DUBLIN, Ireland,
March 15, 2013
(Press Release) -
World Leaders in paper based packaging, Smurfit Kappa UK has been recognised for its outstanding contribution to raising awareness of responsible forestry following its nationwide support for the Forest Stewardship Council's® international awareness day, FSC Friday (held on 28th September 2012).
Executive Director of FSC UK, Charles Thwaites MBE, presented the award on Tuesday 19th February 2013 to Mike Fadden, Smurfit Kappa Regional Director East who received it on behalf of Smurfit Kappa UK. Also present were Melvyn Mabbutt, Managing Director of Smurfit Kappa Diss and David Upton, General Manager of Smurfit Kappa's Peterborough site.
FSC Friday is a celebration of the world's forests and helps to raise awareness of the importance of managing these forests responsibly, and the role that FSC plays in this.
The award is presented to organisations that have worked, through a particular project or activity, to promote responsible forestry within the UK. WWF and the Royal Mail both won FSC awards in 2011 and M&S were recognised for their achievement last year. Also commended for their outstanding contribution to the FSC system were Bovis Lend Lease for project certification of the Olympic Athletes Village.
Smurfit Kappa was chosen to receive the FSC UK award in recognition of the educational and awareness raising activities it undertook on FSC Friday 2012 and has been commended for its success in reaching out to local communities and helping to spread the FSC message with imagination and enthusiasm.
A number of Smurfit Kappa sites took part in celebrating FSC Friday, many working with local schools and communities to educate the children on theimportance of responsible forestry. Internal communications and activities were also organised in order to spread the message to the staff.
The Eastern region was commended particularly for the activities that took place across sites at Diss, March and Peterborough.
Charles Thwaites Executive Director of the Forest Stewardship Council who is also the High Sheriff of Herefordshire comments "We give no more than five or six of these outstanding contribution awards a year. There are many companies. which are very worthy of an award but these are given in recognition of particular projects that companies get involved in that push the name of FSC forward. Therefore Smurfit Kappa is in very good company.
As an organisation we rely on those companies who are committed to FSC to tell their own customers what FSC means to them and in turn spread the message and educate customers. FSC Friday is a great way of doing this."
Melvyn Mabbutt comments "Involving the local school children with FSC Friday not only promoted the importance of sustainable forestry but also encouraged a great community spirit. The idea of planting trees in recognition of the day was to encourage a longstanding relationship with the community with the children returning to site to see how the plants are growing. And we are hoping to continue developing this area by putting up bird boxes in the future."
