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Tangshan Sanyou is actively engaging its dissolving pulp suppliers and when required, is requiring risk mitigation measures in contracts |
Tangshan Sanyou has completed its second CanopyStyle Audit, the results of which confirm the Chinese viscose producer has diligently removed identified high risks in its supply chain.
The results of the independent audit into Tangshan Sanyou’s viscose raw material sourcing have been published by environmental not-for-profit organisation Canopy and third-party auditor NEPCon.
Key findings of the audit show, through policy implementation and continuous improvements, Tangshan Sanyou has taken meaningful action to improve transparency and to help fill information gaps when incomplete raw materials sourcing information was provided by some of its dissolving pulp suppliers.
The firm relies on more than a dozen suppliers of wood pulp, distributed in more than ten countries and various continents. It is said to be actively engaging its dissolving pulp suppliers and when required, is requiring risk mitigation measures in contracts with suppliers, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and science-based conservation planning of Ancient and Endangered Forests.
According to the results, Tangshan Sanyou has made significant improvements in its systems to comply with the CanopyStyle Audit, particularly in the areas of training, leadership group engagement, risk assessment, and commitments to increase the percentage of FSC-certified materials.
In addition to these system improvements, Tangshan Sanyou succeeded in producing viscose staple fiber with 50% post-consumer recycled cotton textiles.
“Tangshan Sanyou’s documented progress on raw material sourcing transparency, their support for landscape conservation planning, and their leadership in developing a new viscose product made from post-consumer recycled textiles are all clear demonstrations of the company’s strong commitment to CanopyStyle,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s executive director.
Moving forward, Canopy recommends:
- Adoption of ambitious public targets and timelines for increasing the use of next generation alternative fibres in a commercially competitive way.
- Continue to use ForestMapper and complementary guidance documents such as the advice note of Ancient and Endangered Forests and the Dissolving Pulp Classificationi to complete and share a risk assessment for all fiber supply inputs.
- For suppliers with potential risk of sourcing from key priority areas of Ancient and Endangered forests, continue to engage dissolving pulp suppliers, with Canopy’s support, to gain clarity on risk level and/or risk mitigation measures and work towards elimination of all risk.
“Our company appreciates the opportunity to learn about the impact of our supply on global forests,” said Dongbin Zhang, vice general manager of Tangshan Sanyou. “We are committed to continue to engage our dissolving pulp suppliers on science-based conservation solutions and to scale fibre innovations as demanded by the marketplace.”
The results of Tangshan Sanyou’s first CanopyStyle Audit were published in July 2018.
