Smurfit Kappa Invests Over EUR 30 Million in Clean Energy Projects at Two Paper Mills in Spain

The second investment of EUR 27 million in Smurfit Kappa's Nervión paper mill is designed to remove 75,000 tonnes of waste from landfill and eliminate approximately 450,000km per year in road transport.

June 11, 2024 - Smurfit Kappa recently held inauguration events at its Sangüesa paper mill and Nervión paper mill to celebrate clean energy projects. Both mills are located in Spain.

Over 12,000 solar panels were unveiled at the Sangüesa mill, which will work alongside its biomass and recovery boilers to generate more than 50% of its annual energy requirements, the equivalent to powering 3,600 homes.

The photovoltaic system, which is the largest of its kind in the Navarra region, is set to reduce the mill's annual CO2 emissions by over 3,000 tonnes and represents an investment of EUR 6 million. Since 2005, the Sangüesa paper mill has reduced its CO2 emissions by more than 51%.

The second investment of EUR 27 million in Smurfit Kappa's Nervión paper mill will see the mill adopt a fully circular production process involving the biggest landfill reduction project the company has undertaken to date. The project is set to remove 75,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, and additionally, eliminate approximately 450,000km per year in road transport.

Javier Rivas, COO of Smurfit Kappa Paper & Board Europe, said, "The recent inauguration of both the Sangüesa and the Nervión investments are milestones for the Smurfit Kappa paper division and aligned with the EU Green Deal's transition to climate neutrality through increasing clean energy technologies."

Garrett Quinn, Chief Sustainability Officer at Smurfit Kappa, added: "These two projects demonstrate the Group's continued investment to deliver on its sustainability goals with over EUR 30 million in these two projects alone, delivering reduced emissions, and increasing the circularity of our production process."

The Sangüesa and Nervión inauguration events were attended by Smurfit Kappa Group CEO Tony Smurfit.

Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with more than 47,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries

SOURCE: Smurfit Kappa