In sharp focus
Korsnäs has established an energy efficiency improvement programme based on a comprehensive energy management system introduced in 2006. It is based on surveying energy use in every part of the company. Where is energy being used? Why? How can we improve?
Everybody back to school
Korsnäs’ approach to energy issues is down to earth: we believe that success in improving the efficiency of energy use has to be based on our employees’ solid understanding of energy issues.
All employees therefore take part in energy training. Everyone needs to understand the importance of energy issues, have a basic understanding of the costs involved, be aware of how they can make a difference and understand the company’s goals. Our approach focuses more on delivering benefits than simply meeting requirements. This extensive training has clearly helped us lower Korsnäs’ overall energy consumption.
2/3 energy-independent
Paper and pulpmaking also produces by-products – primarily black liquor – that are biofuels and can be reintegrated into the process in the form of useful energy. Only 33% of Korsnäs’ total energy consumption has to be bought from outside suppliers. The rest comes from our own processes, as shown in the figure on the right.
The current efficiency improvement programme will reduce the percentage of energy we have to buy and increase our energy independence.
As part of this effort, Korsnäs acquired Karskär Energi, a power plant situated next to our production facility in Gävle, at the beginning of 2008. The plant’s annual electricity output is 350 GWh, meaning that Korsnäs itself now generates almost 40% of the electricity it needs by itself.
Low consumption of fossil fuels
In recent years, we have gained a much better understanding of the significance of climate issues. Several scenarios have been put forward describing the expected effects of increased global warming. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the biggest climate threats. As a socially responsible company, we are doing everything in our power to keep our use of fossil fuels as low as possible.
One important parameter for us is the percentage of fossil energy included in our overall energy consumption. Currently, it is 10% (including Karskär Energi). We are doing our best to continue
gradually reducing this percentage.
Balanced energy use
One difference between the pulp and paper process and most other industrial processes is that so much energy is returned to the process. Black liquor is the biggest single source, accounting
for over 50% of our overall needs. Korsnäs is also an energy supplier, selling 604 GWh through a district heating network and 340 GWh through by-products such as tall oil.