Sylvamo Combines Love of Forests with a Focus on People

As the leading association for the North American pulp, paper, tissue, and packaging industries, TAPPI has a strong commitment to offering products and services that provide value and support industry growth and knowledge-sharing. That includes a commitment to producing its free-to-members magazine, Paper360°, in a print-and-paper edition. This honors the industries TAPPI serves—which is why members love and demand the printed publication.

Post-pandemic, rising costs were making it difficult to combine TAPPI’s goals of in-demand products with the lowest possible membership dues, so the association turned to the industry for a partner. The first company they approached was Sylvamo.

Created in 2021 when industry giant International Paper spun off its global printing papers business, Sylvamo now employs more than 6,500 people worldwide, with mills in Europe, Latin America, and North America. Its brands include HP Paper, Hammermill, Rey, and Accent. Sylvamo is a modern, forward-looking paper company with a long legacy in the industry, which matches how TAPPI views itself: deep roots plus new ideas.

Partnering with Sylvamo for donated paper stock gave Paper360° an exciting new look and feel—and lets TAPPI focus on its other educational programs, student outreach, and more. To better tell the story, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri spoke with Sylvamo’s media team for this exclusive interview.

Paper360°: Sylvamo is a relatively new company, yet it has deep roots in the industry. How does your unique story inform Sylvamo’s company culture?

SYLVAMO: Sylvamo’s roots extend more than a century into the paper industry. While we are a relatively new company, we have best-in-class paper mills in attractive regions, the world’s most iconic paper brands, and, in 2024, US$3.8 billion dollars in annual sales.

At Sylvamo, our entire business depends on the sustainability of forests. We are responsible stewards committed to sustaining the resources that enable our products. The word Sylvamo actually combines the Latin words for forest, “silva,” and love, “amo,” and we translate this unique combination as “love of forests.”

Our purpose is to produce the paper people need in the most responsible and sustainable ways. We know the future of paper deserves a company committed to the success of the entire ecosystem.

Our talented and engaged teams work to build a better future for people, the planet, and our company, and our 2030 goals (see sidebar) guide our continuous improvement toward sustaining forests, people and communities, and operating responsibly.

Most importantly, we put people before paper. The health, well-being and development of our 6,500 colleagues comes first. Engaged employees working safely and taking care of our customers is the foundation of our success. We support our communities by leveraging our people, products, and resources to support childhood education and other critical community needs. To protect the planet for future generations, we also continue to improve our stewardship of forests, air, and water.

Your community engagement includes paper donations—like the support you’re giving Paper360°. Yet uncoated freesheet has notoriously tight margins. How does Sylvamo make a business case for this kind of support?

Our community engagement efforts span far beyond donating paper. We believe that the future of paper deserves a company committed to the success of the entire ecosystem. From the forests we love, to the communities where we live, to those who rely on our paper, we know that the well-being of each depends on the well-being of all.

To accomplish our 2030 goal of supporting childhood education and critical community needs, we leverage our people (volunteers), products (paper donations), and resources (community grants and strategic partnerships) to support the communities where we live and work.

In 2024, we donated 56 pallets of paper in North America to support childhood education and educational organizations, which equates to 22,400 reams, or 11.2 million sheets. Additionally, we have invested US$14.4 million in partnerships and programs that support our strategic initiatives since 2021.

What makes TAPPI and Sylvamo a “good fit”?

TAPPI serves as a key platform for communication, resources, and thought leadership within our industry, and we’re proud to support it as The World’s Paper Company. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing the global reach and innovation for the paper industry.

By donating high-quality uncoated freesheet paper for TAPPI’s Paper360° magazine, we’ve helped elevate the publication’s look and feel—reinvesting back in our industry and reinforcing our mutual belief in the power of print.

How does Sylvamo see the role of paper in our culture evolving? What’s ahead for Sylvamo products?

We’re all-in on uncoated freesheet, the largest and most resilient paper segment globally with the highest number of end-use applications used in all sectors of the economy. This includes healthcare, education, finance, insurance, and government. The total demand for uncoated freesheet exceeds all other printing and writing grades combined. We also see the role of paper as a complement to the digital landscape, rather than a substitution. It’s a powerful tool to educate, communicate, and entertain. In fact, the parts of our brains that control motivational response are 20 percent more engaged when we view print advertising (USPS 2017). This leads to a 28 percent higher conversion rate when direct mail is paired alongside digital advertising (Mail Shark 2016) and purchases that are five times larger than those of email campaigns (US Small Business Association).

One thing that we do know for certain is that we will continue to produce the paper people need in the most responsible and sustainable ways.