Smufit Kappa installs renewable energy equipment at Spanish packaging mills

13 Jun 2024 --- Smurfit Kappa has invested in two “state-of-the-art” projects in Spain to enhance its sustainability profile. The first is a mass build-up of solar panels, and the second a landfill reduction project.

The packaging supplier unveiled over 12,000 solar panels at its Sangüesa paper mill, which will work alongside its biomass and recovery boilers to generate more than 50% of its annual energy requirements, the “equivalent to powering 3,600 homes.”

The photovoltaic system, the “largest of its kind” in the Navarra region, is set to reduce the mill’s annual CO2 emissions by over 3,000 metric tons and represents an investment of €6 million (US$6.4 million).

Since 2005, the Sangüesa paper mill has reduced its CO2 emissions by more than 51%, highlights Smurfit Kappa.

“The recent inauguration of both the Sangüesa and the Nervión investments are milestones for the Smurfit Kappa paper division and aligned with the EU Green Deal’s transition to climate neutrality through increasing clean energy technologies,” comments Javier Rivas, COO of Smurfit Kappa Paper & Board Europe.

Smurfit Kappa Sangüesa paper mill.“Biggest” landfill reduction project
The second investment of €27 million (US$29 million) in its Nervión paper mill will see the mill adopt a fully circular production process involving the biggest landfill reduction project Smurfit Kappa has undertaken. 

The project aims to remove 75,000 metric tons of waste from landfills and eliminate approximately 450,000 km per year in road transport. 

“These two projects demonstrate the group’s continued investment to deliver on its sustainability goals with over €30 million [US$32.2 million] in these two projects alone, delivering reduced emissions and increasing the circularity of our production process,” says Garrett Quinn, chief sustainability officer at Smurfit Kappa.

Smurfit Kappa Group CEO Tony Smurfit attended the Sangüesa and Nervión inauguration events.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer