Sappi Limited – a diversified industrial business utilising renewable resources to produce woodfibre-based products for global markets – is proud to announce the publication of its FY2025 Group Annual Integrated and Sustainability Reports. They lay out Sappi’s progress in delivering its Thrive strategy as well as its sustainability pillars related to Prosperity, People, Planet and Principles. They also announce Sappi’s targets leading up to 2030.
Key highlights from FY2025:
- Competitiveness and innovative product development:
- Successful Somerset PM2 conversion and expansion strengthens Sappi’s competitiveness in global paperboard market, enhances its platform for long-term growth in sustainable packaging, and reduces exposure to graphic paper markets.
- Released 17 new products with sustainability benefits over last 5 years against our target of 25, including new packaging and specialty papers and biomaterial products.
- Partnered with Birla Cellulose, the Foschini Group (TFG) and Woolworths to advance development of sustainable, circular wood-based fabrics made from Verve (Sappi’s brand of dissolving wood pulp), and waste cotton, achieving milestone with production of recycled viscose fibre at Birla Cellulose’s Fibre Research Centre, India.
- Empowerment of Sappi’s people and communities:
- Ranked 289th globally in Forbes World’s Best Employers 2025 (5th in South Africa) and 144th globally in Forbes Top Companies for Women 2025 (2nd in South Africa).
- Exceeded our enterprise and supplier development spend target in Southern Africa, creating 834 new jobs and sustaining 1,523 existing jobs.
- Achieved Sappi’s gender diversity target (proportion of women in management roles) for FY2025.
- Pioneering action on nature:
- Sappi is on track to declaring its eighth nature reserve, aimed at conserving the endangered Karkloof Blue Butterfly – a species found in only four locations worldwide and lays its eggs exclusively on a unique variety of the Indigo genus.
- Ongoing success of Sappi’s Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species Programme; for instance, by supplying 22,000 cultivated plants of Warburgia salutaris (Pepper-bark tree) annually to local communities to reduce pressure on wild populations. Programme has now expanded to encompass four additional species, and will soon add another two species (cape laurel and wild quince).
- Achieved 25.3% improvement in habitat condition at our selected Important Conservation Areas, exceeding our 10% target improvement by 2025.
Innovative advancements in Sappi’s hybrid tree breeding programmes, including developing genotypes that are better adapted to Climate change, pests and disease.
- Climate and forestry leadership:
- Specific scope 1 + 2 emissions decreased year-on-year across all three regions. At Group level, we reduced our emission intensity by 15% from the 2019 baseline.
- Achieved our percentage of renewable and clean energy target across all three regions. At Group level, we increased renewable and clean energy by 11% from 2019 baseline.
- Exceeded our performance against our global certified fibre target of 75% and achieved 78%.
In South Africa, home to Sappi’s global headquarters and with significant forestry and manufacturing operations, the Group Sustainability Report reflects outcomes that matter locally as well as globally. In addition to contributing to Sappi’s global targets, key South African priorities were advanced last year, including water stewardship, biodiversity conservation and restoration, as well as community relations, enterprise and supplier development and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.
Giovanni Sale, Head of Sustainability for Sappi South Africa: “This year’s sustainability results demonstrate how our global ambitions are realised here in South Africa. We’ve continued to strengthen our contribution to transformation and enterprise development, increased our focus on water stewardship where it’s most needed, and deepened our commitment to conserving biodiversity across our forest landscapes. We continue to focus on adaptation within our forests, manufacturing processes and surrounding communities to ensure greater resilience and continued prosperity for all.”
With Sappi’s Thrive 2030 sustainability targets, 2025 marks the start of the next chapter in creating long-term shared value and capturing emerging opportunities. Sappi strengthens its commitment to ethical behaviour and responsible procurement across its value chain, continues to put climate action front and centre, and elevates its water stewardship and biodiversity targets to Group level. Its diversity targets will encompass a broader range of management categories, and its social impact targets in South Africa will focus on enterprise development and community upliftment. Along with its strategic partners, these evolved targets help position Sappi to build a thriving, resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.
For more information on the reports, please see the links below:
