Results of WWF’s 2006 score of the “Tissue Giants”
Challenging Europe’s leading tissue manufacturers
Since 2004, WWF has been challenging Europe’s leading tissue manufacturers (Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark, Metsä Tissue, Procter & Gamble, and SCA Tissue) to assume environmental leadership and to address issues of importance to WWF and consumers.Following the initial scoring which was carried out in 2005, WWF has re-evaluated the environmental performance of the companies in 2006.
Green: on the right track (60 – 100%)
Yellow: showing encouraging signs but still major issues to address (30 – 59%)
Red: need substantial improvement (0 – 29%)
For information about the 2005 evaluation click here (PDF format)
Key results
The consumer trend towards high quality and luxury toilet paper is driving a wasteful and unnecessary use of the world´s forests.The already alarmingly low levels of recycled fibre use by the tissue giants in private household products is declining further. However the companies have indicated a willingness to increase recycling levels if consumers and customers send the right signals. Find out how the companies score on recycling
Help stop using trees straight from the forest for toilet paper
WWF asks consumers to choose their tissue products carefully. The scores clearly show a difference between the companies – consumers have the purchasing power to influence the future of our planet.
Find out which products you should buy
Only one tissue giant – SCA Tissue – is able to provide adequate assurance that they promote forest management to the highest environmental and social standards and actively avoid forest destruction. All the other companies have serious gaps in their sourcing policies. Metsä Tissue, Georgia Pacific; Kimberly Clark and Procter and Gamble need to develop more convincing and systematic mechanisms to ensure that they avoid sourcing from controversial and problematic sources. Unsustainable timber harvesting, illegal logging and land rights conflicts are a fact in many of the pulp producing regions used by the tissue manufacturers.
Find out how the companies score on wood sourcing
The tissue giants are showing some signs of improvement, but they need to do more to minimise their environmental impacts.
WWF welcomes progress was made by the tissue giants since 2005 on addressing at least some of the issues WWF has raised. Whereas none of the companies passed the 50% mark in 2006, two companies overall (SCA Tissue and Metsä Tissue) were able to reach over 50%, but only SCA Tissue reached a green “on the right track” score.
All of the companies have made improvements. To varying degrees they have:
- become more transparent towards WWF,
- increased their reporting on European tissue production on their websites,
- improved their sourcing policies and have
- become more aware about the need for addressing controversial wood sources,
- made future commitments on recycling, and
- commitments to reduce pollution.
All companies still have areas of weakness as the scores indicate. WWF urges them to continue along the path of continual improvement and to follow through with future promises. WWF will evaluate them again in 2007.
Find out how the companies have improved
Three out of four consumer tissue products in Europe are made by Georgia Pacific, Kimberly Clark, Metsä Tissue, Procter and Gamble and SCA Tissue. Their scale and purchasing power means that these companies have a particular responsibility to do all they can to minimise environmental impacts and to positively influence the future of our forests.
The companies need to give consumers a choice and need to be accountable to the public. At present, they do not adequately inform consumers about the recycled content of the products they sell. The information now on their websites and in their public reports is improving, but more is needed.
Find out how the companies score on transparency
Find out which products you should buy
