Papers 
That’s why we created this glossary, to offer you a complete guide on key sustainability terms in the paper industry and discover the language of our paper: kind, sustainable and certified.
The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that aims to reuse materials for as long as possible. The benefits are: extension of the life cycle of materials, reduction of both virgin raw materials and waste. It opposes the linear economy model where a product, after its primary use, becomes waste.
Upcycling means to use waste materials in the creation of new products which will have a greater value than the original. Upcycling is not synonymous with recycling, but it is something that goes beyond. Recycled paper is the material produced with cellulose fibres from recycled paper and board, while our upcycled ecological paper is obtained from the creative reuse of industrial waste from other supply chains.
Industrial symbiosis is the process in which traditionally separate industries integrate their processes to promote competitive advantages through an exchange of materials, energy, water and, in the case of Favini and its ecological papers, through by-products.
The brand we created to bring together our papers with the highest ecological credentials. From the ingredients to the energy and process used, from recyclability to biodegradability to CO2 offsetting.
Offsetting CO2 emissions means balancing the amount of CO2 generated by an activity through forestry action capable of absorbing it or by developing energy efficiency projects or the use of renewable sources that avoid producing it. These projects, properly implemented and certified, generate carbon credits that are sold on the voluntary market. Anyone who wants to offset emissions can buy these credits and thus co-finance the interventions with the guarantee that each credit purchased corresponds to a tonne absorbed or avoided.
Renewable energy sources, unlike non-renewable ones, are forms of energy that respect natural resources, are not subject to depletion and have a limited environmental impact.
The carbon footprint is the parameter that determines the environmental impacts that activities of anthropic origin have on climate change and so, therefore, on global warming. In fact, the data allows us to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere caused by a product, a service, an organisation, an event or an individual, generally expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent*, calculated over the entire life cycle of the system under analysis.
*Taking as a reference for all greenhouse gases the effect associated with the main one, carbon dioxide, calculated equal to 1.
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method for evaluating and quantifying the environmental footprint of a product or service along its entire life cycle, from the acquisition of raw materials to the end of its life. The calculation ranges, in fact, from the extraction phases of the product’s constituent raw materials, to its production, distribution, use and final disposal, returning the environmental impact values associated with its life cycle.
Acronym of Sustainable Development Goals. These are goals to be achieved in the environmental, economic, social and institutional fields that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, i.e. an action programme to build a sustainable world by 2030. The goals set for sustainable development have a global validity, concern and involve all countries and components of society. Countries are called to define their own sustainable development strategy, communicating the results achieved within a process coordinated by the UN.
Recycled material is divided into: Industrial and commercial waste collection (Pre-Consumer Waste), i.e. a paper material taken from the waste stream during a manufacturing process and which has not created a commercial value as it has not reached the final user (e.g. printing waste, paper and paper converting waste); Domestic and end user waste streams (Post-Consumer Waste), i.e. paper products generated by domestic, commercial and industrial establishments, as the end users of the product, coming from an ecological segregation route and disposal centres where community and industrial recycled waste collection is offered.
Paper produced with cellulose not bleached with elemental chlorine, Cl2, which produces chlorinated organic compounds, that are harmful to the environment.
The ISO 9706 standard specifies the characteristics that paper must have for long time preservation, such as weight, resistance to tearing, alkaline reserve, maximum quantity of easily oxidizable substances, pH range of a cold aqueous extract.
Article 11 of Directive 94/62/EC sets a limit on the concentration of heavy metals in packaging. In particular, the sum of the concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium must not exceed 100 ppm.
Cotton fibres from textile rags and cotton waste.
Cotton linters are the short fibres found around the seed and due to their reduced length, are classified as pre-consumer waste from the textile and seed oil industry and are a precious resource for other supply chains.
Residues from wool textile production, often left as waste beside carding, spinning and weaving machinery.
Residues from the leather production: the shavings that are generated in the tanning phase, and the scraps of the manufacturing processes.
Bamboo is an abundant renewable natural resource, from which cellulose is obtained. It is a very fast growing plant, unlike trees.
By-products derived from the agro-industrial sector. They are waste from other supply chains that are recovered and reused as raw material according to the principles of circular economy and industrial symbiosis.
Cellulose fibres obtained from annual or biannual crops. Some examples are: bamboo, bagasse, esparto grass (halfah), hemp, agave, cotton.
Overabundant algae from fragile marine environments, harvested to preserve the ecosystem.
Paper obtained using fibres that do not come from trees but from fast-growing plants (e.g. bamboo and cotton)
A material that can be reused effectively and efficiently to produce new paper with a quality suitable for the market.
The European code for packaging made of corrugated cardboard, non-corrugated cardboard and paper.
Substance or product which can undergo biological degradation or biodegradation.
Material which, after biodegradation, does not release substances which can inhibit the growth of other organisms.
Paper that does not use carbon black as a dye as it is considered potentially dangerous.
This term refers to an organism whose genome has not been modified to give it certain characteristics.
Paper that complies with the Reach regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) in relation to the chemicals used in it.
Paper free of optical brighteners (Optical Brightening Agents).
Non-acidic paper, but alkaline as it contains substances (generally calcium carbonate – CaCO3) to give it an alkaline characteristic.
Paper made with selected recycled fibres.
The EN 71 (in Italy UNI EN 71) is a European technical standard which governs the safety requirements of toys (therefore also the paper that is used to produce school items or that comes into contact with children).
The Oddy test is a procedure, created by the British Museum in 1973, used to determine whether or not a material is appropriate for use in an enclosed space with artworks or other cultural heritage artefacts.
Treatment that makes the paper resistant to humidity, often required for labels on bottles to be refrigerated.
Mildew resistant papers
PLA is a thermoplastic polymer that derives from natural sugars, such as corn starch and sugar cane residues, and represents a viable sustainable alternative to petroleum-derived plastic.
International reference standard for the certification of Quality Management Systems.
International reference standard for the certification of Environmental Management Systems.
International reference standard for the certification of occupational health and safety systems.
The FSC™ label guarantees that the forest products used come from responsibly harvested and verified sources.
International reference standard for the certification of Quality Management Systems
Ecolabel for electricity produced from renewable sources, in particular from owned hydroelectric plants.
The partner who certifies the offsetting of unavoidable CO2 emissions.
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