GOVERNANCE

The ultimate responsibility for environmental matters resides with our board, who have collective responsibility and accountability for legislative and regulatory compliance, including the management of environmental risks and opportunities. Our divisional boards are responsible for environmental matters at a divisional level. Our group environmental policies and procedures are supported by environmental management systems including, where relevant, ISO certification for some divisions. The identification and management of environmental risks are integrated into our groupwide ERM framework, which is overseen by our audit and risk committee, a board subcommittee.

GHG EMISSIONS

Our carbon footprint is determined in line with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. We use emission factors from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2006 Guidelines and the 2021 Technical Guidelines for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Industry of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (‘DFFE’). Our GHG emissions are verified each year by an independent third-party.

Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the year were 935 995 tCO₂e compared to 978 737 tCO₂e in FY22. The lower emissions are largely a result of lower overall production volumes due to the negative effect on our customers’ operations of increased frequency of higher stages of loadshedding and softer consumer demand.

Scope 1 emissions make up 50% of our carbon footprint. At 79% of emissions, Unitrans is the biggest contributor to our Scope 1 emissions, due to the diesel used in its transport fleet.

Scope 2 emissions make up 50% of our carbon footprint, with Safripol and PG Bison contributing the majority of the emissions due to the electricity consumption at their plants.

Carbon absorption

PG Bison’s plantations are net absorbers of carbon. The division quantifies the carbon absorbed by its plantations and submits these metrics to the DFFE for approval for carbon tax purposes. The DFFE has approved the 157 332 tCO₂e of carbon absorbed for the 2022 calendar year compared with 193 764 tCO₂e in the 2021 calendar year. In addition to this, the carbon stored in our wood-based decorative panels produced at our operations in the 2022 calendar year was 400 179 tCO₂e compared with 378 438 tCO₂e in the 2021 calendar year. PG Bison’s carbon emissions were therefore fully offset by the carbon absorbed and stored through its own operations.

Group GHG emissions (tCO₂e)

Divisional contribution to Scope 1 GHG emissions

Divisional contribution to Scope 2 GHG emissions

WATER MANAGEMENT

Water strategy

Most of our operations require process water for production. Our water strategy aims to optimise the consumption of water in our operations, to mitigate non-supply, and to increase the recycling of water. 

Reliable measurement is a key element of our water strategy. We have made good progress over the period to improve the measurement and reporting on our water withdrawal and discharges and have developed water management plans at all our operations.

Our initiatives during the year included:

• the installation of water meters and automated water measurement to establish reliable water balances;
• the completion of water reticulation plans at all operations;
• the recovery of water (and energy) from condensate steam and rainwater;
• installation of water storage facilities; and
• increased access to groundwater by drilling boreholes.

Water withdrawals

Our water withdrawals were largely unchanged from FY22, with PG Bison and Safripol withdrawing the most water at 83% and 14% respectively. Our water withdrawals have decreased by 14% since FY21. In FY18, PG Bison implemented a remediation process after the fires that affected the southern Cape in 2017. This water-deck remediation programme entailed packing the fire-affected logs in stacks and continually spraying the timber with water to prevent fungi and fauna from entering and damaging the timber. The water required was sourced from groundwater via boreholes. The water-deck remediation programme ended in FY21, and the water withdrawal returned to normal levels in FY22.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste strategy

Our waste management strategy aims to reduce, reuse and recycle waste to reduce the amount of waste disposed of, with our target being zero waste to landfill.

Waste generation and disposal

Our divisions produce hazardous and non-hazardous waste in their production processes, approximately 90% being non-hazardous. A significant proportion of the non-hazardous waste generated is reused internally, with the remainder sent to third-party recyclers or disposed of at landfill sites or other facilities. 

During the year, we disposed of 11 864 tonnes of waste in an environmentally responsible manner, a 3% reduction from the prior year. An increase in the internal reuse of waste at some sites contributed to the reduction in waste disposed. We also purchased 11 713 tonnes of waste (from external and internal suppliers), a 21% increase on the prior year, which we either used internally or processed for further use internally and externally.

The following initiatives illustrate our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle waste:

• PG Bison purchases waste biomass for use in its products and uses its internally generated waste biomass to generate energy (heat and steam) used in the production of its products. The excess biomass is sent to third parties to provide energy or produce compost.
• Connacher, part of Restonic, purchases textile waste from the clothing and textile industries and processes the waste into reusable fibres used in the sleep products and automotive sectors. During the reporting period, Connacher purchased 7 474 tonnes of waste (FY22: 7 631 tonnes), that may otherwise have been sent to landfill. Restonic and Feltex purchased fibres from Connacher during the year.
• Safripol launched its first recycled content polymer range,
  ASPIRE^® 15 and ASPIRE^® 25, containing 15% and 25% post-consumer recycled resin respectively. Safripol’s ASPIRE^® range enables upcycling for bottle-to-bottle applications, thereby maximising the value of post-consumer PET.