Suppliers secured for Rottneros Group’s investment in renewable energy

On October 11, 2023, Paper Excellence announced an additional $175,000 contribution towards wildfire recovery efforts in Shelburne County to follow its $25,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross Nova Scotia & Atlantic Canada Fires Appeal earlier in the year. The earlier $25,000 donation received matched support from the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, leading to a total of $250,000 towards wildfire rebuilding efforts in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada. In October, community members in Shelburne County gathered to celebrate the contributions from Paper Excellence, as well as generous contributions of lumber and support from Freeman Lumber, Scotsburn Lumber, and Wilson’s Home Hardware Building Centre in Barrington.

In a positive move to reduce its carbon footprint, Sappi Southern Africa has concluded a milestone 175GWh per annum renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Enpower Trading, a NERSA-licensed private electricity trading company. Sappi’s decision to partner with Enpower Trading aligns seamlessly with its broader sustainability goals and is a significant move towards attaining its Science Based Target (SBTi) objectives. By implementing this renewable energy solution at its multiple South African operations, it is expected that Sappi SA and Sappi Limited’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions will be reduced by 6% and 4% respectively. The power supplied to Sappi will be sourced from SolarAfrica Energy’s Sun Central PV project. SolarAfrica Energy, an integrated energy solutions provider, is executing one of the largest solar farms in South Africa – the 1GW Sun Central PV project is located southeast of De Aar in the Northern Cape.

Norske Skog Saugbrugs, together with its research and industry partners, has been granted NOK 60 million in research funding from the Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway under the Green Platform Programme. The portfolio of products to be developed aims to remove or greatly reduce the use of petroleum-based raw materials and harmful materials, as well as to contribute to increased recycling of plastics. «It is through research and innovation that we create tomorrow's sustainable society. Green platform is an important measure to ensure profitable green transition, and will help us become more skilled at scaling up and linking research to the market», says Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Trade and Industry (Labour Party). CEO of Norske Skog, Sven Ombudstvedt, says: «Norske Skog will connect strong professional R&D environments to develop unique and sustainable nanocellulose and biocomposite products that the world will demand more of in the future. Our unique fibre expertise will be a valuable contribution in creating sustainable commercial value chains by utilising recycled and renewable raw materials».