Adopt a Tree: A new venture from Iggesund

“The forests are our planet’s lungs and a prerequisite for our long-term survival. Our well-managed forests transform carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen and function as nature’s own carbon sink,” says Iggesund Paperboard’s CEO Annica Bresky, as she enthusiastically describes the company’s new venture, Adopt a Tree.

This spring Iggesund Paperboard began handing out gift cards. The cards have a symbolic rather than monetary value: the company will plant ten trees in honour of each person who chooses to activate their card. A forest area ready for replanting in Nianfors in the Swedish province of Hälsingland has been reserved and has space for enough tree seedlings for up to 3,000 customers.

“We want to make it clear to all our customers that the price of Invercote or Incada includes replanting which will give us at least as much new forest as the amount we harvested,” Bresky continues. “We’d like people to know that our paperboard material is one of only a few packaging materials that actually gives something back to nature.”

Iggesund is part of the Holmen Group, which is on the United Nations list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies. The Group produces more than 30 million tree seedlings annually as a key part of its replanting strategy. Swedish law states that anyone who harvests forests is also responsible for replanting them. In practice this means that at least three seedlings must be planted for each tree that is felled.

Iggesund uses tree fibres and water in its production process. The fibres can be recycled several times before their biogenic energy can finally be made use of via combustion. The water introduced into the process is purified in a two-stage process before use. After use it is purified in three more stages and then