The woodlands are the starting point for the entire business operations of the Portucel Soporcel group, generating an annual turnover of approximately 1,400 million euros, of which more than 94% relates to sales on foreign markets, from Europe to Asia.
The Portucel Soporcel group has pursued an active policy of developing Portugal's forests, planting more trees each year than any other forestry operator in the country and managing woodlands covering some 120 thousand hectares, in 161 municipalities up and down the country, in keeping with the management principles set out in its Forestry Policy. Plantations of Eucalyptus globulus, regarded worldwide as producing the ideal fibre for premium quality paper, account for 73% of this area.
Eager to conserve biodiversity 
, the Group has for the last three years been involved in the New Generation Plantations project coordinated by WWF International. Plantations of this type keep ecosystems intact, qualifying them as woodlands of high conservation value, as well as providing processes for effective stakeholder involvement and contributing to economic growth and employment.
The Portucel Soporcel Group is firmly committed to the goal of certified forestry, under the two leading schemes in this field, run by the FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes). The forest management model applied by the Group to its woodland holdings has been certified under these two programmes - FSC (FSC C010852) and PEFC (PEFC/13-23-001) -, proving that the Company's forests are managed on a basis which is environmentally, economically and socially responsible, in keeping with strict, internationally recognized standards.
The Group obtained chain-of-responsibility certification from the FSC for its cork operations in 2009, extending the certification previously obtained for eucalyptus timber, permitting the Company to diversify its range of certified products. In the same year, the Group's management system was certified under the PEFC, giving it the first license to use the PEFC brand for forest management in Portugal not only for the eucalyptus timber supplying the Group's pulp and paper mills, but also for pine timber, cork and pine cones.
In addition to certifying the woodlands under its direct management, the Group has been a driving force behind the expansion of the forest certification process in Portugal as a whole, through cooperation agreements signed with forestry producer organizations and awareness raising campaigns aimed at landowners. The Group has been a pioneer at global level in paying a premium on purchases of certified timber, prompting a reference to Portugal in the "Forest Products 2007/2008" report from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization).
As well as producing eucalyptus timber to supply its pulp mills, the Group's forestry operations have extended into a variety of areas, ranging from game, work, wine and honey to ornamental plants. The Espirra Estate, owned by the Group, is a good example of the Group's well-established agro-forestry strategy, embracing conservation, biodiversity and multiple land use. The estate produces the Herdade de Espirra wine which has won prizes both in Portugal and abroad.
The Group regards Portugal's woodlands as a source of strategic wealth for the country, considering that the forest-based sector is its third most important source of export revenue.
The forests managed by the Group represent an important carbon sink, helping to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The carbon retained each year by the Group forests is equivalent to more than double the CO2 emissions from all its industrial facilities.
The Portucel Soporcel group is firmly committed to applied research which it carries out through RAIZ - Instituto de Investigação da Floresta e Paper, an institute working to support the forestry and paper sectors through research, technology and specialist training.
Responsibility for managing the Group's forestry operations is taken by Portucel Soporcel Florestal, which is engaged in efforts to prevent and help combat forest fires are channelled through AFOCELCA, an industry-wide body set up in conjunction with other forestry companies.
Defending its woodlands against the threat of fire is a priority for the Portucel group. It invests approximately 3 million euros each year in a programme of prevention and support for firefighting operations, making it Portugal's largest private sector contributor to measures designed to reduce risks in this area. A significant portion of this expenditure was channelled to the strategy of managing fire risks and specifically to the planning and coordination of activities geared to increasing or diminishing the load of forest fuel.
The Portucel Soporcel group has its own nurseries - Viveiros Aliança, SA. - which produce saplings for forest plantations and ornamental plants, both for its own use, and for sale in Portugal and abroad. The company has three production units, located in Espirra, Caniceira and Ferreiras, with total an output of more than 8 million plants a year. The plants produced include more than 30 woodlands species and more than one hundred and thirty ornamental plants and shrubs, as well as five varieties of olive tree.
International Seminar - November 5th 2010
Biodiversity - An asset for the future
Presentations download
International Seminar - June 2nd 2009
The Forest - Path to Sustainable Prosperity
Presentations download
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