Sappi Limited wishes to congratulate Mr Valli Moosa for his appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa as deputy-chair and member of the inaugural Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission for South Africa. The Commission is chaired by the President. 

The mandate of the commission is to advise on and facilitate a common understanding of a just transition towards a low-carbon, inclusive, climate change resilient economy and society, including matters of adaptation, mitigation as well as means of implementation. The commission comprises representatives from government departments and state entities, business organisations, labour, academia, civil society, research institutions and traditional leadership.

Mr Moosa is the lead independent director of the Sappi Limited Board and serves as chair of the Social, Ethics, Transformation and Sustainability Committee of the Board. He has previously served as South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, President of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), Chairperson of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, and Host for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, amongst others.

Sappi relies on a healthy eco-system to produce the renewable woodfibre which is beneficiated into a range of products. We strongly support the transition towards a low-carbon, inclusive, climate change resilient economy and society. Sappi is addressing climate change through two main mechanisms. Firstly, we are targeting reductions in both our absolute emissions and emission intensity and in the past year we have committed to setting a science-based target for our emissions reduction initiatives. The first significant step towards this ambitious target is the work we are currently doing at Saiccor Mill where we are installing a new recovery boiler and converting the calcium line to magnesium. This will lead to a significant reduction in the fossil fuel energy requirements and increase our renewable energy usage. 

Secondly, we have created a working group to implement the recommendations of the TCFD.  This will allow us to more effectively evaluate climate-related risks and opportunities, make better capital allocation decisions and make more informed strategic decisions. This work will be completed in the coming year and will inform our climate change strategy.