Member Releases - The Paper Story (PAMSA)

EARTH DAY 2022 – A climate case for wood, pulp and paper

Admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 11:23:03 +0000

It’s fair to assume that most people, when considering ways to fight climate change, don’t immediately think of forestry. But there is a unique climate case for sustainable wood – it is the only material that can naturally and significantly decarbonise our planet by driving down demand for illegally harvested wood, and provide functional alternatives to non-renewable materials that have significantly higher environmental footprints.

“Debunking the notions that industrial forestry is a destructive force isn’t easy, but the global forestry and forest products sector continues to tackle these misconceptions,” says Jane Molony, executive director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA). “We stand firm in the fact that a holistic, sustainable and circular forest bioeconomy is essential to fighting climate change.”

To understand why paper and wood products are vital to a lower carbon footprint, we can borrow from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman’s assertion that trees don’t grow from the ground, they grow from the air. The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Forest Resource Assessment 2015 states that world forests were sequestering close to 300 Gigatonnes of carbon.

Commercial forestry achieves this both through growing trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, but also by harvesting them at the right time, with carbon being stored in harvested wood products.

“Harvesting makes space for younger trees that take up more carbon dioxide than their older counterparts,” says Molony, adding that the climate benefit is thus evident in two places. “Through a stable and increasing carbon storage in the forest itself, and in the forest products.”

Molony notes, “Many vilify the forestry sector without understanding its renewability and circularity, and fail to recognise its ability to store carbon and crucially, how it helps to cut back on fossils.” That said, feforestation, however, must be reduced in the context of indigenous or tropical forests, and illegal wood trade.

Climate change is not caused by people in developing countries felling trees. Instead, it’s caused by high- and middle-income countries burning fossils. We need to focus on displacing these fossil emissions by using wood’s inherent power as the ultimate renewable.

“We do this, first, by increasing uptake of wood products in traditional markets. Organisations like FAO recognise wood as a viable substitute for carbon-intensive materials such as steel and concrete in construction, and plastic and textiles in everyday applications. It is also present in everyday life in the form of paper, tissue, packaging and cellulose products,” comments Molony.

“Second, we need to explore the potential of wood fibre and process waste in new applications, such as the use of lignin for batteries for electronics, or extracting sugars and hemicellulose for bio-based chemicals.

“Third, we need to ensure we have enough trees to supply the increased demand for wood-based products.”

South African ecosystems are not tree dominated. “We only have half a million hectares of indigenous forests, which are fragmented and occur along the south and eastern coastal inland mountains. Importantly, they are protected.”

South Africa plants fast-growing exotic tree species to produce timber, and currently have 1.2 million hectares of these industrial plantations. Also, 25% of forestry owned land is not planted with trees, but home to wetlands, grasslands, indigenous forests and area of high conservation value.

Tree breeding and sustainable intensification (planting more productive trees on less land) are actively being practised in South Africa. The breeding, selecting and testing of new hybrid varieties is aimed at increasing pulp yield per hectare across diverse climatic regions. Trees are also bred for superior wood properties and resistance to biotic and abiotic threats including frost, drought, pests and diseases.

“As a sector, we can demonstrate that having commercial plantations has prevented the increased use, destruction, and degradation of natural forests. This speaks to the heart of the way South African forests are managed – sustainably and responsibly,” suggests Molony.

It also speaks to the fact that the sector doesn’t harvest swathes of trees, leaving the land desolate for years. Forestry companies have nurseries growing more trees, that will take the place of those gone before, most often at a ratio of 2:1. Even harvesting residues are left behind to enhance soil fertility and protection.

Finally, harvesting wood makes the circular bio-economy possible. “If we don’t have sustainably grown and sourced wood, we can’t replace fossil-based products and do all of the things that climate adaptation demands.”

The post EARTH DAY 2022 – A climate case for wood, pulp and paper first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Earth Day 2022: Invest in our Planet

Admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 10:53:00 +0000

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and since then has grown into one of the largest environmental movements working with 50,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.

The current drive is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep the global temperature below 1.5°C. That will be the focus of the Earth Day Summit this year. *

The Earth Day theme for 2022 is to “preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest in Our Planet”. *

Our forests play a key role

Forests play an essential role in climate regulation. Together with oceans, forests are the key ecosystems the planet uses to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) – the most important greenhouse gas – from the atmosphere.

Our forests provide society with a wide range of other benefits too. These include reliable flows of clean water, productive soil, protecting biodiversity, conservation (recreation) and carbon sequestration. These are referred to as ecosystem services, and in FSC certified forests these are protected. Our forests may well provide clear financial capital and benefits in terms of forest products, but the value of these ecosystem services has largely gone unnoticed and is seldom factored in terms of the financial costs and benefits associated with such services.

The FSC Ecosystem Services (ES) Claims enables these ecosystem benefits to be measured and quantified, and enables forest landowners to seek partners, such as corporate investors who want to invest in these claims. ES Claims is the only certification solution that provides reporting on biodiversity, carbon, water, soil, and recreation, allowing the full impact of sustainable forestry to be calculated and recognized. This enables partnerships to promote and reward the protection of key ecosystems.

A South African Example & Solution

Alien plants, mainly trees and woody shrubs, have invaded an estimated 10.1 million ha of South Africa and Lesotho. The total incremental water use of invading alien plants is estimated at 3 300 million m³ of water per year.

Through the clearance of invasive plant species in the Matatiele area and in the lower Breede River area in South Africa, a FSC certificate holder has had their forested management area FSC verified for watershed services, enabling them to make the ES impact claim of “restoration of the capacity to purify and regulate waterflow” . (CMO Logistics (Pty) Ltd : FSC-C150700)

A potential investor, for example a corporate who uses high amounts of water resources in the production process, can now purchase this ES Claim. This is a win-win arrangement, which will enable the FSC certified landowner to continue with their restoration of waterflow in that region, and the corporate partner can make a quantifiable CSI claim in terms of supporting restoration.

For more information on purchasing such claims, contact: m.moodley@fsc.org

*(https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2022/)

The post Earth Day 2022: Invest in our Planet first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Two Sides global Anti-Greenwash Campaign: Over 810 Companies Removed Misleading Anti-Paper Statements

Admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 07:46:00 +0000

Since the campaign began in 2010, Two Sides has successfully challenged over 810 global organisations that subject their customers to repeated greenwashing messages which are damaging to the paper, print and mailing industry.

With huge pressures on the economy; banks, telecom providers, utility companies and even governmental organisations are increasingly focused on switching their customers from paper to digital services to cut costs. All too often their customer communications attempt to mask these cost-saving efforts, justifying the switch with unfounded environmental marketing appeals such as “Go Green – Go Paperless” and “Choose e-billing and help save a tree.”

“Not only are these greenwash claims in breach of established environmental marketing rules, but they are hugely damaging to an industry which has a solid and continually improving environmental record,” says Two Sides Country Manager Deon Joubert. “Far from ‘saving trees,’ a healthy market for forest products such as paper encourages the long-term growth of forests through sustainable forest management.

Globally, Two Sides has engaged over 1,690 organisations making misleading statements about paper. So far, over 810 of them have removed such statements from their communications and Two Sides continues to engage and inform the remaining organisations. The organisations were located throughout Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This brings the total to over 810 companies that have removed misleading greenwashing statements.

In 2021, many South African companies removed unsubstantiated claims about paper after learning about the surprisingly good environmental story that the forestry, pulp, paper and packaging is able to tell.

“It remains vital that greenwash is challenged to ensure that the industry’s great environmental record is recognised and that the livelihoods of thousands of industry employees, as well as print, paper and postage volumes, are not damaged by the spread of misleading and opportunistic greenwash marketing,” Joubert says.

Because of the huge reach of some of these greenwashing organisations, their unsubstantiated claims have a damaging effect on consumer perceptions of paper and threaten a sector that employs over 100 000 people in South Africa. The financial impact of greenwash on the paper, print and mailing industry is of global concern if these messages continue without challenge. Recent research in Europe, conducted by Two Sides and Censuswide in 2021, found that in Europe alone, greenwashing threatens the loss of €337 million of value annually to the paper, print and mailing industry.

This is why the Anti-greenwash Campaign continues to be a priority for Two Sides, and we will continue to urge companies to reject the use of unsubstantiated and misleading environmental claims about going paperless in all of their communications.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of the hundreds of organisations that have changed or eliminated greenwashing claims from their messaging, and we are also thankful for the many industry stakeholders and members of the public who send Two Sides examples of greenwash,” Joubert concludes.

Two Sides continues to actively challenge major organisations found to be misleading consumers by using environmental claims about the use of paper. Please send any instances of greenwash to dj@za.twosides.info.

The post Two Sides global Anti-Greenwash Campaign: Over 810 Companies Removed Misleading Anti-Paper Statements first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Sappi Limited launches new website highlighting global presence, increased functionality and robust educational resources

Admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 11:56:22 +0000

Sappi Limited (JSE), a leading global provider of sustainable woodfibre products and solutions, today announced the launch of its new website with significant updates benefitting customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. This newly redesigned website is one of the many steps Sappi is taking to unite its global divisions as part of its groundbreaking 2020Vision strategy, which seeks to pursue growth opportunities in the woodfibre industry.

Feature-rich

The new www.sappi.com features full descriptions of products and services offered; comprehensive award-winning educational materials for customers; in-depth sustainability reporting; easy access to corporate social responsibility efforts like Ideas That Matter; dynamic portals for customers and investors and a prominent social media presence. The site will also feature user personalisation, ensuring that the most relevant information is provided first to frequent visitors.

“A dedicated team of Sappi employees across the world has been working tirelessly over the last year to create a website that not only encapsulates our global 2020Vision, but that serves each of our key stakeholders in a way that is both informative, actionable and personalised,” said André Oberholzer, Group Head Corporate Affairs of Sappi Limited. “Sappi.com is now an essential source of information for all our stakeholders. We’re proud and excited by this launch, but our work is far from done. We’ve laid a solid foundation and will remain dedicated to quality. The team at Sappi will be making continuous improvements for each of our unique stakeholders.”

Two new features: Sappi&You and Investor hub

While the entire website was redesigned, there are two features with increased functionality that offer additional benefits to users. First, the Sappi&You Online portal for European customers offers a personalised online experience for printers, publishers and brand owners. Supported by eCommerce, it provides increased functionality to support our customers. Information is tailored to the customers’ specific needs allowing fast access to transactional information, local specialists, detailed product information, sample ordering or benefit from Sappi’s in depth technical knowledge and support areas. It is not only customers who benefit from Sappi&You Online, companies who would like to learn more about how Sappi&You can support their businesses will find useful information about our co-development approach as well as putting them in touch with our local specialists.

Second, a new hub dedicated to investors will provide background information on Sappi and the industry, as well as regularly updated share pricing, financial results, upcoming financial events, financial presentations and information on the 2020Vision.

Resourceful investment

“We see this investment as a key resource that helps drive our company toward our goal of ‘One Sappi’ – a single global brand,” continued Oberholzer. “With more resources immediately available to our audiences than ever before, and our resulting increased transparency, we will continue our position as a thought leader in the industry. We are excited to enter the next phase of our business strategy, where we will continue to innovate and offer products and services that are of the highest quality to our customers.”

The post Sappi Limited launches new website highlighting global presence, increased functionality and robust educational resources first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Mondi recognised in three categories of WWF’s Environmental Paper Awards 2016

Admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 06:09:14 +0000

Mondi Group is very pleased to have been recognised in three categories of WWF’s Environmental Paper Awards in 2016.

In the category ‘’Transparency’’ Mondi was recognised for publishing the forest, climate and water footprint of 92% of our uncoated fine paper brands.
In the category “Best Environmental Performance Paper Brands”, 32 of our uncoated fine paper brands received this award, reaching over 80% of achievable scores.
In the category “Striving for Continual Improvement” our packaging paper brands were recognised for using a proactive approach in assessing the forest, water and climate footprint for internal purposes, using WWF´s Check your Paper Method.

David Hathorn, Chief executive of Mondi Group, said: “These awards confirm the importance of good environmental stewardship and recognise our philosophy of continuous improvement in reducing our environmental footprint. Our participation in WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index and Check your Paper right from the start made good business sense for us and provides assurance about our products to our customers”.

Mondi and WWF have worked together over many years and in 2014 entered into a three year strategic partnership that focuses on promoting environmental stewardship in the packaging and paper sectors, minimising the impacts of Mondi’s operations on forests, climate and water and sharing information to encourage sustainable practices in the industry.

Peter Orisich, CEO Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, added: “At Mondi we attach great importance to the sustainability of the wood, fibre and paper we source and strive to act sustainably – every day. The productive capability, biodiversity and community needs of the forest plantations that we own, manage and source material from are key elements of our management approach and systems. WWF’s Check Your Paper scheme is an excellent benchmarking tool that helps us to illustrate our commitment to transparency and improve the environmental footprint of our papers”.

About the Environmental Paper Company Index

The Environmental Paper Company Index which evaluates a company´s overall performance started in its current form in 2010. The Index credits transparency and improvements over time – data are kept confidential and are published in aggregated form only. Companies receive benchmarking report cards comparing their performance on each parameter to the average of other comparable participants. Participation today covers 15% of the world paper and 15% of the world´s pulp production. It has increased from 5 participants in 2010, to 15 (in 19 product categories) in 2011, 25 participants (in 40 product categories) in 2013 and 31 participants (in 52 product categories) in 2015 with the following regional spread: (participants by region/headquarter locations: 14 Europe, 8 North America, 6 South/Central America, 2 Asia, 1 Africa).

WWF´s Check your Paper Method reduces the complexity of evaluating a paper’s footprint by using relatively few, but carefully selected, environmental indicators.

The post Mondi recognised in three categories of WWF’s Environmental Paper Awards 2016 first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Celebrating trees, wood and water this Arbor Week | 4 – 10 September

Admin — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 13:08:04 +0000

Celebrate the trees that make the wood that makes so many products we use every day. Credit: Mondi

In South Africa, 1.3 million hectares (ha) of pine and eucalyptus trees are sustainably managed for commercial processing into wood and paper products. Through modern science and nanotechnology, wood fibre – cellulose – is used in automobiles, aerospace, defence and even medicine.

While Arbor Week traditionally calls on all South Africans to plant indigenous trees as a practical and symbolic gesture of sustainable environmental management, timber plantations deserve due recognition for the benefits they bring to the economy, society and the environment.

Wood and paper products touch our lives every day and it’s a relationship that often goes unnoticed, unless we were to take those same products away. From furniture, roof trusses and timber poles to books, writing paper, magazines, as well as boxes and packaging in innumerable shapes and sizes.

“When we grasp that trees are farmed for commercial use, we are able to understand the important role they play,” says Forestry South Africa executive director Michael Peter. “Just like any agricultural crop, trees are planted, harvested and replanted to ensure a sustainable supply of wood. And like any crop, plantations have an impact on the environment.”

Such impacts, Peter explains, are offset by the carbon dioxide absorbed and oxygen released by trees, by the employment and development benefits which forestry brings to communities, and by the biodiversity that is conserved by land owners.

In commemoration of Arbor Week and the theme ‘Forests and Water’, Forestry South Africa shares the facts about timber plantations, water, biodiversity and people.

Plantations and water

Plantations are not irrigated as trees get their water from rainfall. This means that there are none of the high costs associated with delivering water to other users, such as dams, pipelines, pumping stations and water purification plants.
Plantations also use a small fraction of the fertilisers and herbicides used in other land uses and, as such, negative impacts from these activities on biodiversity and water quality are very low.
Plantations are one of the most efficient and beneficial water users – both in respect of the timber produced and the associated carbon dioxide sequestered (absorbed) in the process.

Species	Tonne water required for growth per tonne of CO₂ absorbed	Tonne of CO₂ absorbed per ha per annum
SA eucalyptus	274	26.9
Cotton	4,866	2.5
Maize	3,943	6.8
Wheat	4,776	5.1
Sugar cane molasses	3,152	2.2

Plantations use both soil and water resources but these can be measured against the returns they provide:

Forestry uses just 3% of available water in the country. This is just 5% of the water used by agriculture (62%). (Strategic Overview of Water Sector in South Africa, 2010. Department of Water Affairs)
Forestry occupies about 1.2% of the land used for agriculture
Plantations and the forest products sub-sector provide 22.5% of jobs in agriculture

All forests are vital to the Earth’s water supply as they influence how and where rain falls, filtering and cleaning water.

Plantations and biodiversity

The South African National Biodiversity Institute concluded in a seven-year grasslands programme funded by the Global Environmental Facility that the grasslands managed by plantation growers were the most diverse and best conserved of all land uses in the programme.
There are more formally protected grasslands and natural forests under management of the plantation industry, than in any other commercial land use sector.
Some 80% of the land reserved for plantation forestry is certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. Approximately 25% of this land is not planted to trees and is conserved for biodiversity.
The Living Planet Report published in 2014 by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London lauded the Mondi Wetlands Project among the four solutions to global wildlife loss.

Plantations and people

Apart from the 165,000 jobs in forestry, there are an additional 551,000 forestry-related jobs in upstream and downstream sectors (pulp and papermaking, furniture, timber for mining and construction etc).
Forestry provides other social benefits to about three million people in rural areas: access to education, training, health care, housing, nutrition, transport, infrastructure and business development and support.

Trees – in all forms – are essential to life on our planet. They absorb excess carbon dioxide and pollutant gases, and provide clean air, water and climate regulation. As a renewable resource and a livelihood for many communities, forests are an important part of the solution to meeting global needs for food, fuel, fibre, medicine and other products essential to daily life.

The post Celebrating trees, wood and water this Arbor Week | 4 – 10 September first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Mpact’s Felixton Mill unveiled

Admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 15:00:36 +0000

KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, officially opens Phase 1 of Mpact’s Felixton Mill upgrade

On Tuesday 26 January, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, Mr Michael Mabuyakhulu unveiled Phase 1 of Mpact’s Felixton Mill R765 million expansion. The upgrade of the paper mill will enhance its product offering, enabling it to produce advanced lightweight containerboard to cater for the increasing demand for packaging weight reduction.

Commenting on the project, Mpact CEO Mr Bruce Strong said; “Capital investment across the Group is critical for us to take advantage of growth prospects in our markets. In the case of the Felixton Mill, the upgrade will increase capacity by 60,000 tonnes to 215,000 tonnes. Notably, the significant investment in the latest paper machine technology and machinery will improve the quality of our paper products; enhance operational efficiencies and the mill’s overall competitiveness in line with global trends.On completion of the project, the mill will no longer utilise bagasse fibre in its products, moving towards fully recycled fibre usage. Environmental benefits of the upgrade also include significant specific reductions in CO_2,and the usage of energy, water, and solid waste.”

The Felixton Mill’s upgrade is also expected to contribute to job creation through increased collections of waste paper which will be required by the mill.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, MEC Mabuyakhulu said the Felixton Mill upgrade augured well for the province’s plans of using infrastructure projects as a tool for skills transfer and job creation. “It is our view that whatever occurs in the province of KwaZulu-Natal needs to be connected to our to broader strategy of undermining inequality, poverty and unemployment and we believe that this R765 million upgrade to Felixton Mill’s operations will create some much needed job opportunities in the province as well as contribute to a skills transfer to local communities.”

As part of the Felixton Mill upgrade, Mpact secured an 8-year structured loan facility of R200 million with the KZN Growth Fund.

KZN Growth Fund CEO, Mr Siddiq Adam said: “This is a landmark transaction for the KZN Growth Fund and the province. The Fund’s aim is to invest and support sustainable growth projects in the private sector that stimulate job creation, promote B-BBEE and reduce inequality. We are particularly pleased with Mpact’s progress in priority focus areas of B-BBEE and the creation of job opportunities. The investment into the Felixton Mill upgrade demonstrates our confidence in a partnership with Mpact in meeting the province’s developmental goals. ”

Situated near Empangeni, Felixton Mill was established in 1953. The mill produces containerboard for local and export corrugated markets utilising waste paper and bagasse, a fibre residue of sugar cane, as primary raw materials. In June 2015, Felixton Mill successfully commissioned Phase 1 of the upgrade, with the completion of a new state-of-the-art recycled fibre (RCF) plant and an upgrade to the paper machine.

The second and final phase of the upgrade is on schedule to be commissioned in 2017.

The post Mpact’s Felixton Mill unveiled first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Policy Statement on Climate Change – The Paper Story (PAMSA)

Admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 19:55:37 +0000

Johannesburg – The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) has released its statement on climate change as part of its involvement in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting (COP21) in Paris, France. The statement presents the contributions of forests and the forest products industry to the mitigation of global climate change and calls on governments to recognize these contributions. The full statement is available at: http://www.icfpa.org/uploads/Modules/Publications/icfpa-climate-change.pdf.

The ICFPA will elaborate on the forest products industry’s efforts at a COP21 side-event – “Assessing transparency and ambition in the land use and forestry sector”, held at the EU Pavilion on December 1 at 2:30 pm. The side-event will be hosted by the ICFPA and the EU Joint Research Centre.

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) promotes the renewability and recyclability of paper products both locally and in collaboration with global ICFPA members, says Jane Molony, PAMSA executive director. “Key to PAMSA’s agenda is upholding sustainable forest management and paper production as an efficient and cost-effective solution to climate change mitigation.”

PAMSA’s core focus areas include lobbying for fair and applicable legislation, boosting education and skills development as well as investing in research and innovation.

The industry has made significant contributions to mitigate climate change. In addition to greenhouse gas (GHG) removals and stocking carbon in products, ICFPA members have achieved an impressive drop in their GHG emissions intensity: five percent since 2010/2011 and 17 percent since the 2004-2005 baseline year, as shown in the ICFPA 2015 Sustainability Progress Report (2013 data).

The statement calls on governments and the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to recognize sustainable forest management and reforestation activities for their contribution to the global climate effort, as well as the recognition of the efforts and achievements of the forest products industry to mitigate climate change, including the carbon neutrality of biomass harvested from sustainably managed forests and the need to provide for market-based mechanisms capable of valuing mitigation actions to incentivize the industry’s potential contribution.

The ICFPA’s statement is the latest in a series of policy statements underwritten by its members associations. All ICFPA policy statements are available at icfpa.org/resource-centre/statements.

The ICFPA serves as a forum of global dialogue, co-ordination and co-operation. Together, ICFPA members represent over 90 percent of global paper production and more than half of global wood production. For more information, visit icfpa.org.

The post Policy Statement on Climate Change – The Paper Story (PAMSA) first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

The Thing About…Earth Day

Admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 08:19:46 +0000

In honour of International Mother Earth Day (22 April), we wanted to draw your attention to Sappi’s YouTube video on sustainability and its importance to the successful longevity of Sappi’s business.

The video is part of Sappi’s “The Thing About” series narrated by environmental journalist Johan Botha, that shares information about the company’s commitment to People, Planet and Prosperity through conservation and biodiversity management, community initiatives and partnership programmes as well as land and forest stewardship projects.

Dr Dave Everard, Sappi Environmental Manager explains how the company strives for a balance of these “3Ps” to manage the business in such a way that it is financially viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible. Dr Everard says he believes that, “timber, or vegetation biomass is one of the saviours to future sustainable issues of the planet,” and “creating more markets to use timber is a good thing as long as the timber is produced in a responsible way.” As Sappi grows, it continues to find innovative ways to improve yield, and minimise and reuse waste without negatively impacting the people and natural environment through plantation farming.

Sappi’s Ngodwana Energy Biomass Project was recently named a preferred bidder in the South African Department of Energy’s 4th window Renewable Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme. Through this project, Sappi will use locally-supplied biomass to produce energy for the national grid.

For more information on Sappi’s sustainability initiatives, please see the company’s Group Sustainability Report.

Stay tuned to Sappi’s YouTube channel. We’ll let you know about future videos in this series released in the next few months.

The post The Thing About…Earth Day first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Sappi welcomes the selection as preferred bidder of the Ngodwana Energy biomass project

Admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 18:49:04 +0000

Sappi Southern Africa CEO Alex Thiel welcomed the announcement made on Friday 10 April 2015 that Ngodwana Energy has been chosen as a preferred bidder in the Department of Energy’s 4^th window REIPPPP.

Highlights:

Project partners are Sappi Southern Africa, KC Africa and Fusion Energy
Broad-based participation assured through the Ngodwana Energy Employees Trust and the Ngodwana Energy Community Trust which will each hold a 5% stake in the project
Project selected in the 4^th window of the Department of Energy’s Renewable Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)
ELB Engineering Services appointed as EPC contractor

Contributing to growth in Mpumalanga

The Ngodwana Energy project is situated 50km west of Mbombela in the Mpumalanga Province on the Sappi Ngodwana Mill Site and will feed electricity into the national grid near its location within Elands Valley, between Emgwenya (formally Waterval Boven) and Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit).

The Project will contribute to the growth and development objectives of the National Government, Mpumalanga province, the communities and businesses in the vicinity as well as Eskom and the citizens of South Africa. The value added by Ngodwana Energy to the Mpumalanga region and National Government over the term of the PPA is significantly higher than alternate renewable energy technologies due to the extent and impact of value creation. Significant ongoing value is created due to the nature of biomass projects and the monetary and job creation spend across the Project value chain; from collecting biomass in the plantations, through plant and equipment contracts, to community impact through the Trusts and the economic development and socio-economic development spend as well as shareholder returns.

Adding to SA’s renewable energy supply

“Sappi is pleased to be able to contribute to the increased availability of renewable energy in South Africa” commented Alex Thiel. “Sappi will continue to focus on extracting maximum value from the renewable and sustainable wood fibre that we grow. This project builds on our earlier R3 billion investment at Ngodwana Mill and further strengthens our presence in Mpumalanga province”.

Globally Sappi has developed and constructed five hydro, two gas and 31 steam turbines which generates around 800MW of renewable power on 14 sites across seven countries.

In addition to Sappi Southern Africa and its project partners Fusion Energy and KC Africa, an Ngodwana Energy Employees Trust and an Ngodwana Energy Community Trust will each hold a 5% stake in the project.

“This announcement is an affirmation of what we are doing as Fusion Energy and the opportunities that lie ahead for the company” said Wendy Green, CEO of Fusion Energy.

KC Africa’s President, Ki Kyeong Kim’s commented: “This successful bid for Ngodwana Energy is a big achievement and a giant step for KC Africa and for our parent company, KC Green Holdings in South Korea. It is an honour to be able to jointly cooperate and develop with Sappi and Fusion on such an important project and to be able to contribute to the building of sustainable renewable energy in South Africa. It is a mark of our belief and confidence in the project, in all the parties involved and especially in the country and government.”

Kim further added that “We wish to show Africa what Korean industry can contribute to this great Continent and together with JSC’s Creative Power Division (listed on the KOSDAQ under ‘JSC’, Issue Code: A080220) collaborating with KC Cottrell on the technology side, this project will further enhance confidence.”

“ELB Engineering Services is honoured to have been appointed the EPC contract to supply the power plant for this project, which we believe will become a reference Biomass plant for Africa. With our international technology partners we will supply a power plant aligned with the specific requirements of Ngodwana Energy for the South African environment” said ELB CEO, Dr Stephen Meijers.

Only a small number of biomass projects are currently operating within the South African renewable energy market.

Benefits

The benefits of using biomass fuel for electricity generation are clear.

Biomass power has a high load factor (Base Load) in the region of 200 000MwH per annum (90 % in comparison to other technologies which have 30 – 40% availability factors);
The value chain creates higher employment in operations;
This is technology proven over many years;
The forestry industry is not as affected by seasonality and climatic conditions in contrast with annual crop supply chains; and
Unlike coal the forestry industry can reinvest in raw material supply by replanting trees for future use as an energy source.

The post Sappi welcomes the selection as preferred bidder of the Ngodwana Energy biomass project first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).