Products and partnerships with the value chain and circularity

Percentage of products covered by life cycle assessments (LCAs)

Klabin presently conducts comprehensive life cycle assessments (LCAs) for 100% of its products, in accordance with the GHG Protocol’s Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, using a cradle-to-gate approach that considers all stages from raw material extraction to product shipment from plants, enabling traceability of production process sustainability. In packaging production, the most significant stage of the process is the manufacture of paper and pulp, which takes place 100% in-house.  

Life cycle impact assessments cover a range of environmental impacts, including depletion of abiotic resources (fossil and mineral), land use, water scarcity, acidification potential, particulate matter emissions, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, global warming potential (carbon footprint), ozone layer depletion, photochemical ozone formation, human toxicity and ionizing radiation.

The methodology adopted is based on the requirements of ISO 14040:2006 (Principles and Structure of Life Cycle Assessments) and ISO 14044:2006 (Requirements and Guidelines), in addition to the Environmental Footprint (EF) 3.0 method. The GHG Protocol Product Standard, ISO 14067 and the IPCC 2013 GWP 100 method are used to assess the Company's carbon footprint. The water footprint is calculated based on ISO 14046, which incorporates the Water Footprint Inventory and Assessment of Water Scarcity Potential (AWARE) methods. In addition, PAS 2050 is used, which provides guidelines for the consistent quantification and disclosure of impacts throughout the product life cycle.

SASB RR-PP-410a.1

Percentage of products covered by life cycle assessments (LCAs), by business

Currently, all Klabin businesses carry out life cycle assessments, and they calculate the water and carbon footprints for the products in their portfolios.

In 2024, LCA studies were expanded, with the following highlights:

• The packaging business' portfolio coverage increased from 48% to 57%. Pulp, paper and recycled products had already achieved 100% coverage in previous years;
• The increase in analysis coverage in the recycled products unit occurred due to the temporary stoppage of recycling operations in Paulínia. If this operation resumes, the percentage will return to previous levels;
• The percentage reduction observed in LCAs for industrial sacks was not due to the absence of studies, but to the reclassification of the Correia Pinto Plant, which is now recorded under manufacturing of paper for sack plants elsewhere. This change redistributed the Correia Pinto site's products to the paper business, affecting the percentage of bag products covered by a life cycle assessment.

In the coming years, the Company will continue to study units that have not yet been modeled in order to make its portfolio even more sustainable, focused on mitigating environmental impacts and strengthening similar initiatives among clients.

SASB RR-PP-410a.2

Reduction in environmental impact of packaging throughout its life cycle

As a manufacturer of products derived from renewable sources, Klabin seeks to develop and offer the market renewable and recyclable packaging. The products are customized for clients, featuring high technology and complexity, based on a combination of virgin and recycled fibers, promoting the rational and maximized use of natural resources.

The use of renewable, recyclable and biodegradable materials offers consumers the best and most sustainable options for lower-impact consumption. Klabin's bioproducts contribute to a low-carbon circular economy that meets the demands of a constantly changing society while respecting planetary challenges and limits.

In 2024, the Company underwent another cycle of improved environmental performance, cutting its CO₂ equivalent emissions per ton of output, reducing its specific water consumption, and using a more renewable energy supplies.

Resource efficiency benefits of product use for clients and consumers

In 2024, 93% of Klabin's energy supplies came from renewable sources, helping reduce the CO₂ footprint of its products and reflecting its commitment to the efficient use of natural resources and the adoption of increasingly renewable energy supplies.

Regarding water, Klabin constantly seeks to reduce its specific water use, and has cut the volume used to produce 1 ton of products by 50% since the 2004 base year. The Water Management Working Group, created to identify opportunities to reduce water withdrawal and consumption in plants, has contributed significantly to these results. The working group is composed of a multidisciplinary team from the Pulp, Paper and Packaging businesses, as well as representatives of the Research and Development, Innovation and Industrial Environmental Responsibility areas.

There has also been a reduction in the amount of CO₂ equivalent emitted per ton of output. The Company has so far cut its specific emissions by 70% compared to 2003. This calculation is based on the GHG Protocol methodology.

Benefits of products

Environmental criteria considered in product development

GRI-3-3  GRI-301-1  GRI-301-2  GRI-301-3  SASB-RR-PP-430a.1  SASB-RT-CP-430a.1 

Percentage of raw materials consumed from renewable sources

Klabin has three recycled paper production plants (two in Brazil's Southeast region and one in the Northeast), all with FSC® Chain of Custody certification. Recycled fibers are essential to the packaging business line. As well as using trimmings from its own mills, the Company maintains relationships with wholesale recyclable material suppliers that provide post-consumer trimmings.

Evolution of results from the use of recycled materials and recovered products

Wood is Klabin's primary raw material, accounting for approximately 98% of its total raw material input. The consumption of other materials has evolved in recent years as shown below:

One hundred percent of Klabin's products (paper and pulp) hold Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC-C022516) and Cerflor (PEFC-recognized) certifications. The raw material used in the processes undergoes rigorous verification to ensure compliance with forest management and chain of custody certification standards, thereby guaranteeing supply chain reliability.

GRI-301-1 SASB-RR-PP-430a.1

Materials used, by weight and volume (thousand metric tons)

In 2024, the volume of materials used remained virtually unchanged from the previous year, in terms of both renewable materials (up 3%) and non-renewable materials (down 3%).

The increased use of wood in the Company's processes was due to production demand to feed Paper Machine 28, which operated throughout the year.

The amount of trimmings bought from third parties was lower in 2024 than in 2023 because of reduced consumption, in line with the Company's operating strategies over the last two years.

There was also a decrease in the volume of pulp purchased compared to the previous year, due to lower cardboard production in Angatuba, São Paulo, and lower white paper production at the Correia Pinto Plant in Santa Catarina. These fluctuations were linked to expected market variations.

Percentage of recycled fiber used

In 2024, there was an increase in fiber production, resulting from increased production by Paper Machine 28. The use of recycled fibers fell by 3%, influenced by increased use of virgin fiber and lower use of recycled fiber.

Revenue from products that are reusable, recyclable or biodegradable

Percentage of recycled or sustainably sourced materials

Collection of data on recovered products and packaging

The amount of certified material increased by 2% compared to 2023, due to the incorporation of new forestland as part of the Caetê Project. These figures reflect Klabin's efforts to optimize and encourage the supply of certified products at its mills.

As for the share of products sold, there was a 1% increase compared to 2023, due to higher consumption of wood and lower consumption of chemicals in the Company's processes.

Percentage of products and packaging recovered for each product category – GRI 301-3

Total aluminum purchased

The Company does not purchase aluminum for its processes.

Recalls

The Company did not have any recall operations in 2024. In other words, no Klabin products presented safety risks or were found to be noncompliant with applicable regulations.

Conflict minerals

100% of Klabin’s products are free of materials that are hazardous to the environment and human health. None of the raw materials used include minerals and/or other chemicals sourced from high-conflict areas, in accordance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

The year 2024 saw significant progress in circular economy management at Klabin, including the following notable initiatives:

• Development of a project and opportunity monitoring dashboard to map ongoing work and identify new areas;
• Creation of Circular Economy Working Group – a multidisciplinary team that coordinates different areas, monitors indicators for existing initiatives, identifies risks, opportunities and dependencies, and promotes measures to strengthen the circularity agenda.

The Company is committed to a business model geared toward solving the challenges posed by the linear economy, such as issues related to the use of natural resources, marine pollution and waste generation. Accordingly, it takes a cross-cutting approach, promoting the circular economy in a comprehensive manner, considering the way manufacturing units operate, the development of more circular products and materials, the treatment of products after use, and partnerships for circularity in the value chain.

This approach is formally established in the Sustainability Policy and promotes circularity through partnerships for new business models and eco-efficient product and process design, maximizing the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials in the value chain and new applications for industrial byproducts.

The promotion of circular industrial operations encompasses the use of technology and innovation to enable byproducts to be reused, recycled, reincorporated or repurposed in production processes. In this pillar of action, Klabin has made a public commitment to send zero industrial waste to landfills by 2030. Examples of circular industrial operations:

• Sludge drying (Ortigueira Plant): Drying of biological and tertiary sludge generated at the effluent treatment plants of the Company's Monte Alegre and Ortigueira sites, yielding up to 17,000 metric tons per month. The dried sludge can be used for energy recovery, serving as a renewable fuel in biomass boilers.
• Potassium sulfate plant (Ortigueira Plant): Potassium is one of the main ingredients in fertilizer formulations. The Company's plant produces potassium sulfate by processing ash generated in the site's recovery boiler. The facility can produce up to 22 metric tons of this potassium sulfate per day.
• Sulfuric acid plant (Ortigueira Plant): This is the first plant of its kind in the Americas in a pulp and paper mill, with a production capacity of 150 metric tons of concentrated acid per day, enabling the unit to be self-sufficient in this input. The acid is produced from the waste gases from the wood cooking process, which contain sulfur, using renewable energy from the combustion of biomass and black liquor.
• Waste Center (Ortigueira and Monte Alegre plants): Industrial waste such as sludge, ash, dregs and wood bark is sent to the Waste Center to produce agricultural inputs ("eco-soil"). Some of the output is donated to food producers participating in the Klabin Transforma Matas Sociais Program. In turn, some of the food produced in this program is purchased by the Company's canteens and by Klabin Ecological Park.

Through research and development, the Company seeks to offer solutions based on renewable materials as alternatives to non-renewable ones. Some examples that illustrate this approach:

• Ecomix bags: These bags eliminate traditional cement bag waste, solving a major challenge in the management, sorting and recycling of this type of packaging, which now has a negative carbon footprint.
• Delivery packaging: In 2023, a major food delivery client adopted paper packaging to replace other materials. This packaging is produced by Klabin and contributes to the delivery firm's strategy to eliminate plastic from transported food.
• Bag in box: Klabin developed this paper packaging for paints, which made it possible to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources.

The treatment of products after use includes acting as a recycler of post-consumer materials. At the Company's São Paulo and Pernambuco plants, thousands of tons are recycled annually, sourced from a supply network that covers almost all Brazilian states.

The Company continues to work to identify more opportunities for circularity projects while strengthening its Circular Economy Working Group and developing a Resource Use and Circularity Plan. This plan will outline the current landscape, the Company's implementation strategy and its goals related to this topic.

Aterro Zero Certification

Klabin adopts an strategic and robust approach to environmental management across all its operational units. Facilities are certified under the ISO 14001 standard, a certification granted by independent external audits that ensures the company maintains an effective environmental management system. These audits include a comprehensive assessment of the environmental aspects and impacts of operations, covering solid waste management, reuse and recycling indicators, as well as performance in meeting public environmental targets (in accordance with Requirement 6 of the ABNT NBR ISO 14001:2015 standard).

Among these targets, the Company highlights its public commitment to eliminate the disposal of industrial solid waste in landfills by 2030, effectively aligning its operations with the principles of a “zero landfill” approach.

Additionally, the indicator measuring the percentage of industrial waste recycling and reuse is verified annually by an independent third party as part of the audit process for the indicators linked to the Company’s Sustainable Linked Bonds (SLB) — being one of the key performance indicators associated with these bonds.

Since formalizing this commitment, Klabin has made consistent progress, reaching its best historical performance in 2024, with 99.35% of industrial waste being reused, repurposed, or recycled.

Another highlight is the Company’s current efforts focused on addressing the remaining 0.65%, through the pursuit of technological solutions that enable industrial symbiosis. This includes exploring opportunities for recycling, repurposing, and, when applicable, energy recovery from waste — always aligned with the principles of the circular economy and the generation of environmental, social, and economic value.