Consumables

M-REAL REDUCING THE CLIMATE IMPACT OF ITS OPERATIONS

Friday 04. July 2008 - M-real is actively working to mitigate climate change, primarily through the development of its own operations.

M-real is part of Metsäliitto Group’s Climate Programme that was launched to spearhead the actions. The programme collects information on the Group’s climate impacts and defines the goals and the ways to reduce them.

M-real aims to mitigate climate change, for example by continuously improving its energy efficiency; processing renewable wood raw material; developing lightweight products and investigating the possibilities to reduce emissions and make more effective use of resources.

M-real began investing more systematically in boosting energy efficiency with the launch of the Group’s two-year Energy Efficiency Optimisation project in 2006. The actions during 2006-2007 resulted in a reduction of CO2 emissions by some 100,000 tonnes per year. Work will now continue with the implementation of the Energy Efficiency System whereby energy efficiency will become an integral part of M-real’s management systems by the end of 2009. The company is increasing its share of emission-free energy in its total energy consumption, for example, biofuels account for 63 per cent for M-real’s own energy production.

M-real’s most important raw material is renewable wood from sustainably managed forests. In 2007, some 70 per cent of the wood supplied to M-real’s mills originated from certified forests – the majority PEFC certified.

Wood raw material is used responsibly, and by investing in materials efficiency, for example, the aim is to produce the most economical and sustainable end products as possible. M-real is the industry’s forerunner in material efficiency through its development of lighter boards and papers with high visual properties. Lightweight products decrease the environmental impact at all stages of their life cycle as they require less raw material, are lower in transport weight and produce less waste.

Today, M-real’s customers’ environmental awareness is more responsive than ever. The product-specific carbon footprint is an excellent example of how M-real has responded to its customers’ increasing need for information. Calculating the carbon footprint provides invaluable information on the environmental impacts of products. Carbon footprint calculations are available for M-real’s products, such as the Paper Profile declarations which provide product-specific information on key environmental parameters.