Throughout history, the creative and curious mind of mankind has continued to evolve, providing new and exciting innovations, products and technological advancements for generations. For thousands of years, we lived in harmony with our planet, taking only enough to get by, but as the global economy grew, so did the demand for resources.
The environment plays an integral and vital role in human life. From the water we drink to the soil we farm, planet Earth provides us with all the necessary and basic resources for our survival. But for decades, mankind’s attitude has become careless, dismissive and ignorant towards the overusing of natural resources, leading to the increasing destruction of our planet.
The oceans are filling up with plastics; the temperature of the atmosphere is rising due to global warming, which has catastrophic effects on the environment… The need for change is very much upon us. Within the last forty years, society seems to have been seriously awakened to these issues.
Since the Club of Rome published “Limits of Growth” in 1972, sustainability has become indispensable.. Over the years, there has been a significant increase in the number of companies working tirelessly to reduce their carbon footprint on a larger scale, operate a more sustainable internal business model and at the same time increase their brand awareness of sustainability.
The MM Group, is a leading global producer of cartonboard and folding boxes, with the start of its corporate history dating back to 1888. As an industry closely associated with forestry, sustainability has come naturally to the company. It can be said that the concept of sustainability was in fact invented by the forestry industry, as it requires a long-term relationship to be maintained in the future.
The MM Group consists of two divisions: MM Board & Paper, the leading cartonboard producer in Europe with an attractive offer of kraft papers and uncoated fine papers and MM Packaging, a leading global producer of folding cartons. Sustainability is at the core of MM’s actions. MM uses the renewable raw material wood from sustainably managed forests as well as recycled materials for the production of its fibre-based products. Those can in turn be recycled themselves.
Nothing is wasted. Many by-products generated during the production of cartonboard can be reused in the process. MM is able to forward a large part of the residual waste directly to its power plants to generate energy or feed it back into production.
MM’s fibre-based products are used for packaging vital products such as medicine and healthcare products, frozen, fresh and dried foods, as well as personal care products and many other products. An important issue the company deals with is the safety of the chemical processes to which the products are subjected. Together with its suppliers, MM is working to reduce the amount of chemicals that can have a negative impact on the consumer and the environment.
With an eye on the future, many companies advertise with terms such as "climate neutral" or "100 % green", although sometimes without verifiable measures. MM has created its own approach to achieve its ambitious science-based decarbonisation goals for the future of sustainability. On the one hand, the Group invests in product innovations that enable products to be made more sustainable, e.g. through projects aimed at making packaging lighter or replacing less sustainable materials. From a corporate sustainability perspective, the energy mix, energy saving and numerous CapEx projects aim to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
As with any responsible and forward thinking company, it is essential to implement a strict code of conduct, which is reflected in the values of the MM Group. New policies have already been launched that focus specifically on the social pillar and set social criteria.
Great achievements are made not only through strength, but also through perseverance and dedication, which is reflected in the company's significant growth. This not only allows for consolidation of the industry, but also more for innovation and a path to a more sustainable future.
