be, but return rates and the last mile of transportation are parameters that complicates the equation. E-retailers are getting increasingly environmentally aware and are looking for clever packaging from renewable materials. Hear Professor Hannu Saarijärvi, Professor of service and retailing at Tampere university and Sohrab Kazemahvazi, Director of Innovation, Stora Enso Packaging Solutions, discuss the future possibilities of e-commerce and the role of packaging. Professor Saarijärvi has done his research together with professor Mark T. Spence with Bond University.

How do we compare the carbon footprint of a plane trip to the carbon footprint of the food we buy? Can we really live in a carbon neutral way? And, how can carbon handprint be part of the solution? In this podcast Tiina Pajula, a carbon footprint expert at the Finnish Research Institute VTT and Eliot Whittington, Programme Director from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership elaborate on these issues and causes for optimism.

More people than ever are living in cities, populations are expanding and the middle class is growing. This means increased consumption, all while the planet is warming up. Can forests be a part of the solution? Listen to Fredrik Öhrfelt, Managing Partner of the insight agency Augur and Noel Morrin, Head of Sustainability at Stora Enso, with our host Colm O’Callaghan.

Imagine a material made from wood that is very light, stronger than steel and can conduct electricity. Sounds far-fetched, but it’s not. In recent years, we have learnt how to break up the traditional cellulose fibre into what is called fibrils and even nanocellulose. When putting these building blocks back together, cellulose takes on new, very useful properties. Board can already be made lighter and more rigid, saving on raw material and weight for a reduced carbon footprint. In the future, there’s more we can do with Micro Fibrillated Cellulose (MFC). What about transparent or conductive paper? Or cellulose-based material stronger than steel? Speakers: • Professor Orlando Rojas, Aalto University • Heidi Saxell, R&D Manager, Sickla Innovation Centre

Lignin is one of the main building blocks of a tree. It acts as the glue holding the tree together. In pulp mills it has mostly been burned for energy. But now there are new ways of making use for lignin to replace fossil materials. For instance replacing phenols for adhesives and to make carbon fibres as well as fuels and bioplastics. We are just at the beginning of the development and the future looks promising. Per Tomani, Business Developer at the RISE research institute, and Roxana Barbieru, Director Market Application Development at Stora Enso Biomaterials discuss lignin’s future possibilities.

To make the most of the renewable material from the forest nothing from a harvested tree goes to waste. It‘s used for sawn wood, pulp or energy. Often parts from one single tree are used for different purposes by different end users. Even the sawdust and bark are taken care of. Listen to Stora Enso’s Jorma Länsitalo, Head of Wood Supply, and Johan Lindman, Head of Global Forest Operations, discuss how to make the most of each single tree.

What can retailers do to make the shopping experience more renewable? Consumers today want to do the right thing and retailers need to be one step ahead. Listen to Emma Hernell, senior analyst at the strategy firm United Minds and Lisa Säfwenberg, packaging developer at the Swedish food retailer Axfood.

A box is no longer a box anymore. With Intelligent Packaging, boxes are now having their own digital life. We speak to Eef de Ferrente of the Active & Intelligent Packaging Association and Sylvia Kaiser-Kershaw from NXP Semiconductors about the future possibilities of intelligent packaging.

Responsible tree plantations and biodiversity by Stora Enso

Everyone seems to be talking about the bioeconomy. Why is it important? Is it going to change way we live? We talk to Carina Håkansson Managing Director of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation and Marco Lucisano, Director for Papermaking and Packaging at the R&D company Innventia. Introduction with Stora Enso’s EVP Legal and country manager, Per Lyrvall.

More than half the world’s population lives in urban areas. How do we build housing in a sustainable way? Are high-rise buildings in wood a solution? Can it be done on a large scale? Our host Colm O’Callaghan talks to Anssi Lassila, award-winning Finnish architect, Nils Lindstrand, Editor in Chief at Nordisk träteknik, and Gernot Weiss, CLT expert at Stora Enso.

Did you know that you probably have garments in your closet made from wooden fibres? Are textiles made from pulp the answer to the fashion industry’s environmental challenges? Our host Colm O’Callaghan talks to Anna-Leena Teppo, Sustainability Manager at Marimekko, and Stora Enso’s textile pulp expert Sirpa Valimaa.

Single households, food on-the-go and takeaway meals are an increasing phenomenon. With that, the demand for packaging continues to grow. Is this sustainable and how do we approach it? How does it affect food waste? Our host Colm O’Callaghan talks to Emma Hernell, Senior Analyst at United Minds, and Erik Lindroth, Environmental Director at Tetra Pak.