Arbor Day

Today, 25 April, is Arbor Day. But what makes this day so important? And why is it so worthwhile to talk about trees and forests?

Trees and forests are of inestimable value for the environment and for human life. There are various reasons for this:

1. Oxygen production: Trees are important producers of oxygen and they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is a critical process in the regulation of the climate. It’s no coincidence that many different environmental organisations call for the planting of trees and spearhead tree-planting campaigns.
2. Soil protection: The roots of trees hold the soil together and prevent erosion, which contributes to the long-term health and fertility of the soil. When we get deluges of rain, for example, the root systems of trees protect us from major landslides and catastrophes.
3. Animal and plant habitat: Forests offer a wide range of habitats for plants and animals, and are often the home of rare and endangered species. Forests are thus also very important with regard to biodiversity.
4. Water storage: trees aid the storage of water in the soil, thereby contributing to the hydrologic balance of a given region.

Trees and forests are decisive for the earth’s overall ecological balance and for human well-being. The protection and preservation of forests is thus essential to the future health of the planet and to coming generations.

What exactly is WEPA doing to protect forests?

When it comes to the fibres we need to manufacture our products, we are committed to selecting those that have the smallest ecological footprint. This includes a focus on the concept of the cascading use of fibres.

We strive to use wood-based fibres in our hygiene products only after they have gone through as many life cycles as possible in various other products, such as newspapers or cardboard.

At WEPA, we generally use fibres from recycled paper and cardboard, along with virgin fibres from alternative sources such as Miscanthus as well as wood. As previously mentioned, the choice of fibres has a strong influence on the ecological footprint of our products. Because articles made from 100% recycled paper have the smallest footprint, we consider this the best raw material for single-use products like hygiene paper.

The graphic compares the ecological footprint of recycled fibres (right) with that of virgin wood-based fibres. The latter, due to the large share of land use in their overall ecological footprint, have a nearly 70% larger footprint than recycled fibres.

WEPA has therefore set itself the goal of:

• Reducing our ecological footprint per tonne of fibres* by at least 25% by 2030 (compared to 2019) by increasing the share of recycled fibres and alternative virgin fibres in our raw materials mix for commercial products to 60% by 2030 (see graphic).

• By 2025, we will obtain 100% of our virgin fibres from sources that are, as a minimum, FSC®- (FSC-C016151) or PEFC-certified (PEFC/04-32-0775). In addition, we seek to work even more closely with suppliers to set new standards and thus promote sustainable forestry and biodiversity.