Interpack 2023: Stora Enso talks fiber-based challenges and opportunities
30 Jun 2023 | Stora Enso
Mandi Alaterä tells us how Stora Enso is improving the range of paperboard materials for different F&B materials and how new barrier materials are expanding this segment. She also discusses the current legislative environment in Europe and the shift toward biomass in place of plantation forestry.
So this is Louis Gur Langton for Packaging Insights.
We're live at Interpack 2023.
I'm joined by Mandy Alera from Stora Enzo.
Hi there.
Hello.
What is it that Stora Enzo is showcasing this year?
We have several novelties, but all is based on renewable packaging materials, so fiber, that is our starting point for everything.
And what are the main challenges that you're facing in terms of the fiber industry at the moment?
Of course, fiber industry has been developing and there are a lot of opportunities for us to kind of win new ground in the market, but of course we also need to develop our products to meet some of the demands that have been used that the packers have been used to have by plastic, for example.
So we need to develop our materials, the barriers to So that we can meet even more demanding end uses also with fiber-based packaging.
So innovation and development and usually around sustainability.
Great.
And in terms of introducing barrier properties into fiber-based, can you explain a bit about how you're doing this and the materials that you're using?
Everything starts, of course, with the baseboard and and the qualities of that.
And there, of course we always start with either fresh fibers or recycled fibers depending on the end need and that also then dictates what kind of barriers are needed alongside of course the actual end use.
So what is the product that is to be packed into the packaging.
So of course now recently the developments around recycling.
Fibers and how to use them in packaging is really interesting and that may require some new barrier structure.
So of course that is an area of innovation for us as.
And then traditionally whatever food is requiring, then of course that is that is developing as.
So the combination of the baseboard and the barriers, that is an ever, ever evolving combination that we are we are constantly working with.
And in terms of government legislation, there's now more and more activity against plastics and more and more movement towards fiber-based.
What do you make of the current legislative environment and what would you like to see changed?
There are two things that we seeing that first of all in Europe there is a very, very strong consumer preference for paperboard materials or cotton materials that is like across the categories that we studied, that is the preferred packaging materials.
So of course the consumer demand is one thing and then the legislation is another thing, and there are of course the Emphasis is to be doing good for the environment and of course circularity is also very important, so it's not only about the origin of the material.
Renewable materials are renewable by nature.
They grow back, so that is important.
But then also the circularity, so the end of life is increasingly interesting also for fiber-based materials.
So there's a lot of, a lot of work going on that end and rightly so.
And of course paperboard materials are in a good place there because already more than 80% is recycled in Europe, so there is an existing infrastructure for recycling after use.
Our interest is of course to just make that develop further and further because then also we can utilize those raw materials into new products.
So that is obviously I think that the trend will continue and hopefully even get stronger.
And there's been a lot of discussion recently that plantation forestry is a can create more emissions than plastics even.
Are you moving towards biomass, wasted biomass?
The biomass discussion is of course a very large one and it's a.
Global one and I think that we have to.
There's a lot of discussion needed around that area.
So what are the right uses for biomass and what are the right high value and uses for biomass, and we need to have that discussion and really follow the cascading principles there so that we really use the biomass in the right places in terms of The ongoing war in Ukraine, there's been a ban on wood coming into the, particularly timber coming into the EU.
Has this impacted your business and what are you seeing in that area?
This is something that we will not comment indeed.
Of course, but I think it's fair to say that of course these global movements impact all industries and we being very near to that area, so of course it has impacts not only to us but on the whole industry, I should say.
So of course we need to follow that carefully.
