Eco-friendly letters and packaging

The majority of Bong envelopes and packaging are made of renewable materials like ﬁne paper. The merger with Hamelin has provided substantial opportunity for optimising transport between Group units, leading to lower energy consumption and reduced emissions.

The entire lifecycle
Bong actively supports the environment through the entire lifecycle of envelopes and packaging, from conversion of ﬁne paper to recycling. Key environmental issues include the origins of raw forestry products, production of ﬁne paper and conversion to envelopes and packaging, transports to and from Bong’s production units and product consumption and recycling.

Pulpwood from certified forest
Bong buys ﬁne paper only from reputable manufacturers that use origin-labelled raw materials. The majority of raw materials consist of new ﬁbres harvested from certiﬁed forests. The primary material for paper used to manufacture envelopes is renewable and all paper used meets the standards required by customers and regulatory agencies.

Fine paper production
The greatest volume consists of uncoated white ﬁne paper, while the remaining volumes are unbleached, brown kraft paper and recycled paper. Through cooperation with suppliers, the paper is under constant development to ensure that Bong envelopes are always optimally eco-compatible.

Envelope production
Surplus ink and other materials used in the production process are collected and recycled or disposed of by approved means. Tough environmental criteria are also imposed on other components, such as glue, ink and window ﬁlm. Virtually all factories use water-based inks and solvent-free glue.

Post-production waste paper is sorted by grade and sold for inclusion as recycled paper in various paper products. More than 90 percent of total production waste is currently recycled. The remainder is used for energy recovery or sent to landﬁll. Waste is removed in compliance with current regulations and no hazardous waste is stored.

Shorter transports
Bong uses reputable companies to transport materials and ﬁnished goods. The merger with Hamelin has improved Bong’s opportunities to ship goods to customers from nearby plants, which helps reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

BONG IS WORKING ACTIVELY TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY BY:
• Improving production methods to minimise the

environmental impact of emissions
• Working to eco-label as much of the range as possible
• Inﬂuencing suppliers and customers to design their

products with priority on the
eco-cycle approach and conservation of natural

resources
• Raising knowledge and awareness of environmental

issues among all employees

Purchasing policy
For both ﬁnancial and environmental reasons, Bong is working to concentrate purchasing to fewer suppliers across the board, from raw materials and services to transport. Fewer but stronger relationships provide better opportunity to set standards and improve terms. Raw materials account for about two thirds of Bong’s total purchasing and about three quarters of that share is paper.

Certifications and ecolabels
Bong is afﬁliated with Paper by Nature, an organisation that has developed the only pan-European standard for converted paper products. Paper by Nature covers all stages of production and the product lifecycle. It is the ﬁrst all-inclusive, clear and reliable certiﬁcation for converted paper products. The label guarantees that the raw materials come from responsibly managed forests and products are manufactured in certiﬁed plants.

Bong intends to certify all production plants under the Paper by Nature standard. At the end of 2010 nine plants were certiﬁed. Certain Bong products bear the Nordic Swan and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) labels.

Environmental management system
The environmental policy is translated to systematic, practical action through Bong’s environmental management system, ISO 14 001. In addition to setting standards for our own operations, the environmental management system provides Bong with an avenue to constructively inﬂuence suppliers, carriage ﬁrms and other partners to work with environmental issues in their businesses.

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