Message from our CEO
Dear stakeholders,
Sappi’s vision is of a thriving world, one in which our
sustainable business meets the evolving needs of our
employees, communities, customers and partners.
To achieve this vision, we have identified priority United
Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which
help us to navigate our way forward. This report sets out the
markers we have passed on the way.
Given the high levels of poverty and education inequality
in South Africa, we have identified SDG1: No Poverty and
SDG4: Quality Education as priority goals for Sappi Southern
Africa (SSA). In terms of these SDGs, we are focused not
just on handing out, but on making a positive social impact
by giving people a hands-up. We do so by helping to
develop small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by providing
opportunities and resources for income generation and
community upliftment, together with training that helps
people become part of our country’s mainstream economy.
We also invest significantly in all aspects of the education
value chain – from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to
technical training at our own Skills Centres. Our employees
are recognised for their problem solving, resilience and
collaborative spirit and we continued to invest in their
development in 2021, with each employee benefitting from
an average of 67 training hours.
Any South African who has lived through droughts and water
restrictions will understand the importance of SDG6: Clean
Water and Sanitation. We are proud to have partnered with
the World Wildlife Fund South Africa (WWF-SA) on a Water
Stewardship agreement aimed at improving water security in
the uMkhomazi catchment area in KwaZulu-Natal.
Climate change and associated shifts in weather patterns
are having profound impacts on our world. In line with our
commitment to SDG7: Renewable and Clean Energy and
SDG13: Climate Action, we are steadily moving away from
the use of fossil fuel and reducing our greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition, the researchers and scientists at
Sappi Forests are finding innovative, leading-edge ways to
overcome the challenges of climate change.
The first principle of SDG8: Decent Work and Economic
Growth, is safety. Accordingly, I am pleased to report that
our people achieved the best-ever lost-time injury frequency
rate (LTIFR). In addition, our people heeded the South African
Government’s call to vaccinate against Covid-19, with a
vaccination rate of 91% achieved by year-end. I was also
delighted by the enthusiastic manner in which all Sappi
people embraced our Project Mafube (Sesotho for
‘dawning of a new day’) aimed at driving down costs.
We aligned with the aims of the circular economy and
SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production, by
beneficiating 70% of the solid waste we generated in
FY2021. Throughout our operations, we continue to focus
on enhancing efficiency.
SDG15: Life on Land has particular resonance for SSA, given
our extensive land holdings and the fact that our primary input
is woodfibre. Without a sustainable supply of this valuable
resource, we would not be in business. We see this SDG
both as a moral responsibility and one which makes sound
business sense. We are steadily increasing the amount of
certified fibre supplied to our mills and working to extend
certification to smallholders. We are also involved in a
number of partnerships and innovative projects on our land
(described in more detail in SDG15).
Sustainability drives our business model. So too, do the
partnerships that underpin much of our SDG work and
those detailed in this report under SDG17: Partnerships for
the Goals. I’m sure readers of the report will agree with me
that these partnerships will help us to chart our way forward
to a thriving world.
Our business, our country and our world have all been
through turbulent, challenging times in the past year.
However, our great people have added real value. Through
their efforts we have stayed on course.
I know I can count on them and our other stakeholders to
ensure we continue to chart a steady course going forward.
