The European pulp and paper industry in transition to a bio-economy : A Delphi study

The current challenge facing the European pulp and paper industry is how to materialize the transformation to a bio-economy, as well as to realize the necessary new green innovations. The risks, costs and constraints of doing business will increase, thereby further intensifying competition, but at the same time new business opportunities will open up. This study adopts a three-round dissensus-based Delphi approach in order to explore our key research question of how the pulp and paper industry may change strategically, and what is the potential for value creation in the year 2030. According to our expert panel, the main drivers of competitiveness in 2030 will include energy and material efficiency, sustainability, as well as new innovations in products to serve customer needs better. According to the projected 2030 scenario, the pulp and paper industry will produce more diversified products, focus on higher value-added, and aim at consumer segments with higher environmental awareness. On average, 40 percent of the turnover will according to the panel come froth genuinely new products. Strategic cross-sectorial partnerships will have a key role in making this big leap, while simultaneously acknowledging the changing needs of sustainability-conscious customers and other stakeholders. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Internal and external factors of competitiveness shaping the future of wooden multistory construction in Finland and Sweden

In transitioning to a renewable material-based bio economy, growing public and industry interest is apparent for using wooden multistory construction (WMC) as a sustainable urban housing solution in Europe, but its business implications are not well understood. In our study, we evaluate, which internal and external factors of competitiveness are shaping the future of WMC, especially in the context of Finland and Sweden. Based on a multi-level perspective of socio-technical transitions, we conducted a three-stage dissensus-based Delphi study. The identified internal and external factors affecting the future competitiveness of the WMC business emphasize the importance of skilled architects and builders and the role of standardized building systems. Based on our results, the key aspects influencing the future competitiveness of WMC in the region are related to the development of technical infrastructure and project-based business networks, while additional changes in regulatory framework are perceived as less important. We conclude that towards 2030, the strong cognitive rules founded in the concrete-based building culture in these countries is likely to inhibit the dynamics of the socio-technical regime level. A change is also needed in the WMC business culture towards more open cross-sectoral collaboration and new business networks between different-sized players.Peer reviewe

Pathways to a forest-based bioeconomy in 2060 within policy targets on climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection

While climate change and biodiversity loss have exposed humanity to major systemic risks, policymakers in more than 40 countries have proposed the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy as a solution to curb the risks. In the boreal region, forests have a prominent role in contributing to bioeconomy development; however, forest-based bioeconomy transition pathways towards sustainability and the required actions have not yet been identified. Participatory backcasting was employed in this study to 'negotiate' such pathways among Finnish stakeholders by 2060 in three forest-based value networks: forest biorefineries, fibre-based packaging and wooden multistorey construction. There are many alternative pathways, ranging from incremental to more radical, to a forest-based bioeconomy within a framework of ambitious climate and biodiversity targets. Path dependence can support incremental development on bioeconomy transition pathways, and this should be considered when planning transition towards sustainability. Orchestration of the more radical changes requires actions from legislators, raw material producers, consumers and researchers, because the possibilities for business development vary between different companies and value networks. The envisioned actions between the pathways in and across the networks, such as forest diversification and diverse wood utilisation, can offer cobenefits in climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.Peer reviewe

The Role of National Culture and Environmental Awareness in Recovery and Utilization of Recycled Paper

This paper explores how national culture and environmental awareness affect the recovery and utilization of recovered paper on country level. We extent models of previous studies by including a wide array of “softer” country level factors, e.g. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and diffusion of ISO 14001 certificates. Our models are tested on panel data from 22 leading paperproducing countries in 1995-2008. Our empirical results further confirm the roles of geographical, demographic and essentially economic determinants but we are also able to empirically demonstrate that cultural characteristics and concern for the environment play a significant role

Standardizing social responsibility via ISO 26000: Empirical insights from the forest industry

This paper focuses on the emerging trend to increase the credibility and legitimacy of corporate contributions to sustainable development through the adoption of the ISO 26000 guidance standard for social responsibility. Empirical insights are gained from a two-stage exploratory study combining an online managerial survey and personal interviews in large-scale forest industry companies. Based on the results, the majority of these companies have already adopted social responsibility practices that are covered by the seven core subjects of ISO 26000. Our results also reveal that forest industry companies are strongly focused on environmental issues and organizational governance as key priorities for implementing the CSR, while for example consumer issues and human rights receive very little attention. Furthermore, while the legitimacy of ISO 26000 as a global sustainability standard was not criticized, based on our results it can be argued that this standard may not bring much added value to sustainability frontrunners with existing social responsibility related processes, nor is it sufficiently detailed to incorporate forest-sector-specific issues. This is in line with conceptual literature questioning the ability of sustainability standards to drive progress towards sustainable development at the national or global scale

The patterns and determinants of sustainability disclosure in the global forest industry

Literature assessing the quantity and quality of voluntary social and environmental reporting has shown critical reflections regarding the quality and reliability, the (largely) qualitative nature of disclosure with lack of measurability, credibility or comparability, and information being biased and self-laudatory in nature with minimal disclosure of negative information. Among environmentally-sensitive sectors, forest-based industry has a crucial role in global sustainable development, not only because of its unique raw material basis, but also because of the ongoing industry globalization in the emerging and developing countries. The contribution of this study is important in at least two dimensions: first, providing empirical quantitative insight regarding the current patterns in responsibility disclosure of the forest-based sector at a global level; and second, by taking a quantitative approach in investigating determinants of the disclosure. Changing patterns in the economic, environmental and social performance of the forest-based industry were analyzed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, which represents an international cooperative effort to establish sustainability reporting guidelines for voluntary use by organizations worldwide. We seek to shed more light on what are the key responsibility or sustainability issues the global forest companies address, and which of the firm and industry level determinants are significant on the quality of disclosure? Sustainability disclosure of 66 top forest industry companies is first content analyzed based on the GRI framework, after which significance of industry and firm characteristics, including geographic location, business line and financial performance, will be used as testing the determinants influencing the quality and level of disclosure. Based on the content analysis, more emphasis was found to be placed on the environmental and economic responsibility in contrast to areas concerning human rights, labour practices, social and product responsibility in the forestry sector. Main findings from the regression modeling include a significant positive effect from company size on the quality and extent of CR reporting practices in the forest industry; no effect from the financial performance; little regional variation; and illustration of difference in disclosure orientation between integrated forest industry companies and those with more narrowly focused business. From the managerial perspective, in the future, business leaders in the forest industry are expected to adopt a more proactive role not only in reducing the environmental footprint or promoting sustainable forest management, but also in furthering social goals

Internal and external factors of competitiveness shaping the future of wooden multistorey construction in Finland and Sweden

In transitioning to a renewable material-based bioeconomy, growing public and industry interest is apparent for using wooden multistorey construction (WMC) as a sustainable urban housing solution in Europe, but its business implications are not well understood. In our study, we evaluate, which internal and external factors of competitiveness are shaping the future of WMC, especially in the context of Finland and Sweden. Based on a multi-level perspective of socio-technical transitions, we conducted a three-stage dissensus-based Delphi study. The identified internal and external factors affecting the future competitiveness of the WMC business emphasize the importance of skilled architects and builders and the role of standardized building systems. Based on our results, the key aspects influencing the future competitiveness of WMC in the region are related to the development of technical infrastructure and project-based business networks, while additional changes in regulatory framework are perceived as less important. We conclude that towards 2030, the strong cognitive rules founded in the concrete-based building culture in these countries is likely to inhibit the dynamics of the socio-technical regime level. A change is also needed in the WMC business culture towards more open cross-sectoral collaboration and new business networks between different-sized players.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

The patterns and determinants of sustainability disclosure in the global forest industry

Literature assessing the quantity and quality of voluntary social and environmental reporting has shown critical reflections regarding the quality and reliability, the (largely) qualitative nature of disclosure with lack of measurability, credibility or comparability, and information being biased and self-laudatory in nature with minimal disclosure of negative information. Among environmentally-sensitive sectors, forest-based industry has a crucial role in global sustainable development, not only because of its unique raw material basis, but also because of the ongoing industry globalization in the emerging and developing countries. The contribution of this study is important in at least two dimensions: first, providing empirical quantitative insight regarding the current patterns in responsibility disclosure of the forest-based sector at a global level; and second, by taking a quantitative approach in investigating determinants of the disclosure. Changing patterns in the economic, environmental and social performance of the forest-based industry were analyzed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, which represents an international cooperative effort to establish sustainability reporting guidelines for voluntary use by organizations worldwide. We seek to shed more light on what are the key responsibility or sustainability issues the global forest companies address, and which of the firm and industry level determinants are significant on the quality of disclosure? Sustainability disclosure of 66 top forest industry companies is first content analyzed based on the GRI framework, after which significance of industry and firm characteristics, including geographic location, business line and financial performance, will be used as testing the determinants influencing the quality and level of disclosure. Based on the content analysis, more emphasis was found to be placed on the environmental and economic responsibility in contrast to areas concerning human rights, labour practices, social and product responsibility in the forestry sector. Main findings from the regression modeling include a significant positive effect from company size on the quality and extent of CR reporting practices in the forest industry; no effect from the financial performance; little regional variation; and illustration of difference in disclosure orientation between integrated forest industry companies and those with more narrowly focused business. From the managerial perspective, in the future, business leaders in the forest industry are expected to adopt a more proactive role not only in reducing the environmental footprint or promoting sustainable forest management, but also in furthering social goals