Cleaner production
We recognise that our operations can and do have an impact on our surrounding natural environments and it is our intention to minimise and remedy this impact as far as this is practical. As a minimum standard, we ensure that all our operations comply with the environmental laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. No significant fines (fines higher than €50,000) or non-monetary sanctions were imposed on the company as a result of non-compliance with environmental laws or regulations.
Performance
To achieve our goal of cleaner production, we focus on three critical areas:
- emissions to air,
- emissions to water, and
- the management of waste.
The following table summarises our performance during our commitment period.
| Cleaner production – performance from 2005 to 2010 |
|
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
| Emissions to water (tonnes)
|
| COD |
138,867 |
106,757 |
110,993 |
103,365 |
82,921 |
91,265 |
| AOX |
390 |
417 |
157 |
146 |
153 |
143 |
| Emissions to air (tonnes)
|
| TRS |
441 |
224 |
167 |
131 |
133 |
134 |
| Waste (tonnes) |
| Waste to landfill |
466,772 |
370,070 |
382,564 |
349,223 |
304,433 |
300,712 |
| Hazardous waste to landfill
|
44,938 |
34,024 |
47,567 |
62,834 |
16,907 |
806 |
We have identified the loss of primary containment as a sustainability risk that we need to address, and we review, investigate and monitor the incidents arising from any spills and releases, to minimise any negative impacts. Loss of containment is any non-planned discharge of hazardous or non-hazardous material that extends outside its primary containment or area of intended use, such as a leaking pipe. Spills of chemicals, oils, and fuels can have significant negative impacts on the surrounding environment, potentially affecting soil, water, air, biodiversity and human health. Spills and releases are evaluated and reported as environmental incidents. Monitoring information on spills and releases is essential in order to better understand how to avoid repeat occurrences, and focus on corrective actions where instances have occurred.
Incident reporting systems are in place at all operations. Failure to comply with legal requirements indicates either inadequate internal management systems and procedures or a lack of implementation. In addition to direct financial consequences, ongoing compliance failure as well as incidents pose increased financial risk due to possible damage to both reputation and employee motivation. All environmental incidents are recorded and classified as Level I, II or III incidents:
- Level I: minor impact, short-term effect;
- Level II: moderate impact, medium-term effect; and
- Level III: significant impact, long-term effect.
Once an incident has been recorded, any necessary corrective action is determined, executed and monitored. In case of Level II and III incidents, an investigation by a qualified team is begun immediately, using a formal incident investigation practice. Lessons learned from incidents are communicated as appropriate.
There were no Level III incidents in 2010, including no significant spills. There were 22 Level II incidents in 2010 (2009: 23) and these occurred at a number of operations; Stambolijski (Bulgaria), Syktyvkar (Russia), Springs and Richards Bay (South Africa) accounted for 17 of the 22 cases. These incidents occurred largely as a result of longer-term exceedances of permits; release of dust, malodorous gases and oil and repeated complaints about odour from communities. In all cases, appropriate measures were taken to ensure the correction of the issues and avoidance of repeat incidents. Actions included maintenance and repair of equipment, clearing and removing spills, appropriate registration of complaints to address issues in a structured way and to communicate the actions taken with the communities, continuation of projects and action plans to stabilise and minimise the emission levels. Level 1 incidents are not reported at a Group level.
Water
Water management
We understand that water is a scare resource globally and we have committed to the responsible use and custodianship of this resource. We recognise that in water-scarce areas there may be significant risks to our operations and communities, which need to be understood, planned for and dealt with effectively and efficiently. We also understand that this risk is not only associated with our own business, but also with our supply chain and take cognisance of this in our planning.
During 2010, all our operations assessed their water consumption relative to local water availability, against recognised water scarcity databases, using the water tool advocated by the WBCSD. Some of our operations in South Africa are located in water-stressed areas. Water-impact assessments which provide detailed, local renewable water-resource data at a sub-catchment level will be conducted in 2011, and will take into account historical changes in river flow, changes in lake or aquifer levels, violations of water quality standards and the prognosis of future water availability. Ecological and social impacts are also considered. See the case study: Váh River water quality improves as Mondi upgrades water systems.
An operation’s water footprint consists of three components:
- green water: consumption of rainwater stored in the soil as moisture.
|
Green water: The green water footprint is the volume of water evaporated from rainwater stored in or on vegetation, or stored in the soil as soil moisture. The water footprint during the forestry stage contains both a green and blue component. These two components cannot easily be determined separately as trees use rainfall water and tap from groundwater resources simultaneously. Therefore water consumption during fibre growth in forests is counted and reported as green water. |
- blue water: consumption of potable, surface and ground water.
|
Blue water: The industrial stage has only a blue water component. Mondi has divided the blue water footprint of its operations into potable, ground, surface and second-class water as, from a social viewpoint, the consumption of potable and ground water must be reduced as much as reasonable , especially when operating in water-scarce areas. |
- grey water: volume of fresh water required to assimilate the load of pollutants based on existing ambient water quality standards.
|
Grey water: the grey water footprint is the volume of polluted surface water. As Mondi does not use fertilisers in its plantations, grey water only appears in the waste water discharged from the production process, normally after treatment in the operation’s own or third party waste water treatment plants. The grey water footprint was estimated as required dilution by multiplying the waste water output by a factor resulting from a comparison of COD loads (the main impurity in the pulp and paper industry) of the discharged waste water with accepted water standards of the receiving water. |
The indirect water footprint is calculated by taking into account pulp, recovered paper and fibre from third parties.
|
Indirect water: Evaporation data for forests and the water footprint related to recycled paper is taken from literature. Pulp supplied from third parties has been estimated by using comparable data from Mondi production if the water data from suppliers is not available. Data of forest evaporation and the water footprint related to recycled paper is taken from literature. Pulp supplied from third parties has been estimated by using comparable data from Mondi production in case water data from suppliers was not available. |
In 2010, we had a total water input of 309.8 million m3 water (2009: 306.4 million m3). The increase in fresh water usage is due to the increase in production volume in 2010.
Recycling of water is an important concern as part of our aim to optimise resource efficiency. Water is not only a critical resource; to Mondi, the energy content of warm and hot water is of considerable economic value.
Detailed water footprint calculations have been conducted for all material operations based on the Water Footprint Network’s (WFN) Water Footprint Manual, which takes into account country-specific annual averages recorded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT).
Water footprints have been calculated for all our material operations and fibre supply chain and are defined as the total amount of fresh water that is used to produce fibre in forests, as well as paper and pulp in our operations. The direct water footprint refers to water consumed by the operations, while indirect water use refers to water consumed in the supply chain to produce the materials purchased by the producer.
While the operational water footprint associated with production was found to be a very small percentage of the total water footprint, it remains important to manage the operation´s direct/operational impacts on local water resources. Water-related risks must be addressed within the context of the local watersheds taking the impacts of all water users into account, as these impacts are cumulative.
Emissions to water
In total, 290 million m³ of water was discharged by Mondi´s material operations in 2010 – approximately 20% was non-contact water (e.g. cooling water) which was discharged directly into the aquatic environment, less than 1% was used for irrigation and about 80% was treated in our own or third party´s waste water treatment plants.
After discharge, Mondi's water is also used by other organisations, but these amounts are not measured.
We use two critical indicators of our emissions to water and have targets in place on reducing our overall impact on receiving water bodies. These are:
- Chemical oxygen demand (COD), which reflects the effluent load for which we set a reduction target of 30% by 2010, against a 2005 baseline year.
- Adsorbable organic halogens (AOX), which reflects all types of halogen compounds present in the water that can be absorbed, for which we set a reduction target of 30% by 2010, against a 2005 base year.
Good progress was made in reducing COD emissions, with the group having reduced COD by 34% over the five-year commitment period, from nearly 139,000 tonnes per annum in 2005 to approximately 91,000 tonnes per annum in 2010. This is a decrease of around 34% in absolute terms. The greatest impact on the reduction of COD has been achieved by the rebuild of the Richards Bay mill, South Africa including a new waste water treatment plant as well as the efficiency improvements in Felixton, South Africa and Syktyvkar, Russia. In Świecie, Poland a new anaerobic waste water treatment plant has been built, allowing the energetic usage of methane containing biogas produced in the anaerobic process.
The increase in COD levels of the group in 2010 in comparison with 2009 is a result of the increased production volumes in 2010 as well as the extended commercial shutdowns in 2009. The Group's volume of COD lies within the BAT range as defined in the glossary of terms.*
* We have excluded the COD contribution of Felixton to the Group in this BAT comparison as there are no BAT limits published in the 'Reference Document on Best Available Technique for the Pulp and Paper Industry' by IPPC for pulp production out of bagasse.
Similarly, in respect of AOX, significant improvements were achieved, largely as a result of the Group’s policy to cease the use of elemental chlorine during bleaching. A reduction of 63% was achieved for the commitment period, from 390 tonnes per annum in 2005 to 143 tonnes per annum in 2010. Improvements were made to the bleaching process in Russia and South Africa. We use Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching that utilises chlorine dioxide, which acts as an oxidising not a chlorinating agent. We also use Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) bleaching which typically uses hydrogen peroxide.
The Group's volume of AOX lies within the BAT range as defined in the glossary of terms.
Air
Emissions to air
The most significant impact on air quality by our operations is the emission of total reduced sulfur (TRS) compounds from our pulp mills, which provide an odour nuisance to our neighbours even at very low concentrations. These malodorous gases often give rise to complaints. They consist of hydrogen sulphur (H2S), methyl mercaptane, dimethyl-sulphide and dimethyl-disulphide. Concentrated gases are emitted from digester, evaporation plant and condensate stripper, while diluted gases, in lower concentrations, emanate mainly from chip-pre-steaming, screening, pulp washing, smelt dissolver and the ventilation of various tanks containing black liquor. While they do not pose a health threat at the concentrations emitted on this scale, trace amounts are enough to create an irritating odour.
In 2010, 137 complaints relating to odour were reported*. We are committed to reduce TRS emissions even further and have invested millions of euros to improve the situation at our mills and their surroundings, such as the TRS reduction project in Richards Bay, South Africa. See case study: Richards Bay mill odour reduction project steams ahead.
*The remaining complaints related to noise and other issues.
We set ourselves a reduction target of 65% in TRS emissions to atmosphere by 2010, against a 2005 baseline. By the end of 2010, we had more than achieved our target, with TRS emissions in tonnes per annum declining by 70% over the commitment period.
The Group's volume of TRS lies below the lower BAT level as defined in the glossary of terms.
A significant part of this reduction was achieved by the installation of closed reactors and the collection and incineration of any remaining emissions containing sulfur compounds, particularly:
- the modernisation of Ružomberok and Syktyvkar mills and
- the project for the reduction of TRS emissions in Richards Bay.
Other emissions from our operations include SO2, which is emitted as a result of the combustion of coal for energy generation. Our SO2 emissions have increased by 21% since 2009, to 5,009 tonnes per annum in 2010, largely as a result of the increase in production. Due to our energy efficiency investment in Syktyvkar (which started up in October 2010) and our steady move from sulphur-containing coal towards renewable sources for energy generation, SO2 emissions will be reduced in future.
NOx emissions are related to the combustion of fuels and the incineration of wastes. Using existing boilers more efficiently and the introduction of De-NOx systems in the purification of exhaust gases have helped us to reduce harmful NOx emissions. This has been supported by the commissioning of our new recovery boiler at Syktyvkar, Russia, along with the shutdown of three old recovery boilers in 2010. NOx emissions declined to 11,427 tonnes per annum in 2010 (2009: 12,255 tonnes per annum), a reduction of 7% since 2009. See the case study: New electrostatic precipitator filter slashes dust emissions from Štětí recovery boiler.
Particulate emissions amounted to 3,805 tonnes in 2010 (2009: 4,153 tonnes)*. Volatile organic compounds, fugitive emissions, persistent organic pollutants and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons are either not relevant for our operations, or else released in minimal and immaterial amounts, and therefore not monitored at a Group level**.
**Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions for the pulp and paper industry are released mainly from the storage and handling of wood, and therefore originate from biogenic sources. Storage of woodchips and production of mechanical pulp are the most notable points of emissions. Paper machines, production of chemical pulp and effluent treatment are minor emissions sources. VOC compounds released from pulp and paper mills consist mainly of methanol and terpenes (these substances are usually incinerated during energy generation at our plants and reported via our energy management system. An occasional problem associated with the VOCs is odour on a minor scale at a few of our mills, but the amounts are not material and therefore not reported at a Group level.
Fugitive emissions are emissions of gases due to leaks and various other unintended or irregular releases of gases. They can contribute to air pollution and climate change. By reporting the losses of ozone-depleting substances, we partly report on these fugitive emissions. The operations also regularly report on any spills and releases and estimate the quantity of emitted substances into air, water and soil. We assess these emissions to be immaterial, but have plans to reduce them further in 2011 by focusing our efforts to minimise the loss of primary containment.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. They are not materially broken down over a reasonable period of time. We believe the emissions of these substances to be minimal and immaterial, as Mondi does not use pesticides, PCBs (which were widely used in capacitors, transformers, and lubricating oils, have not been manufactured for several decades but linger in the environment. They are not used in Mondi's energy plants, or dioxins (a potential source of which is the bleaching of pulp, but since Mondi bleaches the pulp without using elementary chlorine, dioxins are not emitted at our operations).
Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in petroleum and petroleum derivatives. The PAHs are also found in the environment as by-products of coal gasification plants. As there is currently very limited information released about PAH emissions from energy generation out of biomass, coal and oil, these are not currently reported at the Group.
Ozone-depleting substances can severely harm both humans and the environment. These include chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons and halons. Their production and use is regulated by the Montreal Protocol, which regulates the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) internationally. Mondi strives to minimise safety risks and environmental impacts, including the use of those substances and emissions related to them. In 2010 2,411 kilograms of ozone-depleting substances were emitted (2009 1,292 kilograms), mainly hydrochlorofluorocarbons, with essentially no ozone-depleting potential***.
| Total loss of ozone-depleting substances 2010 (kg) |
2,411 |
| HCFC |
158 |
| HFC |
1,988 |
| Halons |
265 |
The loss of ozone-depleting substances is associated with certain amounts of greenhouse gas emissions as well, but the volumes reported for the Group are less than 0.2% of our total CO2 e emissions, and therefore not material****.
*** IPCC uses an ODS factor to describe the potential of a chemical compound to deplete the ozone layer. The substances are compared with trichlorofluoromethane (R11 of CFC-11), the chlorocarbon compoound with the strongest ozone-depleting potential (ODP) (R11: ODP = 1.0). The ODP of a given substance is defined as the ratio of global loss of ozone due to given substance over the global loss of ozone due to CFC-11 of the same mass. ODP can be estimated from the structure of a given substance. Chlorofluorocarbons have ODPs roughly equal to 1. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) have no chlorine content, so their ODP is essentially zero.
**** For the purpose of estimating the greenhouse gas emissions from ODS, we use the values from internationally credible literature on the carbon factors for various ODS. We mainly use R134a, R143a, R407c, R22, Halons (HFC R143a = 4,500; HCFCs R22 = 1,800; Halon = 7,000). Taking into account the amounts of HCFC, HFC and halons reported in the table above, the total GHG emissions from the loss of ODS amount to approximately 11,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions accounting for less than 0.2% of our total GHG emissions.
Waste
We are committed to minimise environmental impact from hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Mondi carefully monitors all amounts of its operational wastes (waste types and waste routes) categorising in hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. See case study: Putting waste water sludge to good use in Finland.
Our waste streams include green liquor, ash, lime mud, waste paper rejects and sludge. Treatment options include recycling for re-use or energy recovery.
- treatment for change of physical status and/or chemical composition (such as drying and filtration) or for treatment to change hazardous to non-hazardous;
- combustion in incineration facilities (with or without energy recovery); and
- landfilling.
See the case studies: Turning our waste into growth: ash utilisation at Mondi SCP Ružomberok and Mondi finds innovative use for lime mud waste.
| Waste by type and treatment |
|
2010 |
2009 |
| Total hazardous waste |
13,806 |
20,497 |
| Hazardous waste to landfill |
806 |
16,908 |
| Hazardous waste incinerated |
386 |
280 |
| Hazardous waste sent for recycling/re-use |
795 |
269 |
| Hazardous waste sent for treatment |
11,819 |
3,040 |
| Total non-hazardous waste |
967,444 |
1,436,480 |
| Non-hazardous waste to landfill |
299,907 |
287,518 |
| Non-hazardous waste to internal or external incineration |
36,301 |
564, 566 |
|
| Non-hazardous waste recycled |
596,081 |
544,048 |
| Non-hazardous waste for treatment |
35,155 |
40,348 |
| Total debris |
32,282 |
31,923 |
| Non-hazardous debris |
32,279 |
31,903 |
| Hazardous debris |
3 |
20 |
|
In 2005, we committed to reducing our total waste-to-landfill volumes by 20% by 2010. Through a concerted effort – by increasing the recycling and re-use of materials, and by using more environmentally responsible processes - this commitment was exceeded and a 36% reduction to approximately 300,000 tonnes of total waste (hazardous and non-hazardous) to landfill per annum was achieved during this period. We ceased the landfilling of process-related hazardous waste in 2009 in alignment with the sustainable development commitments we set in 2005. Nevertheless, for 2010 we have reported approximately 800 tonnes of non-process hazardous waste mainly in South Africa from decontamination, repairs and maintenance activities.
*Selected data on this page has been subject to external assurance by ERM. See the assurance report.
Last change: 23/03/2011