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Green Mill Index helps Propapier become forerunners in sustainability (Editor's Note:
The following is based on a January 4, 2012 Pöyry press release, plus
additional information from Pöyry.)
The environmental sustainability of Progroup AG's Propapier´s PM2 mill
site, located in Germany, has been successfully analyzed using the new
Green Mill Index, developed by Pöyry for pulp and paper mills. The index
is an analysis and benchmarking tool that represents the relationship
of different indicators and overall environmental performance of a mill.
Progroup AG produces corrugated board formats as its core business.
The Propapier PM2 produces high-quality corrugated board base papers
exclusively on the basis of waste paper. The special technology of PM2
makes it possible to produce lightweight, fiber-saving new papers for
lighter and at the same time more efficient corrugated boards of the
"next generation."
According to Mr. Resvanis from Propapier, "Although our performance
was excellent, there is always room for some improvement and we know
now where to concentrate."
THE INDEX Kaki explains that the Index combines the different factors that go
into a mill's operation--raw material use, efficiency, water emissions,
air emissions, solid waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and the effects
of location and transport. The end product for a customer is an easy
to understand chart and summary of how the mill is performing.
Many of the indicators in the Index are based on European Commission
standards called best available technique (BAT) levels so that customers
can see how they are performing against this well known guideline.
In designing the Index, Pöyry targeted the measurements that have specific
relevance to mills. "In recent research by the Water Footprint Network,
it was shown that some 99 per cent of the water footprint for paper
originates from trees and other raw materials," says Oskari Frösén,
a process engineer at Pöyry. "Only around 1 per cent of the water impacts
come from paper-making."
Raw material use is another element that is often overlooked in other
environmental assessments. "The Index takes into account not just fibers
but also the chemicals and fillers used in processes. Additionally,
it calculates any fuel that is used," says Käki. She mentions that to
capture the full picture for mills that use waste paper, the Index considers
the history of the mill's waste paper production in calculating raw
material use.
According to Käki, BAT levels do not take into account transport, which
is an important part of the environmental impact. To meet this need,
the Index looks at the distance for the main raw materials to the mill,
along with the distance to transport the end product. It also reviews
the emissions and energy use for the transport modes that are used,
be they trucks, rail or ships.
Unlike other tools that only provide information on a single sustainability
indicator, the Green Mill Index represents the relations of different
indicators and overall sustainability performance. As a result, it brings
together all pertinent information in a manner that is easy to understand
and input into operations. This makes it valuable for benchmarking operations
by comparing different mills or different process solutions within a
single mill, and improving a mill's sustainability performance by pinpointing
strengths and weaknesses.
The Index can also be used to assess proposed investments by verifying
that designs are based on sustainable solutions and technology, for
environmental due diligence, and for external communications as a tool
for annual and sustainability reports.
Concludes Mr. Resvanis from Propapier, "We want to be forerunners concerning
environmental sustainability issues. Pöyry's Green Mill Index gave us
a complete overview of our production and mill site performance."
For more information contact Ms Päivi Käki, Technology specialist
at: paivi.kaki@poyry.com.
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