Competitiveness and sustainability in the paper industry: The valorisation of human resources as an enabling factor

The concepts of green economy and circular economy are changing the strategies and operating practices of many companies, as the manufacturing sector must be able to strike a balance between technological challenges, sustainability demands, and digitization opportunities. This study focuses on the paper sector and aims to assess which actions could enable a company in the sector to be more competitive. The method used is multi-criteria decision analysis, and eight alternatives are compared (virgin fiber, recycled fiber, renewable energy, waste, wastewater, digitization, human resources, and customer relations) through a competitiveness indicator. The results show that the criterion considered most relevant is health and safety, highlighting how the social sphere plays a fundamental role. Regarding competitiveness indicator, human resources management is seen as the most important parameter, showing how their valorization can be an enabling factor for a manufacturing company to be both sustainable and competitive. However, all the other combined alternatives can provide a winning mix. It emerges that only raw materials are of minor importance. Social changes affecting the paper industry both internally and externally reveal that underestimating this dimension of sustainability can be counterproductive. For this reason, eight different actions are proposed that can support green and competitive human resource management.