FOR sUsPENDED sOLIDs AND APPROXIMATELy 60%
FOR BIODEGRADABLE ORGANIc MATTER.
110 90 70 50 30 EFFLUENTS - REFERENCE 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 EVOLUTION % 2006 SST, kg/t product
CBO5, kg O2/t product
CQO, kg 02/t product
40 60 80 100
In connection with this, the Group has also maintained regular contacts with suppliers, in order to assure compliance with the legal requirements applicable to the products supplied.
european union ecolabel
In September 2010 the Portucel Group was granted a license to use the Ecolabel on the paper it manufactures and markets (PT/11/002). The European Union Ecolabel promotes products and services which meet strict standards of environmental performance, which have for several years been integrated into the management model adopted by the Group.
In the office stationery and printing paper segment, the Ecolabel requires the use of certified timber from controlled sources, and bans the use of substances harmful to the environment and to health, as well as promoting use of renewable energy, implementation of a rigorous waste management system, and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants discharged into the air and water.
Aware of the growing importance of its environmental performance, the Portucel Group has taken an active part in developing new criteria for award of the European Union Ecolabel, due for publication in early 2011.
manaGemenT sysTems
In 2010, the Portucel maintained all its management systems implemented and certified by commissioning audits from accredited bodies. This process took place in accordance with regulatory requirements in the fields of quality, environment, safety and
the chain of responsibility. In keeping with the certification cycles established in the relevant standards, the Figueira da Foz Industrial Complex completed a further cycle in the certification of its Environmental Management System; this resulted in renewal of the certification, recognizing the good practice implemented at the site.
In connection with the FSC and PEFC chain of responsibility, and with the extension of certification of the chain of responsibility for the new Setúbal mill (ATF – About the Future) and the creation of new sites, new product groups had to be introduced and the calculation methods used to manage FSC and PEFC credits had to be reformulated, so as to assure the traceability of all fibrous material. The procedures associated with the chain of responsibility were reviewed to reflect all the changes made, and credit management procedures were standardized across the Portucel Group.
Timber imports increased, making it necessary to introduce the concept of ILO – Import Logistics Operation, in order to assure control and traceability
of timber in ships and to implement the percentage methods for FSC certified timber.
All wood imported in 2010 was supplied by companies with certified forests and/or chain of responsibility. In particular, all the long fibre consumed by the Group was sourced from FSC or PEFC certified suppliers or from FSC Controlled Wood. This fact, combined with inspections and checks in the field to analyze the risk of uncertified timber sourced from within Portugal, means that the Group can assure its customers and other interested parties of the reliable origin of all the wood used in its production processes.
FIGUEIRA FOZ INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX CACIA MILL SETÚBAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
(PORTUCEL AND ATF)
EXTERNAL TIMBER YARDS BOSQUES DO ATLÂNTICO CERTIFICATIONS ACCREDITATION OHSAS 18001 NP 4397 FSC - STD - 40 - 003 | FSC - STD - 40 - 004 | FSC - STD - 40 - 005 | PEFC - ANNEX 4
LABORATORY ISO/IEC 17025 ISO/IEC 17025 ISO/IEC 17025 CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY SAFETY QUALITY ISO 9001 OHSAS 18001 NP 4397 ISO 9001 OHSAS 18001 NP 4397 ISO 9001
Thanks to the efforts made by the Group to achieve this objective, sales of certified paper by the Portucel Group accounted for approximately 20% of total sales, the vast majority being sold with the FSC label.
In keeping with its management systems policy, the Group has consolidated and standardized the facilities, resources and skills needed to implement improvements to performance in the various certified management systems. Cross-group procedures have been implemented to standardize practices and the monitoring of critical processes, such as safety indicators and waste management.
EnERGY
In 2010, the Portucel Group recorded total gross power generation of 1,696 GWh, corresponding to an increase of approximately 48% over the previous year.
This increase was due essentially to the output of the new combined cycle cogeneration plant installed in Setúbal, to the two new biomass-fuelled powers stations in Cacia and Setúbal and to the start-up at the end of the third quarter of the new steam turbogenerator installed at the existing biomass cogeneration plant at the Figueira da Foz complex. The electricity generated by the Portucel Group in 2010 corresponded to 3.4% of the total power produced in Portugal.
Power generation from biomass-fuelled plants (three cogeneration plans and two dedicated plants) totalled 1,099 GWh e and accounted for 52% of the total Portuguese output of electricity in 2010 from this renewable resource, with the Group remaining the country’s leading producer of power from biomass. With the start-up of the new steam turbogenerator (TG4) for the cogeneration plant at the Figueira da Foz complex, which started feeding power into the grid on a trial basis on 23 August 2010, the Group completed a series of CAPEX projects in the energy area, representing total investment of approximately 200 million euros.
Despite the increase in energy obtained from natural gas, responding to the energy needs of the new Setúbal paper mill, 65% of the Group’s energy production was derived from cogeneration plants and biomass power plants, which use renewable resources (forest biomass and timber by-products from the pulp production process).
The strategy pursued by the Group in this field was rewarded by international recognition in 2010 in the form of one of the Green Energy and Biofuels Awards from Pulp & Paper International (PPI).
bioenerGy and fossil fuels
The Portucel Group has pressed ahead with substantial investment designed to minimize its use of fossil fuels. The CAPEX projects implemented in recent year with the greatest impact on current CO2 emissions by the Group have been the fitting of new recovery boilers at the Cacia da Figueira da Foz plants, the conversion of biomass boilers to fluidized bed technology at the three industrial complexes and modification of the lime kiln at the Figueira da Foz complex.
Operation at full capacity of the two new biomass- fuelled power stations at the Cacia and Setúbal plants, achieved in 2010, has consolidated the Group’s leadership of the biomass renewable energy sector in Portugal. With these projects, the Group has significantly contributed to reducing Portugal’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, as well as generating a highly positive impact on the country’s balance of CO2 emissions. It is estimated that the Group’s new plants will make it possible to avoid CO2 emissions in excess of 70 thousand tons on the country’s balance sheet. The investment in the new steam turbogenerator at the biomass cogeneration plant at the Figueira da Foz plant, replacing two old steam turbogenerators, has resulted in a considerable gain in energy efficiency at this site.
emissions (as it consists in increasing efficiency from a resource which was already biomass), it will indirectly permit a reduction in CO2 emissions of approximately
40 thousand tons for the country, by avoiding power generation in large gas or coal fired power stations.
foresT biomass for enerGy purposes
The Portucel Group has strengthened its position as a producer and supplier of forest biomass and timber by-products.
Integrated forestry operations, in keeping with sustainable principles and the concern to preserve biodiversity, are in the Group’s view the fundamental
basis for a balance in obtaining raw materials for the production of tradable goods with a high level of value added, such as pulp and paper, and for making use of off-cuts and other residual biomass for producing energy.
In 2010, the Group had two biomass fuelled power stations working at full capacity, in Cacia and Setúbal. Supplying these two units is the prime business activity of Enerforest, a Group company engaged in producing and marketing biomass and managing waste for energy purposes. The company also supplies clients on a just- in-time basis. Over the course of the year, prices in the biomass market remained stable.
The Group has also started a project for stationery chipping at its mills, due for start-up in 2011. Work proceeded over the year on producing bales of waste biomass (PackinStock project), contributing to the clearance of brushwood/undergrowth on the Group’s properties and to improving stocks of biomass. In the second half of 2010, operation of the biomass yards at power plants was placed under separate management, leading to better performance in stocks management and at the same time allowing Enerforest to concentrate on commercial activities, in order to assure flows of biomass supplies.