Kimberly-Clark's New Biomass Boiler Reduces Carbon Emissions by 40 percent at site in Spain

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As part of its purpose to deliver better care for a better world, Kimberly-Clark’s 2030 sustainability goals include a commitment to reducing its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 from a 2015 base year. At its Salamanca manufacturing facility in western Spain, the recent installation of a biomass boiler will lower natural gas consumption at the facility by 40 percent and reduce direct carbon emissions by 40 percent, which is equivalent to taking 5,900 passenger vehicles off the road annually in Spain.

The Salamanca facility produces toilet paper and facial tissue for consumers in Spain, France and the Benelux region under brands such as Scottex, Kleenex and Page. Each day, the facility makes 165 metric tpy of paper and manufactures 1.7 million toilet paper rolls.

The biomass boiler was installed this fall and is a first for Kimberly-Clark’s manufacturing facilities in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and only the second of its kind globally for the company. Biomass is a renewable form of energy, and in this case, is mostly waste forest residues sourced from within 100 kilometers of the facility.

The move to decarbonized technologies is challenging, primarily due to the need to replace fully evolved and deployed fossil fuel energy sources with greener ones at a time when energy consumption in society is at a peak, but Kimberly-Clark is working hard to make it a reality. The new biomass boiler represents a significant milestone in the plant’s decarbonization roadmap and will contribute to Kimberly-Clark’s 2030 climate goals, which were approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative and are aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Oriol Margo, Kimberly-Clark's sustainability transformation leader for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said, “We know that climate change is a significant concern for our employees, customers, consumers and the planet, and the Salamanca biomass boiler is one way we are tackling this issue as part of Kimberly-Clark’s sustainability goals and global ambition to improve the lives of 1 billion people around the globe by 2030, with the smallest environmental footprint. We’re excited to continue finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint and care for our consumers in a more environmentally-friendly way.”

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