At Metsä Board we aim to achieve fossil free production and further improve our energy self-sufficiency by the end of 2030. Currently, 87% of the energy used at our mills is fossil free.
“We have continuously reduced the share of fossil-based fuels in our energy production to minimise fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions and completely eliminate them in the coming years,” says Matti Korhonen, Project Manager at Metsä Board.
When calculating the environmental impacts of the entire production and supply chain, our operations have a direct impact on our customers’ carbon footprints, too: as we at Metsä Board reduce our carbon footprint, the companies that use our paperboards as raw material can also reduce their raw material emissions, become more competitive and get closer to their own sustainability targets.
Similarly to our clients, we carefully monitor the emissions of our own supply chain’ and logistics, which include the emissions from raw materials brought to our mills and those of the products they produce. Our goal is to use only fully fossil free raw materials as well as packaging materials by 2030.
Energy efficiency also means cost-effectiveness
In addition to phasing out fossil fuels, we aim to improve our energy efficiency by 10% and reduce our use of process water per tonne of production by 35% compared to 2018 by the end of 2030. Water use is directly linked to energy efficiency, since heating and pumping the water in our operations consume considerable amounts of energy.
The utilisation rates of mills also have a direct effect on energy efficiency. When the operation is running well with quality consistency at a good level, less broke is produced which means that less energy is consumed in reprocessing the material.
“Energy efficiency is incredibly important for both sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Energy costs accounted for 18% of Metsä Board's total costs in 2022,” Korhonen adds.
Reaching our ambitious goals requires long-term planning. We have detailed roadmaps with mill-specific measures for achieving our 2030 targets. These plans show our already completed and planned investments and the impact of these on emissions.
Eyes on alternative sources of energy
The recent energy crisis has further accelerated measures to improve energy efficiency and to search for alternative sources of energy.
“For example, the Kyro and Joutseno mills have invested in liquefied natural gas terminals. The same equipment can also be used for liquefied biogas in the future. We want to make sure that all our mills have access to energy even in the event of extreme energy shortages,” Korhonen explains.
As part of Metsä Group we also utilise our own process by-products such as bark as fuel. The investments and improvements we make in energy efficiency will help us achieve an even higher level of energy self-sufficiency.
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