Environment

Our history began in a forest… For nearly a century, Gascogne has been committed to the sustainable development of its most precious resource and the protection of its natural environment.

Natural Kraft paper is a bio-based material: it comes from a renewable resource that is renewed through sustainable management of the local Landes de Gascogne forest.

It has been manufactured in Landes since 1925 using an eco-responsible process that preserves its surrounding environment and is a natural biomaterial that is completely biodegradable and recyclable.

Renewable resource

Founded in 1925 by foresters in the Landes forest, “Papeteries de Gascogne” has sought to create a market for maritime pine by-products and promote the sustainable development of the forest.

To produce natural Kraft paper, we use a 100% local and sustainable resource:

By-products from forest maintenance: wood from thinning and treetops. Thinning is a natural process and is required for the proper maintenance of a cultivated forest. The aim is to remove weak and poorly developed trees in order to create more space for stronger trees to grow and to maintain the forest throughout its development.
Sawmill by-products (shavings, strips and edgings): this waste generated by cutting and processing wood intended for construction or furniture.
Bark, stumps and forest remnants: these are also used to power biomass boilers and generate energy.

A commitment to ZERO-WOOD WASTE

At Gascogne, we use every last bit of a piece of wood!

The Wood Division manages forestry and wood processing operations.
As a multi-specialist in indoor and outdoor home décor and the leading supplier of wood for pallets and packaging, Gascogne Bois has one of the largest sawmill capacities in France.
By-products and waste are used to create paper pulp
Stumps, bark and remnants power the biomass boiler

Gascogne favours the use of local certified sustainably managed raw materials and has been committed to the PEFC certification process since 2002.

Did you know?

Paper does NOT destroy forests!

In fact, by using forestry by-products and sawmill waste, the paper industry provides foresters with an invaluable resource to maintain forests and replant young trees.

A well-maintained forest is a true green lung for the planet, capturing CO2 and releasing oxygen. The carbon that is trapped in wood fibres remains stored in paper during its production and throughout its lifetime – including when it is recycled!

In France, forests cover a quarter of the country and grow by nearly 50,000 hectares a year. The Landes de Gascogne forest is a model of sustainable development and is the largest cultivated forest in western Europe.

Eco-responsible process

The Kraft process is a completely integrated and zero-waste manufacturing process: self-production of energy, recovery and regeneration cycles of all materials produced during the process, waste recycling.

Our everyday priorities: Environmental conservation, water and energy savings, reduced emissions, waste management, staff training and empowerment.

Energy and water savings

Energy recovery and optimised use are a major priority with a view to achieving greater autonomy at our production plant.
By using a closed-loop system and recovery boiler, the plant supplies nearly all of its own thermal energy (more than 95% of steam needs are self-produced) and around 50% of its electricity needs.
Water is one of our most precious resources today. This is why we are constantly seeking to reduce water consumption at the plant and return used water to the natural environment after purification.

Controlling and reducing emissions

Air quality
Improving air quality is a focus for Gascogne Papier’s investments in environmental conservation. Modern and efficient electrofilters have been installed to eliminate dust emissions into the atmosphere and curb fumes from wood cooking processes.
Water quality
Installation of a screening wash press to reduce waste water, rigorous water controls throughout the manufacturing process, water treatment plant for purification.
Waste water is treated via two independent lines: one for wood, pulp, energy and regeneration activities; and a second for paper machine waste.
A unique forest irrigation experiment using a portion of waste water is being carried out on 25 hectares of forest using a simple, innovative and highly effective technique.

Manufacturing waste management and recycling

In line with our zero-waste policy, all materials produced during the manufacturing process are recovered and recycled, from additives and treatments to cellulose fibres and more.
Papers that do not pass quality inspection and papers from manufacturing waste are completely recovered and recycled. When the final use allows it, certain products from the natural Kraft paper range are made with a high content of recycled fibres sourced from internal production waste. Unbleached long virgin fibres from maritime pine trees in the Landes de Gascogne forest are especially suited to recycling and lose few of their mechanical strength properties: they can be recycled up to seven times!

Did you know?

The paper industry is constantly reducing its emissions and consumption
In 1972, the French paper industry was essentially first sector to make a commitment to public authorities to control and reduce its emissions. Since that time, this contract has led to an 80% drop in plant waste production.
Paper production plants have also been able to considerably reduce their energy consumption per ton of products manufactured. Over the past decade, total energy has risen only 6% while paper and cardboard production have increased 31%.
Additionally, water consumption, the first indicator of environmental protection, has dropped 82% per ton of products manufactured.

Natural biomaterial

Brown Kraft paper is unbleached to retain the natural wood colour and keep chemical treatments to a minimum, making it a 100% natural biomaterial and a genuine ecological alternative: it is bio-based, biodegradable, recyclable and compostable.

Biodegradable

Kraft paper is a natural, biodegradable and compostable material.
Its pulp, made of long virgin maritime pine fibres, is unbleached to keep chemical treatments to a minimum and retain the natural wood colour.
Kraft paper is naturally biodegradable: like tree leaves, the paper breaks down into cellulose fibres naturally in just a few weeks and can be entirely absorbed by the environment without any impacts on the environment or human health.
Certain industries make use of composting their natural Kraft paper packaging. While Kraft paper is entirely biodegradable, this does not mean you should not dispose of it properly! Whenever possible, reuse the packaging or place it in a recycling bin.

Recyclable

Natural Kraft paper: a recyclable (and much-recycled) eco-material.
Natural Kraft paper is a single material that lends itself to recycling. Its long fibres, which can be recycled several times, make it a perfect base for managing packaging at the end of its lifecycle. When burned, it can also generate energy.
Paper and cardboard are the most recycled materials.
In France, a fibre is used an average of four to five times thanks to paper recycling. Throughout its lifetime and repeated recycling, paper is a genuine carbon sink. Find out more: http://www.lepapier.fr

Eco-products

Natural Kraft: an eco-product for eco-design. kraft_imprimé
A highly durable paper that can be used to make reusable packaging and reduce packaging weights.
The long unbleached virgin fibres in Kraft paper give it considerable mechanical strength. This type of paper is perfect for designing reusable packaging and reducing paper weights without losing strength.
Kraft offers several specific benefits to meet the ecological packaging needs of industrials and consumers alike.
See all our eco-products