At the 18th edition of annual event European Paper Week (EPW), the new Director General of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), Sylvain Lhôte, and its Chairman, Peter Oswald (CEO Mondi Group, Europe & International Division) outlined the ambitious investment agenda of the pulp and paper industry towards achieving its 2050 vision of a low carbon and resource efficient bioeconomy.
Building on the roadmap it had laid out in 2011, industry reaffirms its vision of leading Europe’s bioeconomy transition towards 2050 by cutting its carbon footprint by 80%, while creating more than 50% more added value.
![Sylvain Lhôte, Director General CEPI [© CEPI]](https://www.forestplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016_11_22_epw_02_sylvain_lhC3B4the_600px.jpg "Sylvain Lhôte, Director General CEPI [© CEPI]")
“Investment will be the cornerstone of making this industry transformation happen in Europe”, said Lhôte at the High-Level Session at the event. “We project the need for 40% more investment to transform our industry base and seize new market opportunities. This can happen in Europe if we align European policies, research efforts and financing conditions. Our agenda goes against the gloom prevailing in so many industries. For CEPI, getting the conditions right to invest more in Europe will be the priority,” he concluded.
The industry currently invests €3 to €3.5 billion per year in Europe. The capital expenditure to deploy decarbonization technologies in Europe and develop production of new bio-based products would require an additional €44 billion by 2050, or 40% more than current levels.
The key findings of the roadmap review that CEPI experts carried out in 2016 are now available for consultation from stakeholders in the discussion paper ‘Making industry transformation happen in Europe’. The goal is to broaden the collective input of the document through seeking consultation with key stakeholders on enabling conditions for industry transformation and to table a revised roadmap in early 2017. //FTP
![From left to right: Peter Oswald, Chairman of CEPI and CEO Mondi Group, Europe & International Division; Matthias Hellstern, Managing Director, Moody’s; Stephen Blyth, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, SAPPI; Mari Pantsar, Director, Sitra; Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times; Harald Jahn, Head of Agribusiness and Rural Development Division, European Investment Bank. [© CEPI]](https://www.forestplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016_11_22_epw_01_600px.jpg "From left to right: Peter Oswald, Chairman of CEPI and CEO Mondi Group, Europe & International Division; Matthias Hellstern, Managing Director, Moody’s; Stephen Blyth, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, SAPPI; Mari Pantsar, Director, Sitra; Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times; Harald Jahn, Head of Agribusiness and Rural Development Division, European Investment Bank. [© CEPI]")
Download CEPI’s discussion paper ‘Making industry transformation happen in Europe’.
