Challenges become business opportunities

SCA has the opportunity to meet social and environmental needs and improve well-being for millions of people. Through the innovation of products and business models, challenges can be transformed into business opportunities and form the basis for our future offerings.

SCA develops innovations for people and nature. These new solutions offer improvements for the user or for the environment thanks to superior materials, function of design, or more efficient processes or logistics. Innovations that meet needs in new and sustainable ways will give us a competitive advantage.

Systematic creativity

SCA’s innovation process starts with insight about a need or with a new technical solution. By maintaining close proximity to our customers and consumers, understanding their needs and transforming this knowledge into products and solutions, SCA makes a positive contribution to people’s everyday lives. By integrating environmental issues and social needs into the innovation process, we can monitor how we improve the sustainability profile of our innovations.


People & Nature Innovations (icon)People & Nature Innovations (icon)

TARGET

We will deliver better, safe and environmentally sound solutions to our customers. We strive to continuously improve resource efficiency and environmental performance considering the whole life cycle for new innovations.

OUTCOME 2016

40% of SCA’s innovations improved in terms of social and/or environmental criteria.

Examples of SCA’s people and nature innovations include TENA Lady Pants, Tork SmartOne and Okay Compressé.


Big for being small

During the year, SCA launched a new household towel in France, Okay Compressé. What’s clever is the size: the compact household towel is as effective and has as many sheets as a normal Okay towel but is only half the size of a standard towel.

“Okay Compressé is just as good in the kitchen and is better for the environment”, says Nicolas Estrella, Global Technical Innovation Manager at SCA.

The household towel has been compacted using innovative technology that has been patented. Packaging is 30% smaller and truck transportation has fallen by 36%. This helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% in the product’s whole life cycle. Being small really is big news.

Okay Compressé’s kitchen rolls (photo)
Through the use of a patented compression technology, Okay Compressé’s kitchen rolls are half the size of standard kitchen rolls. (photo)

Through the use of a patented compression technology, Okay Compressé’s household towels are half the size of standard household towels.


New Tork SmartOne reduces paper consumption

Tork SmartOne toilet paper (photo)

The Tork SmartOne toilet paper dispenser is designed for use in schools, hospitals, stadiums, railway stations and other environments with stringent demands on cost control and hygiene. Consumption of toilet paper can be reduced by up to 40% compared with traditional jumbo roll dispensers. Only one sheet is dispensed at a time, which also reduces the risk of pipe blockages.


Reduced climate impact from packaging paper

Kraftliner packaging paper (photo)

SCA produces , a fresh fiber-based packaging paper, at its plants in Obbola and Munksund in Sweden. During 2006–2016, the carbon footprint of the product decreased by 30% as the result of a long-term investment program to develop the kraftliner mills and a continuous, highly prioritized program to replace with . One example is an investment in a new lime kiln that is fueled with pellets instead of oil at the Munksund facility, which reduced annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 20,000 tons or 75%.


CIRCULAR OPPORTUNITIES

Circular Economy 100 program (CE100) (icon)Circular Economy 100 program (CE100) (icon)

Companies and society will need to think in new and innovative ways as part of the transfer from a linear economy, where we manufacture new and dispose of the old, to a , where we minimize resource consumption and waste, and instead recycle and reuse.

SCA has become a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 program (CE100), which was started to help companies and organizations develop new circular solutions. Membership offers SCA new insights and ideas that can be converted into innovations and business solutions which contribute to creating a circular society. SCA places considerable emphasis on the problem of post- and is working to solve this issue.

Like everyday underwear

TENA Lady Pants (photo)

TENA Lady Pants is an absorbent, disposable pant that feels like your everyday underwear.

Protection is of course the first consideration when you use incontinence products, but why compromise on discretion or appearance? TENA’s innovation team has taken this wish and created TENA Lady Pants, the TENA product that is closest yet to everyday underwear.

TENA Lady Pants is an absorbent, disposable pant with a feminine design and cotton feel, it looks like your everyday underwear and protects against leakage, odor and moisture. A thinner core and anatomic fit combine with the cotton feel to offer greater comfort and discretion. In addition, the thinner design makes the product better for the environment by reducing its climate impact by 19%.

Kraftliner
Packaging paper primarily made of fresh wood.
Fossil fuel
Coal, fuel oil and natural gas.
Biofuel
Renewable fuel from wood and process residues.
Circular economy
Economic models in a company, society or an organization where a circular closed-loop is used instead of a linear model.
Post-consumer waste
Waste generated after a product has been used, for example, used diapers, feminine care products and tissue.