CMPC’s CEO is recognized as international CEO of the year, and the company is chosen as a sustainability leader

The administration of Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, who has held the position of CEO since 2018, was recognized at the Fastmarkets Forest Products PPI Awards 2024 competition for the company’s accomplishments around sustainability, innovation and financial results. The Chilean executive was chosen out of eight CEOs of various companies worldwide in the pulp & paper sector.

CMPC was also given another award for its leadership in sustainability, a category in which it surpassed five other standout industry companies

March 5, Istanbul, Türkiye. – Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, the chief executive of CMPC, was named International CEO of the Year in the Fastmarkets Forest Products PPI Awards 2024 competition, whose ceremony took place today in Istanbul, Türkiye. These awards are the only ones to exclusively recognize achievements in the paper and pulp industry at the global level. A Chilean has now joined the ranks of the winners for the first time. 

With more than 100 years of experience, Fastmarkets is the most significant global platform for analysis and delivery of information of high interest to a range of industries, including forestry. Its market role was enhanced after its merger with Risi, another one of the top agencies in the sector.   

Ruiz-Tagle, who has been with the Chilean multinational for 30 years and serving as CEO since 2018, was awarded for his leadership and vision, which have contributed to several of the Company’s various accomplishments in terms of innovation, financial performance, and especially around social and environmental sustainability.

The main milestones achieved during his decades as the company’s top executive leader include the certification of more than 95% of its forest assets as under sustainable forest management with more than 90% of the energy consumed in its operations coming from renewable sources. 

Ruiz-Tagle was selected from a group of eight finalists that included top executives from some of the largest companies in the forestry and paper sector, specifically Michael Doss of Graphic Packaging, Cristiano Cardoso Teixeira from Klabin, Sami Alsafran of the Middle East Paper Company, Michele Bianchi from the RDM Group; Sukanto Tanoto from RGE, Ulf Larsson of SCA, and Walter Schalka from Suzano.

This was not the only honor the company was given at the awards ceremony, as CMPC also won the “sustainability leadership” category, beating out Amcor, Klabin, the Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO), Smurfit Kappa and Suzano. The recognition is given within the framework of the implementation of a business strategy for 2030 with five fundamental pillars, one of which is sustainability. The Company has set specific goals in environmental terms to be a global standard for the industry by leading the main ESG indicators and serving as a change agent for social development. 

“Thank you very much for these two tremendous accolades. I‘m quite pleased to receive these awards from Fastmarkets, such a reputable and well-known organization in our industry. I want to congratulate the rest of the nominees. It’s very clear to me that we’re in the presence of excellent, well-prepared executives,” said Ruiz-Tagle.

Likewise, he called for continued efforts to transform the forestry industry into a key player in building a more sustainable world, noting, “This is a special moment, not only for me, but for the entire CMPC team. We’ve been working on a new strategy for five years and sustainability and innovation are two of its key pillars. They are pillars that we’ve built as a team. This award also encourages us to continue growing and be even more committed to our industry. Many tasks lie ahead of us. “I’m certain that our industry is the best bet for decarbonizing the economy and our planet”.

Some of the most notable initiatives launched under the leadership of the current CEO include the unprecedented Nature, Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy, with the aim of showcasing the company’s conservation areas while highlighting their importance to the sustainability of forestry operations. Another is the priority given to issuing green debt since 2017, which has already reached almost 75% of total financing after last February’s bond placement of USD 500 million in the US market, standing at 15 bond issues of this type so far.

In addition to the above are the commitments to achieve scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction goals certified by Science Based Targets to become a zero waste multinational and increase conservation areas from 320,000 to 420,000 hectares.  

Regarding community relations, CMPC has developed a number of projects with socioeconomic impact for the residents of southern and central Chile. To name a few, there is the construction of the CMPC Duoc UC Campus educational institution, making its forests available to the public for recreational and educational activities, the Construye Futuro [Building the Future] scholarships, the “Puente Alto Community Pantry”, the “Comuna Sin Basura” [Trash-free Neighborhoods] initiative and the “Desafío “Agua para Chile” [Water for Chile] Challenge.

Regarding innovation, CMPC has created partnerships with start-ups, academia and other companies in order to create processes and biosolutions for the needs of the future that are based on cellulose and fiber recycling. For that reason, the company recently launched an innovation fund of USD 100 million to be allocated to global-scale projects in that vein. 

Other recognitions of CMPC’s strategy

This new award bestowed in Istanbul in one more in a series of honors for both the executive’s work and the company’s performance in different arenas. Ruiz-Tagle received the Bravo Sustainability CEO of the Year 2023 issued by the Council of the Americas, becoming the first Chilean to obtain this recognition. He was also appointed vice-president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where he previously served as director. 

At a business level, these actions led the prestigious annual and global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) to name CMPC as the most sustainable Company in the world in the Paper & Forest Products category, the same recognition awarded by S&P.

Likewise, in February of this year, CMPC was acknowledged by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – one of the main disclosure platforms related to climate change – for its leadership in transparency and business performance in the field of forestry.