The theme for the World Environment Day in year 2011 is Forests: Nature at Your Service. Hence, Metsäliitto invites everyone from the employees to clients and suppliers to do a small environmental act. In following is presented few examples of how everyone can improve their environmental performance by doing small deeds.
Conserve water. Close the tap while brushing your teeth and shampooing in the shower. By doing this, one may save as much as 15 to 20 liters of clean water, which requires high amount of energy when heated.
Metsäliitto has systematically reduced the use of water in its production. Water is reused in the production processes and carefully treated before discharging it into waterways. The use of water in the forest industry has decreased by 90 per cent since the 1970s.
Switch off the lights in the rooms where nobody is staying at and change the incandescent lamps to energy saving lamps after the end of their life. Remove the mobile phone battery charger from the sockets and switch off the electronic advices after use.
Metsäliitto openly discusses the environmental impact of its operations at Group level and on a mill-specific basis. All Group production units have introduced a certified Energy Efficiency System (EES), which serves as a systematic management tool for reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, there are several energy efficiency improvement projects carrying out constantly. The annual energy-saving impact of the projects is approximately 270 GWh of heat and 85 GWh of electricity. The projects reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 70,000 tonnes per year, which is about 5 per cent of the total emissions of the year.
Sort and recycle the waste. Incorrectly sorted waste increases expenses and disturbs the recycling.
Production unit waste levels have been significantly reduced through efficient re-use of by-products and co-products. In addition, waste sorting for use as raw material or for energy production has reduced the need for landfill disposal. Plastic, metals and papers and boards from packaging are recycled, process sludge and wood-based waste are used as fuels. Fibre sludge generated during the recovered fibre deinking process is used in landfill restoration, in the building products industry, and for energy production.
For more information on Metsäliitto Group’s sustainability performance, see our Annual Report 2010.