Thousands of industrial paper rolls were set for landfill as a result of the Russia-Ukraine War – thankfully, Finnish eco paper specialist Carccu lived up to its circular economy principles by redirecting this waste-bound consignment to a French buyer

Carccu, a Finnish packaging materials company based in Sastamala, is not currently manufacturing or delivering orders coming from Russia. This recently left the export-focused company with a consignment of 18,000 rolls of paper, which were in danger of ending up as landfill. Thankfully, Carccu’s Managing Director Lasse Borg successfully re-directed the consignment to a buyer in France.

“The most important thing is that our paper doesn’t end up as landfill and is instead recycled as part of the recent move towards the circular economy. We protect the environment by using existing materials for as long as possible, instead of always producing new ones. We also sell some of the usable surplus material generated through our production processes to other companies as packaging materials,” says Borg.
Borg emphasises that environmental issues are at the heart of every aspect of Carccu’s operations. Among other things, this means that the company is committed to producing environmentally friendly packaging materials by using environmentally friendly methods.

“We operate in a responsible and ethically sustainable way, and we are actively creating better, more environmentally friendly packaging alternatives. We want to lead the way in creating ecologically sound practices. To do this, we take the environment into account in everything we do; from start to finish. We have a wide range of environmentally friendly and recyclable materials, and we favour fossil-free electricity, reuse as much surplus material as possible, and promote the values and practices of the circular economy throughout our products’ lifecycle.

Anticipating the situation in Ukraine

Carccu is closely monitoring the sanctions imposed on Russia and their effects. The company has taken proactive measures to ensure its factory keeps running even in the worst-case scenarios.
“We have more goods and supplies in stock than normal to help keep our production running,” Borg explains.
Carccu has decided to donate the proceeds from the sale of the waste-bound paper rolls to the victims of the war in Ukraine.

The Carccu® story is one of Finnish entrepreneurship and a passion for finding the packaging solution that best supports our customers’ brands and makes the most economic sense. Olli Borg, who is still involved in the company, assembled the first printing press in the late 1980s at EPP Packing’s premises in the Finnish national landscape of Rautavesi, in the Karkku area of Sastamala. In fact, the company’s name was inspired by this location – Carccu is an anglicised spelling of the Finnish place name, Karkku. Since then, Carccu’s history has been characterised by a pioneering approach to Finnish ‘flexographic printing’ while keeping the company’s feet firmly on the ground and eyes fixed on the future. From the very beginning, Carccu has also sought international growth, and this has led to an established tradition in exports. Over the years, the company’s pioneering vision and innovative ethos has transformed Carccu into Finland’s leading printing house specialising in customised packaging solutions.