We recognize water use and water quality as global social and environmental issues. In 2009, we participated in a forest products industry research study that evaluated best practices and approaches to reducing water use in pulp and paper manufacturing. Research indicates that approximately 88 percent of the water used in the forest products manufacturing process is treated and returned to the environment.
Making pulp and paper requires large volumes of water, and we are working on ways to reduce water use in our operations. Our cellulose fibers mills practice a high degree of internal water recycling to minimize energy, chemical, and water use, cascading freshwater from highest to lowest quality process uses before treating and returning to receiving waters. As part of our membership in the U.S. Business Roundtable S.E.E. Change initiative, we set a water-use reduction goal in May 2008 to reduce water use at our cellulose fibers mills 20 percent by 2012, from a 2007 baseline. The goal-setting process included analyzing water use at our cellulose fibers mills and comparing performance to industry benchmarks. We include separate cooling water discharges as part of our total water use at these mills. We achieved a 16 percent water use reduction in 2010 compared to our 2007 baseline.
We also monitor our effect on water tables in our forestry operations. For instance, in Uruguay, where we've planted trees on former grazing land, we initiated a long-term study in 1999 to determine the effect of the land use change on the region's water table. Since then, we've collaborated with a Uruguayan organization and North Carolina State University to determine the effects of change in land use, including annual water yield, peak runoff rates, and water quality.
Sustainability in Action
Cooling off on water use
Since our Cellulose Fibers business adopted a water use goal in 2008, our Longview, Wash., facility has focused on efforts to reduce water use in their manufacturing process.
Longview uses non-contact cooling water to cool process equipment. Non-contact cooling water is clean, since it does not come into contact with fiber or other chemical substances, but is typically discharged at a higher temperature than when it enters the mill.
Since 2007, Longview has implemented projects that have reduced its daily water use (measured by effluent discharge) by more than 20 percent.
A variety of projects have contributed to this reduction including:
- Improving utilization of their existing cooling tower
- Reusing non-contact cooling water by recycling it to another part of the process
- Sending non-contact cooling water to NORPAC, another onsite facility. Once the water has been used in the Longview process, it is warm and reduces NORPAC’s need to purchase steam to heat the water to its desired temperature.
In the cellulose fibers manufacturing process, reducing water use often results in reduced energy use as well because the facility is able to maximize efficient use of steam heat.
