Friday 8/8/2008 Page: 2
Australian Paper has taken the greenhouse challenge to heart with a new product - carbon-neutral paper. Called ENVI, the paper is produced at the Wesley Vale mill in Tasmania. Its "carbon neutral" status is recognised under the Department of Climate Change Greenhouse Friendly program. This means users of the paper can display the Greenhouse Friendly logo.Australian Paper executive general manager Jim Henneberry said carbon-neutral status had been obtained in two main ways: by making huge energy efficiency gains and cutting greenhouse emissions at the Wesley Vale mill, and through participating in approved Greenhouse Friendly offset projects. "A key thing was converting our oil-based boilers to gas-fired boilers," he said. The company estimates the conversion will reduce Wesley Vale's emissions by about 22%, or about 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
Australian Paper has an added advantage: its two Tasmanian mills, Wesley Vale and Burnie, source their mainstream electricity from renewable hydro power, which produces fewer emissions than coal-fired electricity. The types of abatement activities approved under the Greenhouse Friendly program are energy efficiency measures, waste diversion and recycling, capturing and flaring landfill gas and other fugitive emissions, generating renewable energy, tree planting and avoiding deforestation projects.
Mr Henneberry said the carbon-neutral concept had taken a lot of time to get to fruition. "Our credentials are bulletproof," he said. Australian Paper, the manufacturing arm of PaperlinX, Australia's biggest paper producer, undertook a thorough life-cycle analysis of its Wesley Vale mill. The project was led by employees John Ryder, Karen Pascoe and Bob Bright, with advice from the Australian Greenhouse Office. which has been folded into the Department of Climate Change. Wesley Vale produces about 60,000 tonnes annually of ENVI.
Links www.australianpaper.com.au, www.climatechange.gov.au
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