Iggesund Nearing Zero Carbon Dioxide Emissions Goal

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Iggesund Paperboard, Sweden, reports that during 2009 it reduced emissions of fossil carbon dioxide by 65% at Iggesunds Bruk, where the company's flagship product, Invercote, is made. The reduction by 63,000 metric tons corresponds to the emissions from 17,500 cars per year.

"Even before this move, our business operations were already highly robust and sustainable," adds Guy Mallinson, business director of sales at Iggesund. "Almost 95% of Iggesunds Bruk's current energy consumption is from biofuels and we only have one more investment step left before our vision of a paperboard mill totally free of fossil carbon dioxide emissions will be a reality."

The major reduction in Iggesund Bruk's carbon dioxide emissions was implemented during 2009, coming from a combination of energy savings plus investments in increased capacity for biofuel use. Mallinson emphasizes, though, that the measures are not primarily motivated by the media's intense focus on carbon emissions. "We can't respond in a short-term, erratic way, like public opinion sometimes does. In accordance with our long-term approach to the environment, we evaluate environmental aspects when making every investment decision. But our job, and there is no contradiction involved, is to deliver a first-class product at a competitive price."

For decades Iggesund has been implementing a long-term environmental program at Iggesunds Bruk. The company's energy supply is based on heat from Iggesund's own production process plus electricity, almost half of which is also produced by the company. Today more than 90% of this electricity comes from biofuel, and soon the mill will also be self-sufficient in electricity. With regard to heat, Iggesunds Bruk produces a surplus. As well as being used in the production process, the heat is also used to dry timber in a nearby sawmill and to heat almost 1,000 homes in the local village. "It's unfortunate that public environmental opinion tends to focus on one particular issue at a time, when industries are forced by necessity to see the overall picture," Mallinson says. "Here at Iggesund Paperboard we're not just good at cutting carbon dioxide emissions, we're a world leader when it comes to operating a major process industry with minimal environmental impact."