It should be crystal clear by now that the paper and packaging industry needs to look at alternative raw material sources. The increasing environmental concerns around single-use plastic have augmented the demand for eco-friendly sources of packaging materials, boosting the market’s growth. The global consumption of paper and board amounted to an estimated 399 million metric tons in 2020. It is expected that demand will increase steadily over the next decade, reaching approximately 461 million metric tons in 2030. This means the world is going to need a LOT of packaging materials and if we want to reduce our emissions in time to save the planet, we will need to find truly sustainable materials
In a world that needs to step up its eco game, the B Corp audit, which measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact, is second to none. At envoPAP, we cleared the audit with flying colours in 2019 and have not just proved that our existing systems were Earth-friendly, but also worked on ways to optimise them further since. We are mindful of the state of our planet and pride ourselves on working proactively to reduce the strain on finite resources like wood fibre, that have a far greater purpose to serve than to make paper products.
Launched in 2007, the B Corp movement is a catalyst of social change and has done unparalleled work in galvanising corporate contributions towards ensuring the health of our planet and its people (us!). Due to the strong congruence between envoPAP and the B Corp, taking the audit was a no-brainer for us. The growth of the movement to over 4000 companies is a simple testament to its potency and we strongly encourage all companies to start thinking about taking the audit.
To understand how we uphold everything that B Corp stands for, let’s start with the agro-fibres we use. They are an organic remnant of the process of growing agricultural crops and viewed as waste by the farmers because it has no further use beyond a certain point and is burnt to clear the land quickly and cheaply. The envoPROCESS starts by accumulating these agricultural fibres from Indian farmlands, thus stopping several interconnected environmental problems from occurring. After this Planet-saving step, the farmers are paid for handing over their agricultural ‘waste’ and here we successfully create an additional income for them that didn’t exist previously. envoPAP thus, helps farmers create ‘wealth from waste’. By doing so, we also tick the important People box.
We are truly proud of our products that are made primarily using this rapidly renewable and reclaimed agricultural fibres to reduce the burden on trees. Agricultural land produces at least one harvest per year. Agricultural fibres that have no further use become available every year, there is a huge abundance of it and India is the world’s second-largest producer of sugarcane.
Apart from sourcing the most sustainable raw materials to make our eco-friendly products, we make sure they are compliant with several widely-accepted end-of-life streams like recycling, composting and more, thereby making our business model circular. The circular economy phases away malpractices that threaten our planet’s longevity and will help us evolve into our next state of being, where we live in perfect harmony with nature.
The agro-fibres collected are then transported to the paper mill nearby, where they are pulped, pressed and dried to make a wide variety of paper and packaging products. By making this intelligent material switch, envoPAP is able to make those very same products that have been conventionally produced using wood fibres and plastic for as long as one can remember. Although companies need to make profits, we must not chase it at the expense of the planet and its people, as enshrined by the B Corp.
We believe any revolutionary technology must be accessible, both intellectually and logistically. As the envoPROCESS uses the same machinery as that used for wood-based paper production, our materials can integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains with no need to buy new machines, set up new systems, etc. From printing presses to bag-making industries, our materials have been widely used for in-house conversion into finished products.
It’s bad news for the planet if we can’t reduce our emissions dramatically and quickly. But the good news is that we are working day and night (across several time zones) to develop products and solutions that will help countries and corporations meet their climate targets. Imagine a world without single-use plastic, where trees aren’t felled to make paper and where crisp packets from 1979 don’t wash up on our beaches! envoPAP is committed to making that a reality and the B Corp is doing invaluable work in creating a coalition of climate-friendly companies that are actively trying to save our planet. We look forward to achieving an even higher score when we next certify at the end of 2022 and wish the B Corp movement every success!
