UK’s Paper-based Industries 'well placed to seize the opportunity for future growth' – report
3 min read
The Director General of the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) calls for a sector deal from Government to boost the industry which turns over £11.5 billion annually and employs over 140,000 directly and indirectly.
With a turnover of £11.5 billion and a connection to over 140,000 jobs, the UK’s Paper-based Industries are performing strongly and are well placed to seize the opportunity for future growth, according to the Confederation of Paper Industries’ first ever Economic Value Report published today.
Nearly 1,500 UK enterprises are engaged in manufacturing paper, with 56,000 people employed, along with a further 86,000 UK jobs in the direct supply chain for paper manufacturing and processing. The industry is widely spread across the UK, contributing to growth and employment in all countries and regions, and largely outside of the M25 where the greatest strides in growth and productivity will be required to make the UK economy work for all.
The scope of CPI’s Economic Value Report covers the manufacturing of paper, the conversion of paper into corrugated packaging, the conversion of paper into tissue for hygiene products and the recovery and recycling of paper from both business and households.
These activities are commensurate with a contribution of £4.1 billion to UK Gross Value Added, with some £650 million of paper GVA coming from the food products industry and just over £400 million from the printing sector. Paper is clearly a vital component of the UK economy, not just by itself but as an integral part of the ecosystem of UK industry.
With ever-growing public awareness and calls for environmentally friendly solutions, it is timely to remind consumers, retailers and product designers that paper and board are inherently renewable, recyclable and sustainable materials.
Sector Deal
CPI is also today launching its initial proposals to Government for a Sector Deal for the UK’s Paper-based Industries. It is pleased to announce that Miles Roberts, CEO of FTSE100 listed DS Smith, has agreed to chair a Paper-based Industry led Sector Deal Implementation Board, which we expect to meet for the first time in the first half of 2018.
Miles Roberts, CEO of DS Smith, commented: "Our industry is at a critical period of its development as it faces the twin challenges of a post Brexit trading era and structural change in how packaging and waste is perceived by the public. A strong partnership with government will allow us to maximise our contribution to the UK economy and show how the Paper Industry sits at the heart of the Government’s Clean Growth and Future of Mobility strategy.”
CPI’s proposals for Sector Deal negotiations focus on driving paper recycling quality and recyclability. We aim to improve both the volumes of paper collected for recycling and the quality of that paper through wider adoption of source segregated household recycling practices.
Building on the success of the UK’s Paper-based Industries in reducing their carbon intensity and improving energy efficiency, we are also proposing that we extend the 2050 Decarbonisation Roadmap and Action Plan.
We want to establish projects to develop innovative uses for recovered paper that cannot be recycled through the conventional papermaking process.
Further proposals include: building UK capacity in the bio-economy, developing industry training, and building the investment potential in UK paper-making and downstream conversion.
We urge the Government to respond to the challenge that we have set, to understand both the value of paper as an inherently renewable and recyclable material and the value of the jobs and economic prosperity that our industry provides, and to work with us to conclude a Sector Deal that builds the competitiveness of the UK’s Paper-based Industries for many years to come.
The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) is the leading trade association representing the UK’s Paper-based Industries, comprising paper and board manufacturers and converters, corrugated packaging producers, makers of soft tissue papers, and collectors of paper for recycling.
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