Sofidel Wins PPI Award for Water Efficiency at its Porcari Plant in Italy

The PPI (Pulp & Paper International) Award for the Water Efficiency category was presented to Sofidel, the paper group known for the Regina brand.

The award was presented in Brussels at the Royal Museums of Art and History by RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, in recognition of the Soffass Cartiera via Giuseppe Lazzareschi in Porcari (Lucca) plant for having limited water usage to just 3.9 L/kg.

The awarding of the prize for the Water Efficiency category recognizes the work done in reducing water consumption at the Soffass Cartiera plant.

A waste water reuse plant has been installed in the mill. Waste water is recycled for production purposes. The investment helped save more than 250,000 m3/yr of water. The plant features three different purification phases:

• Biological process to drastically reduce the level of organic pollutants;

• Use of ultrafiltration membrane batteries to separate the solid material from the liquid;

• Reverse osmosis system treatment to eliminate the residual saline content.

Thanks to this plant, the water used per kilogram of paper produced in this production site is 3.9 L/kg, an exceptional figure.

The efficient and responsible use of water in production processes is one of the key points of Sofidel’s sustainable development strategy, and is pursued through both management measures and specific investments, which have enabled the achievement of significantly lower than average water usage per kilogram of paper produced compared with what is considered as best practice (7.0 L/kg compared to 15-25 L/kg).

As well as containing water use in production processes, Sofidel’s sustainable growth strategy has also led to the reduction of direct greenhouse gas emissions (-19.1% compared with 2009 base values per tonne of paper produced) and the procurement of certified cellulose from independent third parties through forestry certification schemes, which reached the 100% mark in 2016 (FSC®, FSC Controlled Wood, SFI®, PEFC™).

The Sofidel Group is one of the leading manufacturers of paper for hygienic and domestic use worldwide. Established in 1966, the Group has subsidiaries in 13 countries – Italy, Spain, the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Turkey and the USA - with more than 5,500 employees, a consolidated turnover of 1,842 million Euros (2016) and a production capacity of over one million tonnes/yr (1,058,000 tonnes in 2016).