From an Iggesund Paperboard perspective access to water for our production is not a problem since we are operating in parts of the world where precipitation is plentiful, population is low and water cleaning is well developed. These things combined have made the World Resources Institute classify our areas as “low water stress”, the lowest possible rating on a 5 step scale.
Our own operations have not always been so friendly to surrounding aquatic environments. As an industrial company with more than 300 years of activity we have had our share of skeletons in our closets. But the only sustainable way to deal with difficult issues is to work them out one by one. Today we take pride in pushing our own industry forward by investing in the best available technology in water cleaning and setting new standards for others to follow. At our Iggesund mill in Sweden we have decreased the amount of water used with almost 50% in the last 15 years. At the same time we have reduced the emissions of organic material we put to the Baltic substantially, helping fight eutrophication and dead sea floors.
Looking forward we fully subscribe to the theme of the World Water Week and plan to continue our work to “reduce and reuse” water wherever we can.