Braskem Green Plastic in the stationery segment: 100% sustainable notebooks

Braskem, the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the leading producer of biopolymers, and Ledesma , a leader in natural agro-industrial products, have created Ledesma+Bio, a line of 100% sustainable notebooks, produced entirely from sugarcane. The release is part of the commitment to Braskem’s Circular Economy , a concept of production process that includes the reduction, reuse, recovery and recycling of materials, forming a sustainable cycle from production to reintegration into a new production process.

Innovative in the market, the notebooks have a bioplastic cover and back cover, produced with Braskem’s  Green Polyethylene I’m green^TM . The pages of the notebooks are made of sugar cane fiber and have a natural color, because no chemical bleachers are used in their production, thus contributing even more to the environment. The launch won the “Sustainable Product of the Year 2019“ award, given by the Business Intelligence Group , which, since 2012, awards companies and people who present innovative solutions.

Produced by Braskem, Green Polyethylene is a plastic resin that uses sugarcane as a raw material in its production, achieving a negative carbon balance in the process, since the plant is a renewable source that captures 3.09 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during production. This contributes to its regeneration and to the reduction of the greenhouse effect, which in turn allows it to be cultivated again.

Green Plastic can be inserted in the same recycling chains as polyethylene of fossil origin. The product, launched in 2010, was the first biopolymer produced worldwide on an industrial scale.

“The Ledesma+Bio line is the first 100% sustainable product in the stationery industry. This product stands out because 95% of its covers and back covers and 100% of its pages were produced from sugarcane,” explains Ledesma’s product director, Maria Miglio.

According to Rafaela Baldin, Braskem’s Renewables Account Manager, this jointly developed project is part of Braskem’s commitment to the environment and the Circular Economy, which characterizes and guides the company’s productive activities. “Braskem seeks to create sustainable solutions. In this sense, the creation of the Ledesma+Bio line represents our sustainability values and the commitment to market players who are looking for an ecologically correct option,” she says.

The Brazilian company Confetti is responsible for transforming Braskem’s Green Plastic into recyclable plastic sheets and covers: “Confetti is in charge of transforming the plastic resin produced by Braskem and, using specialized machinery, extract and transform the Green Polyethylene into plastic sheets with previously determined measurements, thickness and texture,” explains the company’s director, Carlos Rettmann. “The novelty that comes to the stationery sector is another very important step for Green Plastic,” he concludes.

About Ledesma
Ledesma S.A.A.I (Industrial Agricultural Corporation) is an Argentinean agro-industrial company that employs 8 thousand people, leads the national sugar and paper markets and has an important participation in the segments of fruits and citrus juices, meat and cereals, alcohol and bioethanol. Ledesma has over 50 years of experience in the manufacture of paper from sugar cane in the province of Jujuy, Argentina.

About Confetti
Confetti Indústria e Comercio Ltda. is a company created in 1982 in São Paulo, Brazil. It operates in the stationery products and plastic sheet production markets.