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“Paper that Plants Trees… Goes to School”: the 2026 edition concludes with over 400 students involved

The 2026 edition of the educational project “Paper that Plants Trees… Goes to School”, promoted by Cartiere Carrara in collaboration with the Regional School Office of Tuscany, has successfully concluded with strong participation. The final sessions, held on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 March, involved more than 400 students from across Tuscany. For the first time, activities at the company had to be organised over two days, confirming the growing interest in the project.

During their visits to Cartiere Carrara’s production sites, students had the opportunity to observe the tissue paper manufacturing process at first hand, from the parent reel through to converting and packaging. This hands-on experience enabled them to understand the value of the paper supply chain, the role of technological innovation, and the company’s commitment to sustainability.

Among the activities, students took part in planting new trees at Kilometroverde Lucca – the “Paper that Plants Trees Forest”, an area previously abandoned and now restored thanks to a reforestation project launched in 2020, which has already led to the planting of around 1,200 native species to recreate a typical Tuscan woodland. Here, students contributed to the creation of a Tiny Forest, a micro-forest capable of rapidly increasing biodiversity, improving air quality, and helping to tackle climate change.

As part of the project, aimed at primary and lower secondary schools, a number of classroom sessions were also held to explain how everyday products such as tissues, paper handkerchiefs and kitchen towels are made, while also exploring environmental sustainability, the value of work, and the role of technology.

Topics such as responsible consumption, proper recycling and supply chain traceability were also addressed, helping students to understand the impact of everyday actions.

Among the new features of this edition were two educational tools developed together with Compagnia delle Foreste, a publishing house specialising in design, communication and scientific outreach in the forestry and environmental sector: a video and a comic titled “From Tissue to Tree”, a reverse journey guiding students from paper back to the natural origin of the raw material.

“Helping to prepare younger generations for the challenges of tomorrow means introducing them to sustainability in a practical way, supporting their understanding and offering opportunities to engage with the production world, discovering its dynamics, skills and innovation at first hand, while also giving them the chance to take part through simple yet meaningful actions, such as planting a tree,” said Mario Carrara, Vice President of Cartiere Carrara. “The interest, questions and engagement we have seen over these days confirm the value of this project, which brings together education, local communities and responsibility.”

The initiative forms part of Cartiere Carrara’s broader environmental commitment, which through its forestry projects has already contributed to the planting of over 15,000 trees, with ambitious targets set for 2030.

In light of the excellent feedback received, the company confirms its intention to continue and further strengthen the educational project, contributing to the development of future generations on sustainability-related topics.

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LANGUAGE: IT | EN

info@cartierecarrara.com

LANGUAGE: IT | EN

info@cartierecarrara.com

LANGUAGE: IT | EN

info@cartierecarrara.com

Polycyclic Plantations

In the area of Badia Pozzeveri, not far from our production hub in Capannori, we set up a series of continuous cycle plantations where trees and shrubs with different growth and cutting patterns coexist. They are constantly replanted after cutting, or grow back autonomously from shoots, thus guaranteeing constant natural coverage over time. From the eco-environmental standpoint, polycycle plantations requalify a flat area that used to have only residual agricultural value, improving the local habitat, regulating the absorption of rainwater, and conserving carbon stock in the soil.  

Natural polycyclic plantations are usually composed of an alternation of: 

  • Medium–long-cycle plants, cut at 15–40-year intervals from planting (hazelnut, cherry, oak, maple, ash, linden) for wood used as structural timber or for manufactured products.
  • Short-cycle plants, cut at 8–14-year intervals from planting (in particular poplar) for the production of paper or packaging.
  • Very short-cycle plants, cut at 6–7-year intervals from planting (e.g. plane) and used as firewood.
  • Shrubs that are not cut, and contribute to maintaining soil coverage.

 

This varied composition ensures that the different species are cut at different times, allowing any intervention to have a modest impact on the landscape and on the habitats created. Furthermore, the limited agricultural practices required by this management approach allow for preservation of the carbon stock in the soil, and avoid further aggravating global warming due to the massive repetition of tree cutting and replanting.

This type of planning and management of the woods – which includes the permanence of at least 30-40% of the trees after each cutting cycle – allows us to pair different productive species (namely those providing firewood, structural or construction timber, and wood for the production of cellulose) with the logic of permanent topsoil coverage and biodiversity protection.

The wood management method created by polycyclic plantations entails multiple benefits: productive, visual, bio-ecological benefits in terms of habitats for animal species (protecting local biodiversity), regulation of rainwater, and conservation of carbon stock in soil. All thanks to the limited cutting practices (and the permanence of a large part of the woods), which however supply local production chains, including those dedicated to poplar wood and to cellulose production for paper manufacturing.

Kilometroverde® - Lucca.

The Cartiere Carrara Group celebrates 150 years of history.

Kilometroverde® - Lucca.

The initiative was born in collaboration with Rete Clima, and consists of a 1-kilometre linear forestation project along the southern section of the A11 motorway between the exits of Lucca Est and Capannori, which runs along the company’s plants.
Trees and shrubs were planted on land that used to be bare, and a typical Tuscan forest was reconstituted to replace an existing, neo-formed woodland that had been of limited value for the forest and wider ecosystem. The area was repopulated with autochthonous species of trees and shrubs, reviving a forest type historically present in the Tuscan area but now significantly reduced due to agricultural activities and industrial sites that have developed on the land over time. This type of “linear plantation” is an innovative strategy for the area, intended to have a protective function and to mitigate local environmental impacts. Kilometroverde® Lucca will take on a triple function over time: physical and visual separation barrier between land and motorway; woodland (a true and proper green lung) able to capture the particulate pollutants produced by vehicular traffic (the well-known PM); and concrete tool for a strategy to develop natural continuity with existing sections of woods.
The positive impact of this intervention is not limited to the local territory: like all new forestation initiatives, Kilometroverde® – Lucca will allow us to increase the total absorption of CO2 and contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming.

Kilometroverde® – Lucca will be certified according to the PEFC standard for Sustainable Forest Management. .

The Cartiere Carrara Group celebrates 150 years of history.

With the acquisition of the Caldaroni Group, the Cartiere Carrara Group is born, paving the way for new growth and future goals.

The Carrara family’s activities are brought back together under the aegis of Cartiere Carrara S.p.A., thus unifying their resources and consolidating their position in the industry.

Mario Carrara’s branch of the family decides to resume the activities previously excluded from the 2002 transfer, starting from Cartiera Carma, of which it had always maintained exclusive ownership. With fresh new impetus, the family re-enters the professional and consumer tissue market.

The turn of the millennium brings new opportunities. Cartoinvest is sold to the multinational SCA.

Cartoinvest becomes the exclusive licensee of the Kleenex brand for Europe, thus confirming its leadership in the European tissue market.

The Cartoinvest Group is founded, and takes control of no less than twelve companies in Italy and in Europe, further strengthening their presence and influence in the industry.

The historical plant in Pietrabuona starts its first continuous machine for tissue paper, introducing remarkable technological innovations in the manufacturing process.

The Carrara family makes its debut in the paper manufacturing business, opening a paper mill in Pietrabuona to make straw paper.