W H E N G I V I N G U P I S N O T A N O P T I O N • K I D S G E T C I R C U L A R

Walki Group Customer Magazine

2019

The aluminium-free youghurt lid

Circular polymers in the making

ENABLING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Fending of fire hazard

COVER STORIESPublisher Leif FrilundEditor-in-Chief Marina KurulaEditorial board Kari Salminen, Ralph Mucha, Marko Siltala, Annika SundellEditorial content and layout Spoon FinlandCover photo Getty ImagesPrint Grano 2019Change of address www.walki.com/coverstories/contacts

CONTENTS4 Walki-Lid waves

goodbye to aluminium 6 Circular polymers for

a zero-waste future10 Burning Ambition14 An acquisition for an even

more sustainable future16 Ads that tickle millennial consumers’ fancy18 The circular generation20 Stepping up to the plate for

a plastic-free future22 A new take on life

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE FOR A PLASTIC-FREE FUTUREA picnic with no trash left behind.

BURNING AMBITION Fire safety starts with resistant material.

CIRCULAR POLYMERS FOR A ZERO-WASTE FUTUREWalki has the materials to make it happen.

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Making a better future happenThe tone in the discussion about climate change has changed during the last year and today there is a real sense of urgency to it. Maybe it can be attributed to Greta Thunberg’s direct call out for real actions. Or then the impact on climate change has become even more discernable to convince even the starkest opposers.

Regardless of what has been the accelera-tor, we are seeing – as so many times before during the course of history – that the real change comes from the young. They are in the driver seat, and the world needs to take note. Young consumers today are even mindful of what materials brands use in advertising: the Out-of-Home advertising sector is phasing out Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its banners and billboards as a result. We are acting on it.

The world consumes an astonishing amount of food packaging, and if we can succeed in making the packaging compostable or recycla-ble, the global thrash mountain will diminish substantially. In this magazine you can read how Walki together with Pyroll has made a youghurt cup completely compostable with an alternative to the aluminium lid.

Our innovation team at Walki is occupied with finding ways to make the world truly circu-lar. Replacing mechanical recycling of plastics with chemical ditto will make all the difference: imagine all food packaging being recycled into plastics that is as good as virgin material. We are well on our way with our collaboration with Sabic, a pioneer in chemical recycling. We are also experimenting with new sources of non-fossil oil. For instance, tall oil, a side product from pulp production, has shown promising results.

What better place to start looking for some fresh ideas than schools? Children are curious by nature and when they get an idea in their heads there is little to stop them. Our initiative with the Circular Classroom is in full swing in several schools.

During this year we have made several successful acquisitions that will take us a step closer to our goal of making the world 100% recyclable or compostable by 2030. We acquired Finnish Plastiroll, a pioneer in com-postable films and bags. We can also welcome Mondi Belcoat NV, the Belgian extrusion coat-ing company of Mondi Group, to our company. With this acquisition, still as this magazine goes to print subject to approval by the compe-tition authorities, we will be able to expand our customer base and strengthen our position in highly specialized engineered materials.

When you set your mind to it, changing your habits is possible. We can all draw inspiration from our colleague Christian Hagedorn, who encountered massive challenges when he was paralysed in a motorbike accident a few years ago. Today he is back at work at Walki’s prem-ises in Steinfurt, much thanks to an attitude of never giving up and always trying to find something positive in everything.

Making change happen is really just about setting your mind to it. And then you need those who can enable the change. That is where we at Walki can contribute the most.

I hope you enjoy our magazine!

Leif FrilundCEO

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With the demand for sustainable solutions on the rise, companies are searching for innovative solutions to make their packaging more recyclable and sus-tainable. For dairy and dry foods, this

means finding an alternative for lids traditionally made of aluminium.

Walki®Lid, Walki’s paper-based material for single-cup lids, hits the nail on the head – or the lid on the cup – for Arla’s dairy products. In Finland, Arla uses the material for its 175 g Arla Luonto+ youghurts, and in Sweden for cottage cheese and crème fraiche as well. The entire packaging can be recycled by pulping or burned for energy production.

According to Kati Janhunen, Brand & Category Manager at Arla, the aim is to make Arla Luonto+ the healthiest, tasti-est and most socially responsible youghurt brand in Finland.

“We’re a very consumer-oriented company and we listen to consumers extremely carefully,” she explains. “The con-sumers that choose Arla Luonto+ deem sustainability very important, so our message is short and simple: the entire package can be recycled as carton.”

Janhunen says that Arla is always looking for ways to ena-ble more and more sustainable consumer choices through

The aluminium-free lid is manufactured by Pyroll with material from Walki.

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” Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of packaging and demand recyclable solutions. Brand owners have no choice but to follow suit.

Fibre-based Walki®Lid helps consumers enjoy their snacks with zero aluminium. For global dairy giant Arla, it also provides a way to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its packaging.text Anne Salomäki photo Arla

WALKI®LIDWAVES GOODBYE TO ALUMINIUM

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“It’s a common challenge for us packaging manufactur-ers and our customers to come up with new and innovative solutions to boost the presence of recyclable alternatives and find ways to make them both economical and technically effi-cient,” he says. “The driver for this is consumer demand, and it’s global phenomenon, so there’s no turning back.”

Strong commitment to sustainabilityFor Walki’s Flexible Packaging Business Line Manager Heikki Lumme and Technical Service and Development Manager Henri Torkkola, the challenges of replacing aluminium in lids are well familiar. However, they both point out that many cli-ents, including Arla, want the entire package to be recyclable, not just the cup.

Walki has been developing its fibre-based materials ever since the 1990s. The company has worked hard to beat alu-minium’s good qualities, such as heat resistance, and to cre-ate a material that suits existing packaging processes, meets food safety standards and can be printed on. Walki®Lid is the answer to all these questions.

When it comes to carbon footprint, Walki®Lid beats alu-minium one nil. This, as Lumme says, makes the product particularly suitable for companies that are seriously com-mitted to reducing their emissions throughout the supply chain.

“Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of pack-aging and demand recyclable solutions,” Lumme tells. “Thus, brand owners have no choice but to follow suit.”

Torkkola emphasises that Walki has always provided paper-based packaging alternatives that are competitive both in terms of cost and properties. In the recent years, the interest has increased significantly – and the trend is set to continue in the future.

continuous R&D with sustainability at its core.“Consumers are increasingly interested in

ways to make their everyday life eco-friendlier. As the packaging industry is constantly evolving, it’s our job to offer them the best possible solution.”

Many demands, one answerThe lids are manufactured by Pyroll, a paper, convert-ing and packaging company from Finland, using material provided by Walki. Sales Director Marko Manu says that the lid is a bit of a packaging superstar: it has an excellent aroma, water vapour and gas barrier, is easy to peel yet still durable to avoid tearing, and also fully recyclable. On top of all this, it suits the clients’ packaging processes.

“There are plenty of technicalities that need to be taken into account both on our end as well as our customers',” he notes, “without forgetting the fact that the most important job for the packaging is to protect the product inside it and ensure a certain shelf life.”

For Pyroll, Walki®Lid is the first lid in their Pyroll Green concept. Manu believes that there is plenty more to come in the packaging sector when it comes to sustainability. Consum-ers often think that biodegradable items are eco-friendly, but Manu prefers to talk about recyclability and circular economy.

There has been talk about a zero-waste future for a while, and recent developments in recycling might make that a reality in ten years. At least that is Walki’s objective: by 2030, all the compa-ny’s materials should be 100 percent renewable

or recyclable. Gunilla Laakso, Category Manager Global Sourcing, and

Annika Sundell, Executive President, Innovation, are heav-ily involved in making this vision a reality. A crucial step is complementing mechanical recycling of plastics by chemical ditto, or what at Walki is referred to as ‘circular polymers’. Laakso explains:

“When you do circular polymers, you break down the plas-tic garbage using a procedure called pyrolysis. This means that you thermally decompose the plastic in a high tempera-ture in an inert atmosphere. This pyrolysis oil is thereafter upgraded to be suitable for further processing in crackers.”

The big upside compared to mechanical recycling, where the plastic material is being grinded, washed, separated and dried and then made into granules, is that the chemically recycled plastics become as good as virgin polymers. Plastics

recycled in a mechanical way leaves impurities in it, hence the grey colour and the odd smell that we all recognize from shopping bags made out of recycled plastics. The mechani-cally recycled plastics has not been approved to be used in food packaging either. And there are also limitations as to how many times it can be recycled. Using circular polymers, these obstacles are overcome.

”The big upside is that there are no impurities left in the recycled plastic when it's recycled through pyrolysis, so the recycled plastic can be reused as food packaging, as it is exactly as clean as virgin plastic.”

Another big benefit is that we can recycle used food pack-aging.

”For instance, when you eat your salad bought from a super-market and throw the package in the bin, some left-over food always remains in the packaging. That means that the plastic is not optimal for mechanical recycling because the food components decay in the recycled plastics. Using pyrolysis, the leftover food is eliminated. So with circular polymers, we can efficiently reuse old food packaging,” says Laakso.

CIRCULAR POLYMERSFOR A ZERO-WASTE FUTUREPlastics have come in a bad light in recent years. But that doesn’t mean that we have to ban it completely. What we do need to do, though, is to get the recycling procedure up to speed. Walki is well on its way with circular polymers.text Lena Barner-Rasmussen photo Karolina Isaksson

” We believe in a so-called mass-balance principle.

Annika Sundell and Gunilla Laakso are heavily involved in making Walki’s vision of all materials being 100% recyclable or renewable by 2030.

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” The big upside is that there are no impurities left in the recycled plastic when it's recycled through pyrolysis, so the recycled plastic can be reused as food packaging, as it is exactly as clean as virgin plastic.

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Over and over againUsing mechanical processes, the quality of the plastics will deteriorate every time it's processed because the polymers become weaker. With circular polymers using pyrolysis, however, you can use the molecules over and over again without compromising the quality.

“The circular polymers have the same quality as virgin polymers”, says Laakso.

So why is the world not using more circular polymers? Eventually that will be the case, says Laakso and Sundell, but first we need large-scale investments in supporting collec-tions systems and in pyrolysis facilities, including those who upgrade pyrolysis oil. Walki has taken the first steps with pet-rochemical manufacturer Sabic, a long-time partner, and is now in a market foundation stage for introducing circular polymers on the market.

“Hence, we are amongst the pioneers regarding this ground-breaking sustainable solution”, says Sundell.

But it won’t happen overnight. The situation can be com-pared to purchasing green energy. Energy companies cannot guarantee 100 percent renewable energy in the mix, because the supply of renewable energy is unreliable and inadequate. It’s the same with circular polymers: until there are high-capacity recycling and pyrolysis facilities, you have to make do with what you have.

So the transformation toward circular polymers will be gradual.

“We believe in a so-called mass-balance principle”, explains Laakso.

“It’s an approach to account for materials entering and leaving a system: we cannot say what the exact mix of plastic waste-based cracker feedstock we get is and what the ratio is between it and fossil-based materials. This will change once the world is ready to process bigger volumes. We are now in a transition and using the mass-balance system is a good stepping stone towards 100% bio-based materials.”

All onboardHowever, once the needed investments in infrastructure and systems are done, both Laakso and Sundell are confident that we will see circular polymers become the new normal.

“There is definitely the political will for it”, says Sundell, referring to EU regulation on recycling plastics that has been a central issue in EU’s strategy on plastics. “Circular poly-

right materials are available. Sabic is in an important role as producer of circular polymers.

“At Walki, we see ourselves as the enablers of a circular economy and a zero-waste future. We understand the spe-cific requirements brand owners have for the packaging of their products and can provide the ultimate material mix.”

A tall order for tall oilIn this material mix, non-fossil materials will play an impor-tant role. You can do plastics with other oils than fossil oil, for instance oil extracted from sugar canes has been used for years. But in a world that will increasingly grapple with food scarcity, edible oil should hardly be used for something else than food. Walki has set its eyes on tall oil, a side product from pulp production.

“The upside is that it cannot be used as food, and you do not cut down trees solely for getting the oil”, explains Sundell.

Polymers based on tall oil are very versatile, and its chemi-cal structure and properties are equivalent to fossil polymers.

“You can basically use tall oil based polymers for anything: food packaging, industrial packaging, you name it”, says Sun-dell.

Walki is currently in talks with several customers. The use of tall oil sits very well with the concept of circular

polymers too.“Pyrolysis works in the same way for both fossil and non-

fossil plastics”, says Laakso.

Walki’s zero waste polymer concepts are Walki®Wood and Walki®Circular.

Walki®Wood polymers:• Derived from non-fossil sources such as tall oil• Chemical structure equivalent to fossil polymers• Complies fully with the requirements of the EU and US food contact regulation

Walki®Circular polymers• Created in a chemical recycling process where mixed post-consumer plastic waste – otherwise destined for incineration or landfill – is turned into finished certified circular polymers• The chemical structure and properties are equivalent to virgin polymers• Complies fully with the requirements of the EU and US food contact regulation

Walki®Wood polymers and Walki®Circular polymers

mers are an important part of this puzzle. Without it, there is no way that EU can implement the strategy.”

The politicians can only do their part though. Both Sundell and Laakso stress that all parties in the value chain must co-operate. They are, however, convinced that this will happen.

“In fact, it’s happening all the time. The whole discussion on climate change and our waste problem has radically accel-erated in the last year. There are a lot of business opportuni-ties involved too, which speeds up things”, says Sundell.

Laakso points out that brand owners and retailers are in a key role, but they cannot transform packaging unless the

Chemical recycling is a good way to make use of plastics otherwise destined for incenration or landfill.

When you do circular polymers, you break down the plastic garbage through pyrolysis. The big upside compared to mechanical recycling, where the plastic material is being grinded, washed, separated and dried and then made into granules, is that the chemically recycled plastics become as good as virgin polymers.

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Just about any material can be made retardant to fire today.

BURNING AMBITION

There are at least 5,000 fire incidents in Europe every day. Hopefully this figure will decrease as more flame retardant materials hit the market.text Sami Anteroinen photo Walki

INNOVATIONINNOVATION

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” Basically, we can take any component and make it fire proof.

The demand for flame retardant products is soaring. “Looking at the past three years, the sales of our

flame retardant products have doubled for every year,“ says Kari Salminen, Executive Vice Presi-dent, Construction, Walki Group.

Staving off flames is a top priority for Walki. Today, there are technologies to make just about any material retardant to fire – or at least slow down or complicate the burning process considerably.

The fire retardant testing process is becoming more holistic and comprehensive in nature.

“Basically, we can take any component and make it fire proof. For example, we can process paper in such a way that it will still burn and turn black, but the fire stops there – it won’t spread,” Salminen says.

Top notch flame retardance is, obviously, a solid sales argument, as customers – real estate developers and con-struction companies, for instance – are keen on safety. As there are at least 5,000 fire incidents each day in the EU – and each year in Europe approximately 70,000 people are admit-ted to hospitals with severe fire-related injuries – fire safety issues need to be taken seriously.

Wanted: A More Comprehensive Approach According to Salminen, European flame retardancy classi-fication, ranging from F (the worst) to A (the best), features a range of things that merit consideration; for instance, how the flame is likely to spread in a given material or what type of heat it generates. The testing process is becoming more holistic and comprehensive in nature. This is something Salminen welcomes.

“Previously, each product was tested separately for flame retardance, but that would not really tell us how that product would perform in a scenario where the entire building is on fire. We need to test the entire system, instead of just focus-ing on the individual components.”

Innovating with flame retardance in mindPilot tests with flame retardance development are mainly conducted on the pilot line at the Walki Competence Center in Pietarsaari, Finland. Most of the production trial runs are done in Valkeakoski in Finland. This is also where existing flame retardant products are produced.

“Development of the product is done in close cooperation with raw-materials suppliers and customers”, says Technical Service and Development Engineer Heikki Viitanen.

Quite often the products are multilayer laminates that contain many different types of raw material like paper, pol-ymers, aluminum and glue. “To make the end product fire-safe those layers have to be made flame retardant.”

According to Viitanen, flame-retardant products are top priorities in the construction facings area.

“One of the challenges is the suitability of flame retard-ant raw material from the perspective of the end use of the product. Also, the testing and certification of flame retardant products pose certain challenges.”

More Products in the Market In recent years, regulation changes have increased the demand for fire safe products in the construction business. “During the last couple of years, there have been more flame retardant raw material suppliers available,” says Viitanen, adding that Walki has been developing flame retardant

products and working with flame retardant raw materials for at least 10 years now.

Viitanen believes that the biggest markets exist in con-struction facings and construction membranes product seg-ments. “Additionally, there is also some demand in industrial packaging applications. The evolution of product fire safety will continue in the 2020’s.”

In the coming decade, Walki is likely to introduce even more flame retardant solutions.

“Flame retardant products will replace the current stand-ard products in many end use areas,” he predicts.

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” Previously, each product was tested separately for flame retardance, but that would not really tell us how that product would perform in a  scenario where the entire building is on fire.

What’s up in China?Travelling to different countries has always been a dream for Edmund Chong. In his current job he gets to do that.

? Describe your career so far.I spent the first 12 years of my career selling Plastic Materials and Masterbatches to local manufacturers in the plastic industry. Although some of them were big multinational brands, I only dealt with the local representatives. Now at Walki I have been given the opportunity to serve customers from countries outside Malaysia. I’m thrilled about that! I have always wanted to travel to different countries and learn about various cultures, and this I get to do in my current job.

? You work with sales for the automotive and metal industries. What are your customers' biggest challenges right now and how can Walki help them solve these challenges? I think some of the biggest challenges for our customers right now is to find suitable packaging solutions, which are customised according to their needs and can assist them in delivering their products in the best possible way. In today’s competitive environment, car manufacturers want to reduce weight to be more cost effective as well as to enhance the performance of the car. Rusting and corrosion have always been a culprit in the steel industry, and we have the proven solutions to help customers protect the steel.

? How do you unwind after a hard day's work? After a long hard day at work, the first thing I want to do is to go home and spend some time with my kids. The smiles I get from them usually melts all the stress and tiredness away. I also like to play badminton during my free time. I believe exercising is a powerful tool to make you feel better.

One after another, Walki’s product families are turning towards a more fire safe future. Global Category Manager Luk Meys from Walki’s Print Media XXL product family says that for two out of three products (Walki®Billboard Pro and Walki®Billboard Stretch), there is a stated need to develop a flame retardant alternative.

“This is important in order to be able to take market share for indoor applica-tions such as point of sale or point of purchase, and trade fair graphics.”

Meys believes that the market demand will only increase from the present situation.

“Customers will see it as a necessary feature, and in some countries like France it is already mandatory for public indoors applications.”

With the Print Media XXL family, flame retardancy is an ongoing process and the ultimate solution is still under development.

“It’s a development we have to do together with our raw material suppliers (nonwovens). The materials onto which we coat have to meet the flame retard-ant requirements,” Meys says.

Walki has developed, together with a master batch supplier, a polymer coating that has shown great promise.

Flame retardant honeycomb board With regards to Walki’s barrier lining products, Walki’s customers manufacture a honeycomb board that features Walki’s flame retardant barrier lining. The honey-comb board can be used e.g. as light-weight construction material for exhibitions, ‘shop-in-shops’ and indoor displays.

“This flame retardant barrier lining could also be used for specific corrugated board or solid board packaging solution where final end user has specified a cer-tain flame retardant requirement,” says Jan-Anders Fagerhed, Sales Manager for Barrier Lining, Nordic.

According to Fagerhed, there have been similar products on the market for a long time already, but Barrier Lining saw that the time was right to add some Walki expertise into the mix.

“Our product is more tailormade to meet our customer’s need,” he says.

Embracing flame retardant product families: Print Media XXL & Barrier Lining

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By acquiring Finnish sustainable packaging material producer Plastiroll, Walki adds to its ever-increasing offering of sustainable packaging solutions.text Anne Salomäki photo Plastiroll

AN ACQUISITIONFOR AN EVEN MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Brandowners are eager to replace plastics with renewable options.

If you’re a Finn and haven’t heard of Bioska and Hauska, you were probably born yesterday. That’s how much of a household name the two biodegradable bags have become: Bioska for biowaste, Hauska for dog poop.

However, there’s much more to the Ylöjärvi-based company Plastiroll than its most well-known consumer items. In addition to being one of the leading producers of biodegradable bags and films, it also has dispersion coating and printing capabilities. Its recyclable dispersion-coated as well as compostable film packaging range significantly broad-ens Walki’s selection of sustainable packaging materials.

What's up in Oullins?Christopher Lebas works as a Sales Director for Walki’s Consumer Packaging division. He works and lives in Oullins in France and has recently joined the company. He is a packaging industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience from the business.

? When planning your next career move, you approached Walki. What was it that drew you to the company?I have worked for converting companies, and the time felt ripe for an upstream opportunity. I knew that Walki is a significant supplier of Multi Packaging Solution, of which I have a lot of experience, so I contacted Walki’s development team. They helped me understand Walki’s view of how the business will develop, and I thought it very interesting.

? What is a normal working day like? There are no ‘normal working days’ for a sales guy! You have to be flexible and adapt to customers’ requests. Behind every sales process there are a lot of human interactions due to cultural differences, which makes this job very interesting. I enjoy spending time with my colleagues and together find the best solution for our customers.

? What do you need to excel in your work?One of the key points is listening. You have to listen carefully in order to provide the right solution. My long experience in the business comes in handy here!

? How do you think the business will develop? What megatrends are important to understand in order to be able to serve your customers?The business is moving quickly as customers want to make sure they minimize their CO² footprint. Everyone is keen on moving away from plastics to stop us from littering our oceans and nature. We will have to be real citizens of the world in our quest to combat climate change. Walki is deeply involved and will be one of the first to use circular polymers.

show their commitment to green values,” Avellan says.

One plus one is not just twoPlastiroll being part of Walki gives Walki’s customers an easy access to a new range of materials. Laukkanen says that the integra-tion phase has looked promising, as the two companies complement each other: Walki adds to its existing offering, and Plastiroll gains access to research and development resources as well as larger sales networks. In that sense and in this case, one plus one adds up to more than just two.

Walki’s EVP, Innovation Annika Sundell says that acquiring Plastiroll brings Walki opportunities to enter application areas where Walki hasn’t previously been present, and thus enables Walki to offer a larger port-folio of sustainable options to its customers. With the acquisition, Walki particularly wanted to expand its technology platform with, for instance, dispersion.

It’s all part of a big plan for a greener future.

“We already have a large portfolio of sus-tainable materials and we intend to further expand our platform,” Sundell tells. “Every-thing is connected with our commitment to the circular economy and a Zero Waste Future.”

Plastiroll's CEO Kari Laukkanen and Director R&D, Qual-ity Jani Avellan believe that the demand for the company’s technologies will continue to rise around the world as recy-clability, compostability, circular economy and all things green are now the talk of the town.

Helping brand owners become greenerPlastiroll isn’t a new player in the game. In its 35-year history, it has witnessed the growth in demand for compostable and recyclable packaging solutions.

For example, the fast-food industry is keenly looking for

new ways to reduce the amount of waste that’s taken to landfill. Other examples include ready-made meals and catering ser-vices on airplanes.

“It’s a matter of pride to us that our mate-rial can replace aluminium or plastic pack-aging, and that they are also suitable for oven,” Avellan says. “There have been plenty of challenges which we’ve managed to over-come with perseverance and determination, and the interest is growing globally.”

Avellan notes that together with Walki, there’ll be a significant boost in sales, as the two companies can combine their contacts. The increasing number of consumers want-ing to do away with conventional plastics is of help, too.

“Brand owners are enthusiastic about replacing plastic with greener alternatives, so we could call it a trend particularly when it comes to consumer products,” Laukkanen adds.

Compostability isn´t the only great thing about Plastiroll's products. Avellan points out that the breathable material has functional benefits as well, as it adds to the shelf-life of certain products. Many non-food items don’t really need to be wrapped in a breathable packaging, but many don’t mind it.

“For example, publishers want to pack magazines in biodegradable material to

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” Brand owners are enthusiastic aboutreplacing plastic with greener alternatives.

The eco-conscious millennial generation is driving change across various industries. The Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising sector needs to take note.

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ADS THAT TICKLEMILLENNIAL CONSUMERS’ FANCY

text Isabelle Kliger photo Simon Blackley

 The Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising sector prepares to phase Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic out of its banners and billboards. Walki’s sustainable billboard material offers solutions to this chal-lenge.

“We have known for years that PVC is harmful to the environ-ment, but only recently has the anti-PVC movement really started gaining momentum,” explains Luk Meys, Walki’s Global Category Manager, Imaging.

Around the world, advertising companies are looking for a viable alternative as they prepare for a future ban on PVC. For decades,

OOH advertising depended on using either pasted blueback paper panels or heavyweight PVC-based billboards and banners for their products. While these materials offer reliable performance, their environmental record is such that the industry today is actively seeking more sustainable options.

What is the problem with PVC?It is widely accepted that PVC poses substantial environmental risks. Its manufacturing process produces chlorine gas, while its disposal also releases dangerous toxins into the environment. The

material is not biodegradable and hard to recycle and, as a result, the only disposal options are either incineration or dumping it in landfills. In 2003, Greenpeace went so far as to name PVC the “most environmentally damaging of all plastics.”

So why is the world only starting to pay attention now?According to Meys, public opinion on environmental issues has

shifted dramatically in the last few years, driven by the highly eco-conscious millennial generation.

“Modern consumers want to identify with brands with a strong environmental profile, who are transparent about the materi-als they use, and how their advertising is done,” he says, adding that millennials in particular are ready and willing to pay more for products that are made, distributed and advertised in a sustain-able manner.

“These people are aware of the dangers of PVC and more likely to spend their money with a company that doesn’t use it in its advertising,” he explains.

Back in 2003, finding a viable alternative to PVC would have been quite a challenge, but, these days, Walki has the solution, with its Walki®Print Media XXL family of products, which provides sus-tainable printing and imaging solutions.

Green printing and imaging from WalkiUsing ultra-light, tear resistant and recyclable raw materials, this ‘green’ print media combines specific base materials and func-tional polymers. What is more, it weighs less than half as much as

traditional PVC products, making transport, storage and handling far less cumbersome. Apart from being PVC-free and pfthalate-free, Walki®Print Media XXL is also 100 percent recyclable, halo-gen-free and REACH-compliant, which means that it complies with EU regulation regarding registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals.

Walki will soon be rolling out further improvements to this family of products. In the near future, the Walki®Print Media XXL range will be suitable for printing with environmentally sound, water-based latex ink next to the current printability with UV inks. The next generation of the product will also be certified flame retard-ant, making it suitable for indoor use in public places. Even further down the line, plans are in place to pursue the introduction of a bio-degradable generation of the print media.

“Walki is constantly looking for ways to help its customers improve their environmental performance and these products will be key to ensuring a more sustainable future in the OOH segment. Producing them locally in the European market, close to our cus-tomer base, also adds important value,” concludes Meys.

“Walki is ready to help the Out-of-Home Advertising sector prepare for a future without PVC”, says Luk Meys.

Advertising companies are on the lookout for sustainable alternatives to PVC.

” Modern consumers want to identify with brands with a strong environmental profile, who are transparent about the materials they use, and how their advertising is done.

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WALKI COVER STORIES 2019

Have you heard of a sustainable toaster called The Burning Machine? Or a fully composting shoe brand The Dominator? Maybe not yet, but the students from Drumsö Lågstadieskola in Helsinki have some interesting circular product innovations lined up for future consumers.

THE CIRCULARGENERATIONtext Siru Nori / Co-founders photo Jarno Kivelä / Jedit

 Drumsö Lågstadieskola, a primary school in Helsinki, has an active and innovative take on teaching sustainability and circular economy. The topics are a part of the Finnish curriculum, but for teacher Johanna Berlin, it is really about the future. “School is a good platform for creating change. We need to make the children feel that they can make an impact and be a part of the change. Our

school is located on the island of Lauttasaari, so the children are familiar with seeing plastic waste floating in the sea. It is easy to create a connection with that.”

Berlin’s pupils agree that the topic is important. “If the circular economy doesn’t come true, we might die of hunger. Or we have to move to another planet”, says fifth-grader Aleksi Kariola.

The Circular Classroom in actionBerlin’s class has actively used Walki’s social responsibility pro-gram, the educational platform Circular Classroom, when digging into the topic of circular economy. The children have for example made product autopsies. “It was inspiring to get a task in which we broke an object into pieces and re-designed it. It proved how the linear economy rules, as most of the electronics were impossible to recycle. That was not so good”, says Rasmus Ivars.

Johanna Berlin finds it important to teach sustainability on many levels. “Most schools do teach sustainability today with theme weeks in school. Quite often we tend to focus just on how we should sort our waste. It is easy to approach and connects to everyday life at home. But how can we take it to the next level? It is good to also teach creativity and design understanding, how design is more than just mere shapes and products, it is linked to the whole value chain and product lifecycle. Circular Classroom gives good hands-on tools to do this.” Milo Laurent has already his eyes set on his future work

The pupils at the Drumsö Lågstadieskola in Helsinki teamed up to create circular product innovations.

” We need to make the children feel that they can make an impact and be a part of the change.

life. “I would say it’s important to understand these things if one wants to work in business life. You need to care for the environment and understand what the circular economy is about.”

Designing the futureIn spring, the school gathered several classes together for a prod-uct workshop. Each group was asked to design a new product for the market, with the circular economy in mind. Each product was presented and evaluated by critical classmates.

The children have a good sense of how things should be done: the products ranged from a recycled and recyclable mobile phone where all parts can be replaced to fully compostable shoes. The Burning Machine toaster uses solar energy as a power source through the kitchen window. It is made of recycled metal and is round-shaped to remind us of the circular economy. Milo Laurent’s team was looking at the whole value chain. “We designed a bottle made of paper, so that you can recycle it along with other paper waste. We only use renewable energy when producing the bottle. We sell our own drink, but we can sell the bottle to other manufacturers, too.”

It is clear that the future generation has its mind set on mak-ing better design for a better future. As Amanda Höckerstedt, a 12-year-old girl, wisely points out: “I’ve learnt that there are so many products that you can’t recycle. It makes me think about how to act in a more sustainable way.  Read more about the circular classroom project on www.circularclassroom.com

Johanna Berlin wants to teach kids to think about sustainability from multiple angles.

RESPONSIBILITYRESPONSIBILITY

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATEFOR A PLASTIC-FREE FUTURE

text Isabelle Kliger photo Mini-Maid

Who does not love a disposable plate on a picnic? And now those plates are increasingly made out of paper.

A new European law was recently passed banning single-use plas-tic products. This spells good news for Mini-Maid – the leading Nordic producer of disposable paper plates.

“We’re proud to be contributing to a more sustainable future,” says Mini-Maid’s Managing Director, Mikael Grahn, whose father Karl-Gustav founded the company in 1986. “It’s what the planet needs and what the market wants.”

Mini-Maid is one of Europe’s leading producers of paper plates and number one in the Nordic region. Originally an operation made up of one person and one machine, Mini-Maid currently employs around 80 people in Sweden and Finland and delivers approxi-mately 700 million paper plates every year.

Market leaderThe company is driven by its commitment to Finnish raw materials, sustainability, and product safety – guiding stars that have led Mini-Maid to its current leading position.

So what makes a paper plate market leading? The answer is simple.

“Our plates are what the market demands right now,” says Grahn, adding that Mini-Maid offers a wide range of plates for every occasion all of which are plastic-free, recyclable, compostable and biodegradable.

Reliable barrierDespite being made of paper fibre Mini-Maid’s plates do not break or leak. This is due to their structure and composition, which includes a lacquer barrier from Walki.

“The barrier is designed to ensure that, even if you’re eating soup or very fatty food, it won’t seep through the plate and the paper won’t get soft or dissolve,” explains Jan-Anders Fagerhed, Sales Manager at Walki.

Maximum barrier protection, minimum raw materialVarious issues need to be taken into account when developing a barrier for a product such as Mini-Maid’s paper plates. Firstly, the barrier needs to be approved for food contact. Secondly, it needs to fulfil all the required performance characteristics without compro-mising the recyclability of the paper.

” We’re proud to be contributing to a more sustainable future. It’s what the planet needs and what the market wants.

You can now use disposable plates at picnics and not feel bad about it.

Mini-Maid has plates for every occasion and they are all plastic-free, recyclable, compostable and biodegradable.

“Barrier materials are typically costly and not as recyclable as paper so the trick is to use a reliable barrier that delivers maximum protection with minimum raw material use,” he says.

“We’ve worked with Walki since the mid 1990s and are very happy with its barrier solutions,” adds Grahn. We’re currently look-ing to take the next step in our plastic-free journey together, by developing a plastic-free printed paper plate.”

Despite increasing resistance to all kinds of single-use products, demand for disposable goods is still continuing to grow. Mikael Grahn believes this is mainly due to the lifestyle choices of young people today.

“Modern consumers want convenient, easy-to-use products, but also prefer to shop sustainably whenever possible. This is good news for Mini-Maid,” he says.

EU bans single-use plastic from 2021Looking to the future, paper has a major part to play as regula-tors prepare to crack down on plastics. A new European law was recently passed banning single-use plastic products including cot-ton bud sticks, cutlery, straws, stirrers and plates. It will come into force across all European Union member states by 2021.

“Some four to five billion paper plates are sold in Europe every year, compared to more than 20 billion plastic plates. While we can’t predict how the market will evolve, it goes without saying that the future looks brighter than ever,” says Grahn. 

WALKI COVER STORIES 2019WALKI COVER STORIES 2019

ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENT 2120

Driving a car again was a major achievement for Christian Hagedorn.

FACTS Name: Christian Hagedorn Age: 35 Lives: in a fully wheelchair accessible house in Greven close to Muenster in Germany

Family: wife Mona, dog Milo and baby girl

Personal motto: The easiest route isn’t always the best

Christian Hagedorn joined Walki Germany’s accounting department in 2008 and was later promoted to the role of business controller. On a sunny day in June 2013, on his way home from work, Hagedorn had an accident, fell off his

motorbike, and, as he was falling, hit his head on a street sign.“I knew from the first moment that I was paralysed. I was

looking into the sky, waiting for the paramedics to arrive, and all I could move was my neck,” he recalls.

Hagedorn spent eight months in hospital, undergoing multiple major surgical procedures, as well as a very intense rehabilitation programme that is still on-going today.

“During the first few days, I had a lot of negative thoughts that varied from worry and fear to fury,” says Hagedorn. “But then, at some point, I realised you have to decide how you want to live your life: you can either give up or confront it. And giving up was never an option for me.”

Hagedorn recalls that seeing his family and his girlfriend – who is now his wife – next to his bed, made him all the more determined to get his life back. So he started setting targets for his recovery. Every day he gave himself a series of small objectives to achieve – something he is still doing on a daily, weekly and more long-term basis.

WALKI COVER STORIES 2019

23PROFILE

WALKI COVER STORIES 2019

22 PROFILE

A NEW TAKE ON LIFE

In 2013, a motorbike accident left Christian Hagedorn paralysed from the shoulder down. Today, he is back at work part time and awaiting the birth of his first child. He shares his story.text Isabelle Kliger photo Ali Noureldine

 3 top tips for staying positive1 Set targets to get focused on something

constructive. First of all you need an overall target, such as “I want to be independent in my daily routines”, then you need to set a series of small targets that you can achieve on a day-to-day basis that will enable you to reach the long-term objective

2 Keep busy: meet friends, go for a walk, watch TV, distract yourself and stay focused on

anything except your depressing situation

3 Try to live as normal a life as possible

” Giving up was never an option for me.

The injury to Hagedorn’s spinal cord affected the fourth to the sixth cervical vertebrae, causing total paralysis from the shoulder down. At present, following six years of rehabilita-tion therapy, he has regained some limited movement in his biceps, wrists and shoulders. He has also achieved a number of important milestones.

“One of my greatest achievements is being able to drive a car again!” he exclaims. “I have a Volkswagen T5 multivan that has been converted to enable me to open the doors elec-tronically and drive in and position my wheelchair directly beside the steering wheel. I accelerate and brake with my hands and do nothing with my feet.”

Hagedorn and his wife live in a fully wheelchair-accessible house with their baby girl. Between his limited movement and the adaptation of the house, Hagedorn is now able to manage his daily routines independently. In 2017, he decided to go back to work at Walki on a part-time basis.

“I became aware that it would give me a massive mental boost if I could go back to my old life to the greatest extent possible,” he says, adding that he is currently working three hours a day, three days a week, and that both the company and his colleagues are being extremely supportive.

Hagedorn is also working on a project to develop a fully wheelchair-accessible mobile home, in collaboration with the same company that converted his car.

Going on a holiday with a wheelchair, a dog and a baby is complicated, so I want to find a way to be able to travel independantly", he explains. “I took the vehicle on a test run to Spain in April. It was my first independent holiday since the accident and it was just great!"

We contribute with our actions

In service of the next generation.

W W W.WA LK I .C O M

We contribute with our actions

In service of the next generation.

W W W.WA LK I .C O M