Paraná, February 8, 2019 – Inaugurated as one of the most modern pulp mills in the world, the Puma Unit continues to deliver increasingly significant results for Klabin, while also contributing to the development of the city of Ortigueira, Paraná, where it is located. The Unit’s pulp sale figures were among the highlights of the company’s 4Q18 results announced this week. Meanwhile, the city leads Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Paraná, according to a new survey by the Economic and Social Development Institute of Paraná (Ipardes).

 

Based on data published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Ipardes study indicates that the GDP of Paraná grew from R$225.2 billion to R$401.6 billion between 2010 and 2016, which represents an increase of 78.35% from the previous period covered by the study. Among the cities, Ortigueira heads the ranking of GDP growth in the entire state, leaping from R$247.6 million to R$1.2 billion, which represents growth of over 390%. In 2016, Klabin’s new mill started operating in the city. With a budget of R$8.5 billion, including infrastructure, taxes and contractual adjustments, it was the biggest ever private investment in the state of Paraná, generating around R$300 million in tax revenue each year.

 

In addition to boosting the local economy through pulp sales, the installation of the Puma Unit also brought to the community important projects such as “Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties,” “Legal Forests,” “Right Step,” “Our Digital Language,” “Solid Waste Project,” “Growing Up Reading,” “Caiubi Program” and “Força Verde Mirim,” all of which aim to leave behind a legacy for the region’s development.

 

Built according to global best sustainability practices, it was the first pulp mill in Brazil to obtain the ISO 9001 and 14001 integrated certificates in the new versions (2015), and the first mill in the paper and pulp sector to obtain the ISO 50001 certification. Moreover, the mill has an average power generation capacity of 270 MW, of which 150 MW is surplus energy – sufficient to serve a city of 500,000 people –, making Klabin self-sufficient in energy production.

 

The Puma Unit’s pulp sales reached 399,000 tons in the fourth quarter of 2018, up 10% from the same period in 2017, which included 299,000 tons of hardwood pulp and 100,000 tons of softwood and fluff pulp.

 

About Klabin’s social and environmental projects in the region:

 

 

• Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties

 

Launched in May 2015 by Klabin in Paraná, the program encourages family farming by helping small rural farmers in the cities of Ortigueira, Imbaú and Telêmaco Borba in all stages of production – from obtaining the Rural Environmental Registration (CAR) to selling their produce in local markets, as well as diversifying ownership and encouraging the cooperative movement. In almost four years of the Program, 334 rural farmers benefitted and over 50 training programs were conducted involving agricultural management, livestock, organic production and environmental education, among others. The initiative is carried out in partnership with the Association for Preservation of the Environment and Life (Apremavi), the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

 

The program was granted the “SESI Sustainable Development Goals Seal,” which recognizes initiatives that contribute to social and sustainable development, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also won the Onda Verde Trophy, granted by the publishing house Expressão de Ecologia, in the “Recovery of Degraded Areas” category.

 

• Legal Forests

 

Over a period of ten years, the project delivered more than one million seedlings to farmers in Paraná and Santa Catarina. The Legal Forests program recovered approximately 350 hectares of riparian forests. Its efforts in recovering and conserving Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) covered more than 6,000 hectares of demarcated legal reserves and 1,200 hectares of legal reserves in regeneration across Paraná. It thus gave impetus to the practice of organic farming, as well as environmental conservation and awareness, which helped farmers to diversify their farming activities, thereby increasing their household income while preserving natural resources.

 

According to Apremavi, in Paraná, such environmental adaptations will continue to enable farmers to obtain certifications and, in turn, add value to the wood produced by them.

 

Legal Forests is part of the Forest Development Program implemented by Klabin, which, since 2014, has been supporting forestry producers in the Médio Rio Tibagi region to obtain the international FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) seal, which attests to management that conserves natural resources and offers fair working conditions. The program currently has 193 property owners and more than 300 rural properties engaged in the certification process.

 

• Solid Waste Project

 

It is a partnership between Klabin and the Caminhos do Tibagi Consortium, formed by the cities of Imbaú, Ortigueira, Reserva, Tamarana, Tibagi and Telêmaco Borba, whose aim is to assist in solid waste management. The initiative is part of the Social and Environmental Action Plan rolled out by Klabin while setting up the Puma Unit in Ortigueira. Between 2014 and 2016, the company studied and diagnosed the solid waste chain of each city, after which action plans were drawn up.

 

For the project, Klabin supplied the cities with facilities or equipment such as sheds, waste collection trucks and materials to structure the recycling process in each location, besides training the collectors and forming associations or cooperatives to organize the work. Each city received inputs according to the needs specified in the action plan.

 

• Growing Up Reading

 

The Growing Up Reading project aims to encourage reading habits among children aged 0 to 6 by providing them with children’s books. The project also involves training teachers and professionals from municipal elementary schools on teaching techniques to hold children’s attention and providing tips on the practical use and creation of reading corners by teachers, underlining the importance of a playful and nurturing space that favors concentration and coexistence. The Reading Corners are fully decorated and adapted for students in a way that stimulates imagination and creativity, besides contributing to Brazil’s National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age.

 

Since 2015, Klabin has already expanded the Growing Up Reading project to ten cities across Paraná: Curiúva, Reserva, Ortigueira, Imbaú, Sapopema, Rio Branco do Ivaí, Cândido de Abreu, Rio Negro and, most recently, São Jerônimo da Serra and Ventania, training teachers and benefiting over 1,500 children.

 

The Growing Up Reading project has already reached 26 cities in seven states where Klabin operates. So far, more than 10,000 children have benefited from the initiative, about 18,000 books have been donated and more than 630 primary education professionals have been trained.

 

• Caiubi Program

 

Since 2001, the Caiubi Program has already benefited over 245,000 students, 9,000 teachers and 770 schools in Paraná and Santa Catarina. The initiative brings together specialists to train teachers on disseminating ecological awareness and on helping to groom discerning citizens who are aware of their responsibilities towards the environment.

 

As a special initiative, the program, which has been running in Telêmaco Borba for 18 years, applied its methodology in the cities of Ortigueira, Imbaú, Reserva, Tamarana, Tibagi and Ventania, impacting more than 14,000 students.

 

Over 280 educational professionals, including teachers and teaching coordinators, attended two training sessions conducted by specialists and received qualifications to deal with the subject in the classroom.

 

• Força Verde Mirim

 

The Força Verde Mirim project has been conducted for 10 years by the Environmental Military Police of Paraná. In 2018, the second graduating batch received support from Klabin. In 2017, students from the community of Briolândia became the first Guardians of Nature in Ortigueira. The company supports the initiative by donating uniforms and providing support to classes.

 

• Our Digital Language

 

Implemented in 2009 in partnership with Jaborandi Institute, the Our Digital Language receives support from the Regional Education Center.  Its core objective is to improve oral and written communication skills of teenagers aged 13 to 18 by providing technological support and discussing topics addressed in Brazil’s National High School Exam (ENEM) and the UN Millennium Development Goals. In 19 semesters, 1,077 students have completed from the Program.

 

• Right Step

 

Launched in 2008 in partnership with Studio 3 Cia. De Dança, Klabin’s Right Step Program provides dance and capoeira classes to employees’ children aged 6 and above and to female employees in order to develop body language through art.