The pandemic caused a steep drop in demand in the paper industry, as in many others. This led to unavoidable shutdowns for some production lines at our mills which, among other factors, resulted in a drop in many environmental indicators for this period.
Lecta’s commitment to sustainability and its ongoing effort to minimize our environmental footprint have enabled us to reestablish the positive trends seen between 2021 and the first half of 2022. The percentage of certified purchased pulp, as well as discharge water flow values, water quality values (COD, Chemical Oxygen Demand), and energy consumption values show significant improvement.
Lecta continues to be committed to increasing the amount of pulp purchased from PEFC and FSC® C011032 certified forest plantations, to promote forest protection and ensure the responsible use of these sources. Compared to 2020, the percentage of certified pulp purchased has increased by 15%.
Discharge water flow values, values for the quality of water returned to the environment (COD) and energy consumption values related to manufacturing processes are extremely sensitive to downtimes and the overall production of each mill.
Each of these indicators also show an improvement of 5 to 9%, thanks to maximum efficiency in the use of natural resources such as water and prioritizing more efficient energy use. The implementation of the ISO 50001:2018 standard in all our mills has helped us to gradually reduce energy consumption per ton of paper produced.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/