CMPC celebrates 101 years by looking to the challenges of its next century

What are the new challenges that come with the start of this new century? That was the question posed at the “Year one of the new century” seminar commemorating 101 years of existence, following the trail blazed that shows where companies should get involved. This means being part of the solution and helping detect future problems of the societies where businesses function.

With the outstanding participation of Peruvian analyst Álvaro Vargas Llosa, as well as company Chairman Luis Felipe Gazitúa and General Manager, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, this conversation forum was set up and transmitted via Webex for all company collaborators in the eight countries where it operates and for external audiences.

Vargas Llosa stated that three of the big challenges the world needs to face in the future include climate change and renewable energy, an increase in populism and the monetary and debt situation of various countries.

“I’m an optimist and a realist with my feet on the ground. I want to look at factual data, consider and deal with them. I firmly believe all of these challenges can be addressed and all of these adversaries can be vanquished,” he said.

Specifically regarding the environment,” the analyst said, “Despite the enormous, commendable, and heroic efforts being made to put renewable energy at the core, at the heart of the universal energy network, the bad news is that it will still take several years or even decades to achieve a significant reduction in CO2 production.”

He explained that, “The idea is to reduce emissions by 60% in the next 20 years, going from 35 or 45 billion tons to about 15 billion by 2040. Well, the cost of this alone is about 70 billion dollars, which is nearly the entirety of one year’s global production.”

Commitment

During the seminar, CMPC Chairman Luis Felipe Gazitúa said, “Companies are part of an ecosystem, which is why having a sustainable growth model capable of balancing social challenges with biodiversity natural resource protection and economic sustainability is becoming even more urgent and needed.”

“This is not a task, but as we’ve said on many occasions concerning a range or problems at CMPC, we’ve proposed being part of the solutions, just as we did in the past and will continue doing going forward,” concluded Gazitúa.

General Manager Francisco Ruiz-Tagle said, “Climate change is a clear challenge we are facing as humanity. Our company not only has the ability to help by reducing its impacts, but also by producing sustainable products and capturing carbon at our facilities.”

“In what we’ve dubbed the first year of our next century, we aim to continue identifying and implementing these improvements and innovations. We acknowledge that by doing so we not only deal with our own challenges, but also to a large extent those that our whole society faces,” he added.

New purpose

The new slogan “Creating Natural Value” was unveiled at the start of this conversation. It will set CMPC apart and consists of an invitation to get involved in the everyday life of communities and continue building a more sustainable world together.

The Company has the opportunity right now to continue developing, caring for and protecting the environment and biodiversity. Part of the CMPC essence quite specifically is creating natural value on the only planet capable of sustaining life, progress and the evolution of species. This underscores the fact that together we can contribute to making products people need that are also eco-friendly.

“Creating natural value consists of specifically integrating the possibilities that exist in various regions such as resources, communities, workers, customers and authorities, to name the most key ones,” said Luis Felipe Gazitúa.

He added that, “These days (with a pandemic, protests and other issues) everything can seem very complex and pressing. But at CMPC we are optimistic. This is not only because we always take a long-term view of our activities, but also because we have the experience of our 100 years as a company and also sufficient commitment and dedication to face challenges and make progress.”

 Paper Makers Day

Every March 12th Chile celebrates Paper Makers Day, a day set aside by the Senate, “Specifically to remember all of the workers that have made CMPC and the paper industry a reality from the plantations to the end product, has grown into something the whole country recognizes,” said CMPC Chairman Luis Felipe Gazitúa. This is a very meaningful date for CMPC, especially this year when the company celebrates 101 years since its founding, having taken its first steps with the Puente Alto Paper facility on March 12th 1920.