Selling the Paper Story – A Strategic Initiative for the Paper IndustryPaolo Gianadda, Henry Coppens, Liezl Krummeck & Silvana Dimitrov

Presented at the TAPPSA National Conference, Durban, South Africa, 19-20 October 2010

What is influencing opinion?

The internet

“Paper vs. Plastic”: 14,000,000 hits

Observations (Top 10 listed sites): No paper companies/bodies North American perspective Strong emotive language around

perceived negative impacts of the industry

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What exactly is being said?

#1 site: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/PaperVsPlastic says of the paper industry:

“a tremendous scar in the forest.”

“numerous accidents plague the less-than-wealthy loggers.”

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What exactly is being said?

#1 site: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/PaperVsPlastic says of the oil industry:

“An oil drilling/pumping rig is roughly the size of a house.”

AND

“Literally, you could ‘mine’ oil in your backyard.”

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What exactly is being said?

#1 site: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/PaperVsPlastic says of Plastic bags:

Plastic: A by-product of oil refining. Only 4% of the total world’s oil used

for its production.

Apart from fuel burning heavy machinery, used in the acquisition of the oil, the entire plastic bag making process uses only electricity, which is mostly nuclear.

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What else is being said?

Common messages: Landfill space Plastic: Recyclable & reusable Resource consumption for paper:

Water – 50% more Energy – 70% more emissions

Paper use = trees cut down

Who is writing this stuff? Where do these stats come from?

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They even admit…

Blog.greenfeet.com:

“Is it a complete, scientific assessment? No. However, it’s a good start, filled with facts and one that I hope gets you thinking the next time you’re confronted with the choice” (paper or plastic).

...yet, this is what is influencing opinion

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How should the paper industry respond?

Arguments against paper are: Generalised and speculative Scientific? Different operating environment? With some truths Validity?

How should the industry respond? Don’t speculate Focus on the SA industry Be transparent

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Three Key Areas for Promotion

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Biosequestration in Plantation Forests

Biosequestration – capture & storage of CO2 by biological processes

Neutral carbon balance

Plantation forestry – a carbon repository Above ground stock Root and soil carbon

Under-promoted aspect of the SA industry? Time to start accounting for carbon stocks?

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AtmosphericCO2

C inwood

C in product

CO2

released inpapermaking

CO2/CH4 releasedin product

degradation

Carbon Sequestration vs. Carbon Footprint

Carbon sequestration like a bank account: Capital – above ground carbon Interest – root & soil carbon

Only changes in carbon stocks count to carbon footprint

Green House Gas reporting mandatory in 2012. Carbon taxation mooted for 2012/2013 - offset potential?

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Carbon Impact of Pulp & Papermaking

Complaints about energy intensity ignore: Renewable energy use Cogeneration

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Energy Use - Kraft Process

WoodHandling

CookingPulp

WashingBleaching

PaperMachines

Evaporation

RecoveryBoiler

Green LiquorClarification

CausticisingLime

Reburning

BlackLiquor

ChemicalRecovery

WhiteLiquor

High PressureSteam

Energy Use - Kraft Process

WoodHandling

CookingPulp

WashingBleaching

PaperMachines

Evaporation

RecoveryBoiler

Green LiquorClarification

CausticisingLime

Reburning

BlackLiquor

ChemicalRecovery

WhiteLiquor

High PressureSteam

Gas

LowPressure

SteamSteamSteam

TurbinesTurbines

Electricity

Bark BoilerBark Boiler

Bark EskomElectricityCoal FiredCoal Fired

BoilersBoilersCoal

CausticisingEvaporation

RecoveryBoiler

Green LiquorClarification

LimeReburning

ChemicalRecovery

High PressureSteam

Energy Use - Kraft Process

WoodHandling

CookingPulp

WashingBleaching

PaperMachines

Evaporation

RecoveryBoiler

Green LiquorClarification

CausticisingLime

Reburning

BlackLiquor

ChemicalRecovery

WhiteLiquor

High PressureSteam

Gas

LowPressure

SteamSteam

Turbines

Electricity

Bark Boiler

Bark EskomElectricityCoal Fired

BoilersCoal

CausticisingEvaporation

RecoveryBoiler

Green LiquorClarification

LimeReburning

BlackLiquor

ChemicalRecovery

Cogeneration & Condensing Power Generation

Electricity generated by passing high pressure steam through turbine. Steam expands, causing blades of turbine to spin. Power is generated & steam pressure reduced.

Cycle in Power Generation Plant: Add energy to convert water to high pressure steam Produce electricity from high pressure steam & reduce steam

pressure until no more electricity can be generated Convert low pressure steam back to water by removing energy

from vapour

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REPEAT

Total energy added to water to create steam

25oC 100oC 100oC 430oC

Liq VapourPhase Change – Liquid to Vapour

Electricity

Cogeneration & Condensing Power Generation

Difference: Fate of the energy associated with the low pressure vapour. Cogeneration – energy is used. Conventional power generation – energy sent to cooling tower.

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Mainly cogeneration 0.43 t CO2-e/MWh (ex coal)

vs. 1.03 t CO2-e/MWh

~0 kl water/MWh vs. 1.34 kl water/MWh

Still a Positive Carbon Footprint

Kraft packaging paper: ~3 t CO2/t paper

Recycled paper: ~1 t CO2/t paper

How does plastic compare?

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Some estimates around plastic

Plastic bags made from polyethylene (PET)

1.75 - 2 t petroleum per ton of PET

0.75 t petroleum for energy per ton of PET

2.1 – 2.4 t fossil CO2 produced per ton of PET

3.1 t CO2 released on decomposition

per ton of PET

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Paper vs. Plastic

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Pap

erP

last

ic

~1 – 3 t CO2

per t paper

~5.2 – 5.5 t CO2 per t

PET

Cradle Manufacturing GraveTotal Fossil CO2 Release

Forward Looking Statements on Carbon

“How is the paper industry planning to reduce its carbon footprint?”

... “Through efforts to increase renewable energy use”

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Forward Looking Statements on Carbon

“How is the paper industry planning to reduce its carbon footprint?”

... “Through efforts to improve cogeneration”

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Forward Looking Statements on Carbon

“How is the paper industry planning to reduce its carbon footprint?”

... “Through efforts to improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing processes”

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Forward Looking Statements on Carbon

“How is the paper industry planning to reduce its carbon footprint?”

... “Through efforts to increase the amount of paper recycling”

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Forward Looking Statements on Carbon

“How is the paper industry planning to reduce its carbon footprint?”

... “Through the promotion of the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 1: Paper is a renewable resource

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 2: Paper is biodegradable

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 3: Plantation forests

are natural sinks for carbon dioxide

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 4: Paper is easily recycled –

recycled paper has a reduced carbon impact

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 5: Significant quantities

of renewable energy are used to produce pulp and paper

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 6: Cogeneration – a greener power generation option

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Seven Facts about the Paper Industry

Fact 7: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – the best way to reduce carbon impact

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Looking ahead…

Just a start to the “Paper vs. Plastic” debate Not all issues addressed Product research agenda set by the gaps Issues around utility to be addressed:

How many grams to produce an equivalent strength bag?

How many times can a bag be reused?

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Parting Shot

The paper industry has a compelling story to tell - is it not time to be more proactive as an industry in telling this story?

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