PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2026 - What stands in the way becomes the way: The pulp and paper industry’s path through a hard global economy Jori Ringman, Director General, Cepi - Paper Technology International 2026 - Book - Page 16

PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2026 - What stands in the way becomes the way: The pulp and paper industry’s path through a hard global economy Jori Ringman, Director General, Cepi

This is not the first downturn in the history of pulp and paper.
But what makes this moment distinct is the complexity of the forces
at play:
•
Geopolitical tensions are reshaping trade patterns,
leading to unpredictability in imports, exports, and
access to key raw materials.
•
Regulatory shifts in Europe, including the rapid
rollout of sustainability legislation, have created both
opportunity and uncertainty, especially for long-lived
industrial assets.
•
Competition from regions with lower energy costs and
more stable policy environments continues to grow.
•
Consumer behaviour is changing, accelerated by
digitalisation, e commerce, and now -driven
frugality.
It is tempting to describe this simply as a “cycle.” But this
is more than a traditional economic downturn. It is a structural
point.
Yet this acknowledgment is precisely why I am optimistic.
Because industries that thrive through structural change are
those that do not wait for conditions to improve—they adapt to the
new conditions and help design the improved future themselves.
Resilience vs. Robustness: Two Sides of the Same Strength
We often praise resilience and robustness as if they were
the same. They are related—but they are not identical.
•
Robustness is the ability to withstand shock without
changing form. Think of a tree that bends in a storm but
remains unbroken.
•
Resilience, however, is the capacity to adapt,
reorganize, and recover—often emerging stronger after
disruption. It is the forest itself, which regenerates after
fire, insect damage, or drought.
Our sector has always been robust. Mills are capitalintensive, long-term industrial anchors in their regions. Their very
nature requires stability, safety, and durability. This robustness has
been our hallmark, our competitive advantage, and a foundational
reason why our products—renewable and recyclable—remain
essential to society.
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But today, resilience is becoming just as important.
Resilience is why companies across Europe are diversifying
product portfolios, shifting towards higher-value fibre-based
solutions, and investing in circularity and new biomaterials. It is why
we have seen bold, forward-looking decisions—from packaging
innovation to textile fibre development to advanced bio-based
chemicals—that would have seemed improbable two decades ago.
1. Robustness prevents collapse.
2. Resilience enables renewal.
3. An industry that possesses both is rare. Ours does.
Learning From Nature: Growth Always Follows Winter
Forests have always been among humanity’s greatest
teachers. Their cycles of disturbance and renewal offer lessons that
apply equally to ecological systems and economic ones.
After a hard winter, trees do not merely return to their prior
state—they begin a new cycle of growth.
Cold seasons, paradoxically, are essential. They reset
metabolic processes, conserve resources, and prepare the
ecosystem for spring.
This is not poetic metaphor. It is the biological reality of the
renewable resource at the heart of Europe’s bioeconomy.
Like the forest:
•
Our industry has deep roots—local, renewable,
knowledge-rich.
•
We draw strength from diversity: of products,
processes, regions, and talents.
•
We have natural cycles of expansion, consolidation,
innovation, and regeneration.
•
We evolve continuously, shaped by external pressures
but guided by internal dynamism.
A sector whose raw material is itself a model of circularity
and renewal is uniquely positioned to navigate economic ebbs and
flows.
This is why I am confident that today’s winter is not symbolic
of decline but a precursor to transformation.

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