In line with the strategy defined the process of recruiting the workforce for the Portucel Group’s new paper mill in Setúbal continued throughout 2010.
This process contributed significantly to net growth in the workforce, which at year-end 2010 had grown to 2,331, including 2,218 employees on permanent contracts.
To furthering the personal and professional development of its workforce, and in line with expectations of individual progression and the Group’s opportunities and needs, career plans were reformulated for operational staff, involving all sectors of activity.
The Group also achieved its aim in 2010 of standardizing the payment system, creating salary bands for shop floor staff.
The Portucel Group remained committed to ongoing training and professional development throughout 2010, providing a total of 130,125 training hours in 1,417 training initiatives, involving 2,628 trainees. Special attention has been paid to training in health and safety at work, which accounted for 18,303 training hours, or 13% of total training.
The absenteeism rate stood at 3.6% in 2010. Approximately 63% of this rate corresponds to sick leave.
SOCIAl RESPOnSIbIlITY
The Portucel Group remained committed to the well- being of its local communities, and to preserving the environment. In 2010, the Group was involved in a series of initiatives designed to improve woodlands and conserve biodiversity.
The Group continued to pursue a policy of social responsibility by supporting a wide range of institutions working in the regions in which it operates. Special mention should be made to the following projects:
•
“Give Nature a hand” – as part of the celebrations for the World Forests Day, the Group organized educational activities at the Espirra Estate, involving some 150 primary school children from the regions around its plant. The project was designed to raise the young people’s awareness of the need to protect woodlands and preserve the environment.•
Support for forestation - on Forests Day, the Group took part in a number of initiatives up and down the country, and donated overall more than 3,600 saplings, all with the purpose of raising public awareness of wildlife and countryside preservation.•
Clean Up Portugal – this project sought to bring together a large number of volunteers to clean up Portugal’s woodlands. The Group supported the initiative by providing paper as well as logistical and human resources to help in clean-up activities in woodlands.•
“Open Doors” Programme - in October and November 2010, the Group’s employees and their families were welcomed to the new paper mill in Setúbal, with some 1,500 participants. The main aim of this initiative was for the visitors to see at first hand one of our Group’s largest development projects, thereby helping to build a sense of internal cohesion and belonging.•
São Bernardo Hospital in Setúbal – acquisition of equipment for the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. This equipment will be used by children with serious motor handicaps from low income families.•
New Fire Service from Aveiro – support for acquisition of a truck to be used primarily for removal and rescue of accident victims. Paper was also donated to schools and welfare organizations in the area of influence of the Group’s mills. A total of 167 donations were made to social, educational and cultural projects in 2010, corresponding to approximately 49 tons of paper. Special mention should also be made of the Group’s support for the ICNB – Instituto da Conservação daNatureza e da Biodiversidade (Institute for Wildlife
and Biodiversity Conservation) under a cooperation agreement signed in 2010 and designed to promote, develop and implement a system for managing and monitoring the environmental quality of the Sado estuary and associated species.
The Group has continued to strengthen its ties with stakeholders through its different activities, and helped organize the following initiatives:
•
Workshop on “New Generation Plantations &Responsible Forest Finance”. This event was
organized by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), in partnership with the Portucel Group, with the principal aim of bringing together representatives of the financial sector with people working on the NGP (New Generation Plantations) project, in order to design joint approaches able to sustain an industry based on increasingly sustainable plantations and consolidation in the sector of a model offering high standards of environmental and social responsibility.
•
Workshop on “Paper: a sustainable medium for communication” – an event organized by the Group in collaboration with the Portuguese Industrial Association, in order to debunk some of the myths associated with the paper industry and paper consumption, and to reinforce the Company’s environmental friendly stance.The Group also lent its support to a number of seminars organized by important bodies, such as the “5th Seminar
– Iberian Logistical Platforms”, organized by the Setúbal and Sesimbra Port Authority, the 13th COGEN
Conference, organized by the Portuguese Association for Energy Efficiency and Promotion of Cogeneration, the conference on “Renewable Energy 2010/2020”, organized by APREN – Associação de Energias
Renováveis (Renewable Energy Association) and the
2nd National Conference on Climate Change, organized
by the Portuguese Association for Environmental Engineering.
In the field of internal social responsibility, the Company has continued to pay tribute to its employees who complete 15 and 30 years working in the company, presenting them with an award to acknowledge their hard work and dedication.
Commendable work has also been carried out by the Sports Groups which, with the Company’s support, have organized a varied range of cultural and sporting activities designed to encourage healthy social relations between the workforce, with the possibility of involving their families and improving internal cohesion.
parTnerships wiTh leadinG orGanizaTions
The Group continued in 2010 to take an active part in national and international organizations in the field of sustainable development and socially responsible practices. Examples of these are BCSD Portugal – Business Council for Sustainable Development, RSE Portugal – Portuguese Association for Corporate Social Responsibility and WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
InnOvATIOn
markeT recoGniTion
The Portucel Group pushed ahead in 2010 with an ambitious plan for developing new products which have been eagerly taken up by the market. Special attention should be drawn to new additions to the range of high-performance and premium quality products, featuring low grammages. These products have taken advantage of the Group’s special expertise and the technological capabilities installed at all its production units.
In the market for web inkjet products, an emerging technology with excellent potential for premium applications, the Portucel Group made waves in 2010 with a new range of optimized surface-treated products which meet the strict technical requirements for this application.
Also in 2010, the Group finalized the process of refreshing the image of its Navigator, Discovery and Pioneer brands, bringing them up to date and making them more attractive to end consumers, as borne out by market research. This has further added value to the Group’s marketing potential.
The new high porosity eucalyptus pulp has helped to strengthen the Group’s product range, enabling it to attract new clients and to reap the rewards of research and technological development work conducted systematically over recent years.
The Portucel Group has also taken a broad approach to promoting the use of paper as a vehicle for communication, drawing attention to the exceptional and sustainable characteristics of this resource.
The AIFF – Associação para a Competitividade da
Indústria da Fileira Florestal (Association for the
Competitiveness of Forest Based Industries), of which the Group is a founder member, organized a conference on the theme “Crescer Forte, Grow Stronger”,
designed to demonstrate the strength of Portuguese forest-based industries and as a forum for debate on building a better future. The AIFF has been recognized as a force for developing competitiveness and technology and coordinates a significant range of projects geared to innovation.
The importance of the research and development (R&D) projects in which the Group is involved has been recognized by the relevant authorities, including the Innovation Agency, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the Foundation for Science and Technology. Under SIFIDE, the system of tax breaks for companies involved in R&D, these authorities have certified investment projects in this area, with a value of 3.8 and 4.1 million euros respectively in 2007 and 2008. For 2009 and 2010, the Group expects to obtain certification of investment worth 3.7 and 3.4 million euros.
research and developmenT
Instituto RAIZ has been engaged in genetic
improvement projects designed to provide clones in future which are better adapted to climatic conditions less favourable to eucalyptus growth. This has involved significant efforts to extend the diversity of genetic materials, by acquiring hybrid seeds and pure species from abroad, as well as implementing a plan of controlled crosses between these species and
Eucalyptus globulus.
Regarding biotechnology and plant propagation, the work continued on molecular certification by identifying cloned plants produced by the Portucel Group, and significant progress has been made in improving the efficiency of clone propagation operations, especially in fertilization and pest control. Forest soil and nutrition projects have focussed primarily on improving existing forestry techniques, with research into the potential of irrigation and/or gel during the installation of eucalyptus plantations and the drafting of risk indicators for soil erosion. In connection with forestry protection, priority was given to developing biological techniques for combating Gonipterus platensis, or Australian weevil, a pest which has stripped leaves and hit productivity in Portuguese plantations of Eucalyptus globulus. Concerning forest ecophysiology, and as to improving knowledge of the relationship between sustainability and productivity in eucalyptus woodlands and water resources, research has been initiated, in partnership with the Higher Institute of Agronomy, into the factors and processes responsible for the differing performance of clones in withstanding drought.
RAIZ continues to provide forest consultancy services, and in 2010 it carried out an edapho-climatic characterization of approximately 10,000 hectares in 2010, generating information to serve as the basis for forestry projects and planning, as well as for business decisions concerning the acquisition of woodlands and leases. These consultancy services also took the form of training activities and technology transfer to the Group’s technical staff, as well as to forest producers and timber suppliers, and RAIZ also contributed significantly to prospecting and assessing the potential of new forestry ventures for the Portucel Group in various countries in the southern hemisphere.
Paper production and quality were the main focus of technological R&D projects. This included studying the use of enzymes in pre-treating pulp prior to refining, with energy savings in the order of 20% of total consumption in this operation and a reduction in sheet compaction with the corresponding gain in bulk.
In collaboration with the Universities of Aveiro, Beira Interior and Coimbra, research has been conducted into various alternative treatments for paper surfaces, as preparation for better printing. A solution has been developed based on nanoparticles of styrene copolymers, permitting significant gains in the optical density of colours. This treatment has been successfully piloted.
In the environmental field, experimental research has been completed into stabilization of blends of biological sludge and ash from biomass boilers, producing a material which provides excellent nutrition for eucalyptus. A study was also concluded
of the water system for PM2 in Figueira da Foz, identifying a potential reduction in consumption of 6%, despite the already excellent performance in this field.
As part of the BIIPP project (Integrated Biorefinery in the Pulp and Paper Industry), in partnership with the Universities of Aveiro, Coimbra and Porto,
a number of research projects have proceeded, from the pre-hydrolysis of hemicellulose from eucalyptus timber and the fermentation of pentoses for production of bioethanol, to the extraction and purification of components found in eucalyptus bark, with potential applications in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.