Through the Legal Forests and Social Forests programs, the Company has already restored 460 springs in Paraná

Paraná, November 4, 2024 - Water security has been a priority for Klabin, Brazil's largest producer and exporter of packaging paper and sustainable solutions in paper packaging. Currently, 74% of the locations where the Company operates have initiatives on this front. A good example of these advances is the work of recovering springs on rural properties served by the Legal Forests and the Social Forests programs. Through the two initiatives, 460 springs were restored in Paraná, with increased tree coverage in their surrounding areas.

The programs currently serve 1,142 partners, where 2,270 springs have been registered. Of these, 1,334 are conserved—meaning they have not undergone changes at their source—and 460 have undergone forest restoration. To achieve these impressive results, many activities were carried out over the years, such as: awareness meetings with the producers, data collection in the field, diagnostic report of third-party properties, demarcation of Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), donation and delivery of native seedlings, technical guidance on the implementation of forest restoration methods, monitoring visits, and monitoring report.

Julio Nogueira, Sustainability and Environment manager at Klabin, emphasizes the Company's commitment to the environment. "Operating with mindfulness and care towards natural resources is a core value for Klabin and forms the foundation of its long-term vision. This approach not only ensures continuous improvements for our operations but also generates lasting benefits for the communities where we are present,” says the manager.

The Company also innovated in the pursuit of balance between forest production and water availability, with the integration of watershed management principles and forest management.  Hydrosolidary management, as it is known, is a form of integrated management of forest operations and water resources, with special attention to the supply basins of communities, whether for a single family or an entire city. This type of management takes into account the microwatersheds (watercourses that flow into a single channel) and the water collection points of neighboring properties, as well as the ecological processes.

Klabin has created a strategy to ensure that in each basin where planting occurs, 40% of the forest must remain intact to facilitate water infiltration by the trees, while the remaining 60% can be harvested. This helps to maintain water resources and biodiversity in a healthy way, and ensures the maintenance of forest mosaics over time.

The best practices of the Company also extend into the mills. The reduction in water usage at Klabin, one of the main raw materials of the business, has decreased by 49% since 2004, considering the volume of water used per metric tons of products.

 
About the Legal Forests and Social Forests Programs
Legal Forests: The Legal Forests program, established through a partnership between the Association for the Preservation of Environment and Life (Apremavi) and Klabin since April 2005, aims to promote environmental conservation and sustainable development in the regions of Paraná and Santa Catarina. The purpose is to preserve and recover native forest remnants, improve local quality of life, and optimize forest management through integrated planning of properties and landscapes. The initiative encompasses actions such as conserving permanent preservation areas, restoring degraded areas, implementing agroforestry systems, and ecotourism.

Social Forests: The Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties program is the result of a partnership between Klabin, Apremavi and Sebrae. It aims to contribute to the economic, environmental and social development of small and midsized rural properties in the 11 municipalities where it operates in Paraná (Cândido de Abreu, Curiúva, Imbaú, Ortigueira, Reserva, Rio Branco do Ivaí, Sapopema, São Jerônimo da Serra, Telêmaco Borba, Tibagi and Ventania) and five in Santa Catarina (Lages, Otacílio Costa, Correia Pinto, Palmeira and Ponte Alta).

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