Sustainability
The circular economy has always been part of MM’s business model due to our focus on cartonboard and paper products which are primarily produced using renewable raw materials and are fully recycled after use.
The following information corresponds to the consolidated non-financial report 2023, from which further details can be obtained.
Sustainability is an integral part of the MM Group’s business activities and the basis for our long-term business success. Ever since the company was founded in 1888, in a forestry environment, the idea of sustainability has always been present at MM. With innovative, recyclable packaging and paper products made from renewable raw materials, we are now at the forefront of avoiding plastic waste.
At the centre of this is our conviction that the MM Group can be even more competitive and successful in the long term through transparent sustainability management and the disclosure of progress (and failures). The continuous involvement of our stakeholders in our sustainability journey is very important to us. While a comprehensive stakeholder dialogue was conducted in 2021, which forms the basis of our sustainability strategy continues to be valid, we focused on a greater involvement of internal stakeholders in 2022. This resulted in the creation of the “MM Message House”, in which we anchor our corporate purpose “Enabling people to live a better life on a better planet” together with the goal of becoming “Leading in consumer packaging using renewable resources” and define our efforts to create a unifying corporate culture with shared values. In 2023, a particular focus was placed on implementing measures. For example, the newly created MM Sustainability Bonus contributed to significant progress in the area of decarbonisation. Such measures support us in achieving our ambitious climate targets, such as the Science Based Targets.
Our Science Based Targets were officially recognised in 2022 and have served as central points of reference for our sustainability strategy ever since. In the run-up to this, MM joined the global “Business Ambition for 1.5 °C” initiative to take appropriate measures to help limit global warming to 1.5 °C by 2031. In 2023, we submitted our Net Zero Target to the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and officially committed to it. In 2023, we also succeeded for the first time in further improving our climate rating by the renowned CDP (Disclosure Insight Action) to a “triple A rating”. MM is therefore one of the top 10 out of a total of 21,000 companies assessed, having achieved "Leadership Status" in the three assessment categories “Climate Change”, “Forests” and “Water”. This documents that MM is implementing ecological sustainability to protect the climate, forests and water in a comprehensive and holistic manner. In this context, we focus on our objective of offering our stakeholders and particularly our customers added value through exemplary performance and a transparent approach to sustainability.
The circular economy has always been part of MM’s business model due to our focus on cartonboard and paper products which are primarily produced using renewable raw materials and are fully recycled after use. Despite many efforts to increase plastic recyclability, it will never be possible to recycle plastic to the same extent as cartonboard or paper. In addition, the market for recycled paper has been functioning very well already for a long time. We are therefore endeavouring to offer highly competitive solutions made of cartonboard and paper to replace plastic through innovation and investment in sustainability and to create attractive future potential for the MM Group.
We are aware that we can only drive systemic change towards an even more sustainable value chain together with our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders on a harmonised basis. We are therefore a member of the UN Global Compact and are committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report is based on the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
The fact that the MM Group is constantly making progress, both in ecological and in social matters, is due to the high sense of responsibility and the achievements of the entire MM team. We would like to thank our employees for their commitment.
This sense of responsibility, which we ask from ourselves as well as from our business partners, is set out in our Code of Conduct. Our CoC was already expanded in 2022 to include a commitment to the universal principles of the UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines. Objectives and resource allocation within the Group follow this direction. In addition, a Supplier Code of Conduct was defined in the financial year 2023, in which we commit to fair and ethical business relationships with our suppliers and vice versa and integrate social and environmental criteria.
The MM Group is a leading global producer of consumer packaging. The Group offers packaging solutions made of cartonboard and folding cartons with an attractive range of kraft papers, uncoated fine papers, leaflets and labels. MM promotes sustainable development through innovative, recyclable packaging and paper products that are based on renewable raw materials and are alternatives to plastic packaging.
The MM Group has an integrated structure with its two divisions, MM Board & Paper and MM Packaging, which operate at arm’s length. Cartonboard is the most important raw material for folding cartons, which are predominantly used for the packaging of everyday consumer goods. With around 15,087 employees, the Group produced 1,945,000 tonnes of cartonboard and 473,000 tonnes of kraft paper and uncoated fine paper as well as around 3,984 million m2 of packaging in 2023. In 2023, the MM Group generated sales of around EUR 4.2 billion. The MM Group operates in 33 countries with six cartonboard and paper mills, 64 packaging sites and one fibre mill and sells its products to over 140 countries worldwide. The Group’s most important market is Europe.
The MM Board & Paper division offers a wide range of products and services. It includes recycled and virgin fibre cartonboard qualities for a variety of consumer goods industries in the Food, Pharma & Healthcare and Cosmetics & Personal Care sectors. Papers are used for packaging solutions and technical applications (laminates) as well as for products in the office sector. Around 46 % of the division’s total fibre demand in 2023 was accounted for by virgin fibres and 54 % by recycled fibres. In addition to fibres, energy and coating chemicals for the cartonboard surface are the most important input factors in cartonboard production. Raw cartonboard is mainly used in the production of packaging. All of MM Board & Paper’s cartonboard and paper products are produced using renewable fibres. MM Board & Paper’s customers are primarily folding carton manufacturers, consumer goods producers and retailers.
MM Packaging is the leading producer of folding cartons in Europe with a leading position in several markets outside Europe and a market leader in secondary pharmaceutical packaging in Europe and North America. The division’s focus is placed on the production of packaging for everyday consumer goods in the Food, Premium & Specialities and Pharma & Healthcare sectors, including an attractive range of leaflets and labels. Recycled and virgin fibre cartonboard are used as raw materials in roughly equal proportions. In addition to cartonboard and paper, inks, varnishes and die-cutting tools are important input factors in the production of packaging, which is more labour-intensive but more energy-intensive than the cartonboard and paper production. MM Packaging’s customers include both multinational and local consumer goods producers.
The circular economy is an inherent part of our business activities as the production of cartonboard and paper products is our core business and these products are primarily manufactured using renewable raw materials and are fully recycled after use. In the current packaging debate, we are therefore set to offer new solutions for the substitution of plastics and create an attractive future potential based on innovative and competitive solutions made of cartonboard and paper.
As a producer of virgin fibre cartonboard, recycled cartonboard and folding cartons made of virgin and recycled fibres, the MM Group’s business includes all essential production steps to ensure the circularity of cartonboard.
In connection with the EU Circular Economy Package and the European Green Deal, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is highly relevant for MM, as is the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD). These regulations essentially aim to reduce and harmonise packaging waste across Europe. The overarching goal is to ensure that all packaging is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. Measures are also planned to reduce resource consumption by avoiding secondary packaging. The legislative process of the PPWR was in an intensive negotiation phase between the European Parliament and the EU Council in 2023 with the aim of developing a common position on the European Commission’s proposals. The MM Group views these legal requirements as an impulse for innovation, particularly with regard to further optimising the recyclability and substitution of single-use plastic packaging, among others in the food service sector.
Sustainable value creation and growth in the core business
The MM Group focuses on an excellent industrial production with a claim to innovation and technology leadership. In pursuit of an outstanding sustainability performance, we focus in particular on areas such as resource consumption, the circular economy, the safety and development of our employees, diversity, respect for human rights and the fight against corruption and bribery. Sustainable value creation and growth along the supply chain with a focus on the two core business divisions MM Board & Paper and MM Packaging is a central part of our Group’s strategy. Our Group-wide sustainability management enables us to systematically measure and further develop MM’s sustainability performance and thus meet the high demands of the market and our customers.
This enables us to tap into new sales areas and penetrate existing markets with competitive, innovative products and processes. We pursue growth both organically and through acquisitions.
Our strategic approach to non-financial issues in the context of business development allows for a holistic risk and opportunity management. This is because the areas of “Planet” (environment), “People” (employees) and “Prosperity” (society) give rise to various cost, revenue and sales drivers that have or could have an impact on our current and future business success.
A key sales driver is our focus on more sustainable, high-quality and highly functional packaging solutions, which we aim to live up to through the ongoing development of our range and innovations in line with changing market and consumer preferences. Our human resources are a fundamental value driver and guarantee that necessary changes and adjustments can be continuously made. Extensive training and further education programmes of the MM Group as well as measures for employee retention and recruitment help to ensure that the Group has sufficient qualified employees also in the long term to secure its market and competitive position and ensure further development and sustainable growth.
Costs in connection with non-financial matters result in particular from personnel, energy requirements, resource consumption and waste generated by the MM Group but also from a shortage of raw materials and CO2 certificates. Future cost drivers could result primarily from regulatory changes at national or EU level. Cyber security risks harbour potential costs, which the MM Group actively counters through comprehensive security strategies and initiatives. A key element of our efforts was the introduction of a far-reaching OT compliance project in the previous financial year, which gave us significant insights into improvements in the security of operational technology (OT). Our ongoing efforts to increase the security of industrial control systems include the revision of existing security protocols and the implementation of new, innovative technologies. These measures enable us to effectively counter cyber threats and proactively ensure OT security.
We see broad social developments as future opportunities for the MM Group’s business model. For example, advancing digitalisation and automation are increasing the efficiency of production processes and enabling cost savings as a result. Developments in the transport and logistics sector could contribute to fuel our labour cost savings. The trend towards urbanisation and smaller households as well as growing private consumption in emerging countries could contribute to increased sales in the future, for example through an increased demand for smaller product units. The acquisitions made in 2022 in the resilient pharma sector also significantly increased the Group’s market share and growth potential.
Taking into account the structural adjustments, the impact of non-financial issues and the correlation of related key performance indicators (KPIs) with the annual financial statements did not show any significant changes or particular differences in the last reporting periods. Overall, we consider the measures taken as part of sustainability management with regard to non-financial and financial aspects to be effective in minimising risks and optimising opportunities within the Group.
The goals of the European Green Deal, such as climate neutrality in Europe, can only be successfully achieved if money flows increasingly lead to sustainable investments. For this purpose, the EU Commission has elaborated the Taxonomy Regulation, which will make sustainability financially measurable and comparable, leading to increased transparency regarding sustainable activities. In 2021, the environmental targets “climate change mitigation” and “climate change adaption” were published, while four further environmental targets (related to sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems) were published during the reporting period 2023. As a listed company, the MM Group is obliged to disclose its activities in accordance with the Taxonomy Regulation.
The MM Group has reviewed the economic activities published by the EU Commission for the environmental goals “Climate change mitigation” and “climate change adaptation” with regard to their relevance for its own economic activities in terms of taxonomy eligibility and taxonomy alignment. For the environmental objectives “sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources”, “transition to a circular economy”, “pollution prevention and control” and “protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems” published during the reporting period 2023, an assessment of the taxonomy eligibility of the company’s own economic activities was carried out. In accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178, the key performance indicators (KPIs) relating to Turnover (Turnover KPI), Capital Expenditure (CapEx KPI) and Operating Expenditure (OpEx KPI) were calculated for 2023 and disclosed in the consolidated non-financial report. All relevant FAQs of the European Commission on Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 were taken into account.
The MM Group follows the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) framework in order to integrate climate-change-related risks and opportunities into existing reporting structures in the best possible way. The TCFD recommendations are organised into four areas: governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets, and support companies in reporting climate-related risks and opportunities in a consistent and comparable manner. As part of the reporting aligned with TCFD and to better understand the risks, impacts and opportunities associated with climate change, the MM Group updated and further deepened its initial climate risk analyses during the financial year 2023, including a year-long workshop in cooperation with an external consulting firm.