All around the paper mill
Can raw material and energy efficiency be further improved if paper mills, other businesses in the region and local municipalities increase their collaboration? Yes, it is possible, and at the same time, costs and environmental impact can be reduced! This is the result of a two-year project within the scope of the Bavarian Environmental Pact ("Umweltpaket Bayern").
The results were presented to the public on 29 January 2019 in the UPM paper mill in Plattling. The event was opened by the administrative chief in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection (Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz), Ministry Head of Department Dr. Christian Barth. Dr. Siegfried Kreibe of the bifa Umweltinstitut presented the project and reported about barriers and routes to success for cross-industry cooperation.
The project partners presented twelve areas for action to the some 50 participants. They range from the use of ash in the construction industry through to the recycling of paper cups, from heating, cooling and air-conditioning with surplus heat through to the recovery of CO2, from alternative fibres through to the consolidation of forces in industrial parks. Andreas Helbig of Seda Germany GmbH, Robin Huesmann of LEIPA Group GmbH, Michael Heberle of UPM Communication Papers and Mika Kämpe of UPM Plattling gave an insight into the current activities of their companies.
Potential cooperation partners are now invited to examine the networking approaches together with the paper factory near them and to thus make a contribution to further improvement of raw material efficiency and climate protection in Bavaria.
The project partners were bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH, the association of Bavarian paper factories ("Verband Bayerischer Papierfabriken e.V."), the association of the Bavarian paper, cardboard and plastics processing industry ("Verband der Bayerischen Papier, Pappe und Kunststoff verarbeitenden Industrie e.V.") and the paper foundation ("Papiertechnische Stiftung"). bifa was responsible for the moderation and project management. The project was funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection (Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz).
A free brochure with the results of the project and potential networking partners is available from www.bifa.de.