The recycling of wood, along with its importance for business competitiveness, is a significant ally to the challenge of climate change.

We currently have an ambitious strategy underway to increase the incorporation of recycled wood up to 85% in some of our industrial units, while guaranteeing the final product quality.

For that, numerous investments are being made, namely the acquisition of state-of-the-art recycling equipment, that assures both the capacity to incorporate more recycled products and greater efficiency in waste wood processing.

On the other hand, in our industrial units, we continue to promote innovative solutions that are supported by an ambitious investment plan. These solutions will enable us to achieve levels of recycled wood incorporation in the different product ranges that will continue to set the global standard.

Our commitment

In 2024, Sonae Arauco secured a Sustainability-Linked Loan worth €200 million.

One of the sustainability performance targets (SPTs) defined for this loan is to increase the incorporation of recycled wood by 9.3 percentage points by 2029*. 

* Calculated based on total wood consumption in thousands of dry tonnes (%) in the reference year 2021.

Increasingly - and more innovative - incorporation

Although the use of recycled wood in the production of particleboard (PB) is well established in the industry, Sonae Arauco continues to innovate.

In Mangualde, the first fibreboard recycling line recently came into operation, a pioneering project that allows us to transform, for the first time on an industrial scale, end-of-life MDF panels into raw material for new production. This is an important milestone, not only for our company, but for the evolution of the industry towards a more circular economy. 

A new generation of recycled MDF

BioReFiber X represents a new generation of MDF, developed based on the principles of circularity and low environmental impact. 

This innovative solution, scheduled for launch in 2026, integrates recycled MDF fibres and a resin from renewable sources, replacing fossil raw materials.

This will result in a reduction in CO₂ emissions of up to 25%.