What efforts are underway at Holmen Iggesund’s mills to reduce their climate impact?
We are meticulously looking at all possibilities to reduce our energy usage, particularly the use of fossil fuels in our mills. In the last 10 years, we have invested more than 350 million euros in energy efficiency and reducing the need to use fossil-based energy.
How are Holmen Iggesund’s products beneficial for the climate?
Our paperboards, Invercote and Incada, are made from wood, a renewable, non-fossil material coming from well-managed forests in Sweden and the UK. During their lifetime, the trees have helped fight climate change by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. Since our products to a large extent are used for packaging purposes, they contribute to protecting and preserving goods, thus reducing waste. In many cases, paperboard can replace plastics in packaging and reduce the climate impact of the packaging by more than 90 per cent.
Why should companies switch to bio-based packaging?
To lower their emissions of fossil carbon dioxide, thus helping to mitigate climate change and be a part of the solution rather than the problem. Just changing packaging material won’t save the world, but as consumers become more aware of the climate impact of certain packaging applications, there is a significant risk that instead of selling products, fossil-based packaging will have the opposite effect.
“In many cases, paperboard can replace plastics in packaging and reduce the climate impact of the packaging by more than 90 per cent.”
— Johan Granås, Head of Sustainability.
Why is fresh fibre production necessary to uphold the paper recycling process?
Fresh fibre-based products and paper recycling systems are totally interdependent. Our fresh products provide the recycling system with a necessary injection of fresh fibres that uphold their quality. Cellulose fibre, which is the major ingredient in paper-based products, loses properties after each recycling cycle. After 5-10 cycles the fibre is so torn that it has lost its papermaking properties. There are several studies indicating that the quality of the pool of recycled fibres would deteriorate quickly if the input of fresh fibre were to stop, making it impossible to produce recycled paper and paperboard.
Created 9 March, 2020.