Georgia-Pacific’s Mississippi Mill Becomes First U.S. Pulp Mill to Earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Certification
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Georgia-Pacific’s Leaf River cellulose mill in New Augusta, Mississippi, is the first U.S. pulp mill to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that the manufacturing facility performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.
“The Leaf River team works hard to find and create new and more efficient ways to operate the mill,” said Chuck LaPorte, general manager of the Leaf River cellulose mill. “I’m proud of the great work being done by our employees to advance the facility’s efforts to consume fewer resources and for achieving EPA’s Energy Star certification.”
To earn the EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification the facility improved its energy performance by managing energy strategically across the entire facility and by investing in improvements that allow it to produce all electricity required to make pulp without purchasing electricity externally under normal operating conditions.
“Commercial buildings and industrial plants account for nearly half of the nation’s energy,” said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. “But through benchmarking performance and a strategic approach to energy management, it is possible for companies to save energy, save money, and protect the environment.”
ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. To date, tens of thousands of buildings and plants across all fifty states have earned the ENERGY STAR. The Leaf River cellulose mill employs more than 300, with an annual payroll and benefits of more than $27 million.
