“IT’S A PRIVILEGE TO WORK
IN A GROUP WHICH HAS INVESTED
AROUND 200 MILLION EUROS
IN THE ENERGY SECTOR. IT’S THIS
DETERMINED SPIRIT THAT MAKES US
THE COUNTRY’S LEADING PRODUCER
OF ENERGY FROM A RENEWABLE
SOURCE – FORESTRY BIOMASS”.
Bruno Branco
The area planted by the Group was approximately 68% superior to previous year. This growth was achieved despite the difficulties in the licensing process for projects, which involves a number of public authorities, and reflects the Group’s efforts to use new areas and to reforest the ones currently under management, in order to maximise the production potential of its woodlands, by using the best genetic materials and best forestry practices. The growth in new plantations was also helped by the climatic conditions, which were in general favourable to planting, although excess rainfall in the final month of 2010 created conditions which prevented any further areas from being reforested.
Also in 2010, the Group undertook a series of maintenance operations in approximately 19,100 hectares of forest, controlling undergrowth and selecting eucalyptus shoots, as well as maintenance work on 4,600 kilometres of paths and fire breaks in the woodlands under the Group’s management. Maintenance fertilization was also carried out over approximately 9,020 hectares of eucalyptus. Although eucalyptus timber for pulp and paper production is the main product of the Group’s forests, the company has not neglected other products and activities, diversifying the use and benefits from its agro-forestry holdings. Other products include cork (31.59 thousand arrobas1), wine (84 thousand litres),
resin (more than 8.5 thousand bicas2), game, pasture
and others.
foresT cerTificaTion and biodiversiTy manaGemenT
Continuing its commitment to forest certification, as a distinctive feature and guarantee of the responsible sourcing of its products, the Portucel Group maintained
1. one arroba = 15 kg 2. one bica = 2.5-3.0 kg
in 2010 both its certifications obtained in previous years from the FSC - Forest Stewardship Council, in force since 2007, and under the PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes, in force since 2009. In managing the forestry assets in its charge, the Group has shouldered a series of environmental and social concerns which are incorporated in the decision-making process for the technical and business objectives it pursues. The Group sees this as the way to strengthening its presence in an international market which is increasingly demanding as to the sourcing of raw materials of products, and to responding to the legitimate concerns of society. The Portucel Group’s PEFC certificate - SATIVA-2010/ GFS001 - is the first licence issued for use of the PEFC brand for forest management in Portugal, covering all the assets under the Group’s management and a range of products, from eucalyptus timber through to the production of pulp and paper, the Group’s main products, as well as pine timber, cork and pine cones. The FSC certificate - SA-FM/COC-001785 - already covers 99% of the Group’s holdings and its eucalyptus timber and cork.
The Portucel Group continued in 2010 to work alongside the bodies in charge of national FSC and PEFC initiatives in promoting certification processes to forest producer organizations. In order to encourage certification by the landowners and producers who supply approximately 80% of the raw material for its mills, the Group has since 2007 instituted cooperation arrangements with a number of organizations directly related to forestry production: CAP – Confederação dos Agricultores
de Portugal (Confederation of Portuguese Farmers),
Forestis – Associação Florestal de Portugal (Portuguese Forestry Association), Fenafloresta – Forum Florestal (Forest Forum) and UNAC – União da Floresta
Mediterrânea (Union of Mediterranean Forests).
At the same time, the Group has organized training and information campaigns on the topic of forest certification in Portugal, highlighting the benefits of certification and warning of the risks of not participating in the process, at the same time as sharing its experience of how to meet the certification requirements. This has included making Group properties available to serve as demonstration areas for implementation of the approach adopted for FSC Principle 9, concerning Forests of High Conservation Value. This demonstration was part of the agenda of the national working party for Interpretation of High Conservation Value Forests and was aimed at the different parties with an interest in the Portuguese initiative. It was attended by representatives of the production sector, environmental NGOs, research centres, consultancy firms and certification bodies. In another major development regarding certification, one of the Group’s representatives was chosen to sit on the PSC - Policy and Standards Committee of the international FSC, a body set up in early 2010 to support the FSC’s directors in the decision making process. The
Group’s delegate represents the northern economic sub-chamber.
Progress was also made in 2010 in what regards biodiversity conservation, with the Group collating systematic information on the wildlife to be found on its holdings, in addition to taking an active part in activities marking the International Year of Biodiversity. Biodiversity was also the central focus of the
Group’s sustainability report for 2008-2009 and an international seminar was organized on the theme “Biodiversity. An asset for the future”, attracting some of the leading experts in the field. Wildlife conservation
and management with a view to economic, social and environmental progress formed the starting point for a debate designed to raise the awareness of key organizations, in the public and non-governmental sectors, of the value and importance of biodiversity conservation to the country as a whole, and to forest-based industries in particular.
Also in 2010, the Portucel Group was represented by its CEO at a symposium in Paris organized by EpE - Entreprises pour l’Environnement and WBCSD. This event was aimed at the business sector and sought to demonstrate the involvement of leading European companies in the conservation of biodiversity. In its contribution to this event, the Group focussed on the dynamic between forest management and biodiversity, using as an example the strategy of integrating biodiversity conservation into its forest management model, and the concrete results achieved by the Group in this field.
Aware that the operations involved in forest
management and industrial production can have direct or indirect potential impacts on habitats or species, the Group has integrated biodiversity conservation into its
business model, a strategy whose adoption underpins one of the pillars of certified forestry management. Management of the Group’s woodlands has therefore involved considerable work at local level in assessing, managing and monitoring wildlife. In late 2010, biodiversity assessments were conducted covering most of the Group’s properties, identifying some 12,000 hectares classified as being of conservation interest. This work also included drafting manuals for assessing biodiversity and conservation action plans covering more than 40% of the area under Group management. The approximately 36 different habitats