Holmen Receives Madrid Environmental Award

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Holmen Paper, Stockholm, Sweden, reported this week that its mill in Madrid, Spain, has received an award from the Autonomous Community of Madrid for its extensive environmental work. Madrid's Environment Award for 2009 was based on the mill's management of water, recovered paper, waste products, and energy. The annual award is a joint initiative of the Community of Madrid, its chamber of commerce, and local business organizations

Freshwater is in short supply in Spain. Holmen Paper's development work in partnership with water supplier Canal de Isabel II and Complutense University of Madrid has led to a future where the paper mill will be able to use recycled water instead of purified drinking water in its manufacturing process. According to Holmen, this will make the mill the first in Europe to make paper based only on recycled water and recovered paper.

The mill's recovered paper operation deals with the majority of all recovered paper in the capital itself and outlying areas. As much as 93% of waste products from production are also recycled. For example, sludge from the recycling process is used in building material and in agricultural applications, with any metals arising from the process sent on to metal industries.

Two highly efficient steam turbines take care of energy production for the mill, producing steam and electricity totaling 77 MW. Holmen Paper Madrid recently became the first paper industry in Spain to receive UNE 216 301 energy certification.

Mill manager Mikael Wirén (on left in photo below) received the Madrid Environment Award from Esperanza Aguirre, president of Madrid. "We are naturally proud to receive this recognition of our comprehensive environmental work. We work efficiently with renewable and recyclable resources in our manufacturing process, while always maintaining respect for people and the future," Wirén noted.