Environment: Stora Enso, wants to be at the forefront

Premium Beauty News - Preservation of environment must be an old story for you?

Paivi Harju-Eloranta - Yes indeed, we obviously did not wait for all these summits, meetings and congresses centered on this great challenge of the future to make concrete progress, since several years, like most of our colleagues in the field. And the timing couldn’t have been any better, since currently end users of our materials are now specially sensitive to these issues. Just have a look, and you have already relayed the information, the approach claimed by Procter & Gamble which was expressed on your website or the one from L’Oreal who has just launched a website specifically dedicated to this topic. But the answers, we already have them!

Premium Beauty News - What answers exactly?

Paivi Harju-Eloranta - Firstly, you must know that Stora Enso has the huge advantage of being integrated all along the exploitation and production chain: from the tree in the forest to the delivery of papers and boards in every corner of the world. To comply with new environmental standards, we must give the lead all along this chain and we have set ourselves ambitious targets. Thus we will have reduced our emissions of SO2 (Sulfur dioxide) by 30% between 2007 and 2013 and our CO2 emissions by 20% between 2006 and 2020.

All the wood we use to produce paper-board come from forests which are managed under the principles of sustainable development, with 100% traceability. Nearly 70% of our needs come from forests which are PEFC or FSC certified.

Premium Beauty News - You have mentioned the reduction of your CO2 emissions. How do you manage reducing your energy consumption?

Paivi Harju-Eloranta - Actually, We achieve this through different means who, I believe, deserve to be detailed:

– CO2 reduction target. This target covers both emissions generated directly by our own facilities and indirect emissions produced in the generation of the electricity and heat we purchase. It target will be achieved by reducing energy consumption through improved productivity, the use of more efficient equipment and streamlined processes, reduced use of fossil fuels, and improved efficiency in power and heat generation.

In 2009 we reduced our CO2 emissions by 18% from our target baseline year 2006. Another significant reason to the CO2 reductions achieved during 2009 was increased purchases of electricity generated from low carbon supply mixes.

– Direct and indirect CO2 emissions. We continued to reduce our direct fossil CO2 emissions during 2009. Since 2006 we have reduced our direct CO2 emissions from stationary combustion sources by 12%.

Our indirect CO2 emissions are significantly influenced by the energy mix in the countries where we operate. During 2009 our fossil CO2 emissions from energy purchased for electricity and heat decreased to a level 23% below their level in 2006.

– Regarding the energy use. We purchase fuel, electricity and heat from external suppliers, and generate steam and electricity internally for use at our production facilities. We generated 33% of our electricity needs from our own power plants.

– Energy self-sufficiency.Stora Enso is increasingly focusing on enhancing our energy self-sufficiency and access to cleaner energy by investing in renewable energy production at mill sites, and through partnerships with external energy suppliers. Through the use of wind turbines for instance or the supply of low carbon electricity production.

– High share of biomass in internal energy production. Pulp and paper production creates by-products that we use to produce large amounts of bioenergy. [1] In 2009 we maintained our use of biomass for internal energy production on a high level, 71% compared to 72% in 2008.

– Multifuel solutions. Stora Enso is also increasingly looking into multifuel solutions that can replace purchased energy generated using fossil fuels, in particular through the use of mixtures of different types of fuels in the same boiler, including biomass such as forest residues, bark and recovered wood, as well as various sorted wastes, coal and gas. In 2010 two new power plants will start to utilise multifuels, in Belgium and in Germany. This will result in CO2 emission reductions of about 105 000 tonnes per year. A new power plant in Poland, scheduled for completion in 2010, will also reduce our carbon footprint by an estimated 100 000 tonnes of CO2 annually.