Growing the future, one tree at a time
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Founded in 1929, SCA is now the biggest private forest owner in Europe. Active in the areas of wood products, pulp, paper and energy, the company continues to make a name for itself across four continents. Since the majority of its products rely on wood and climate issues are only increasing, forest related sustainability is at the forefront of the company’s concerns.
“Since trees use CO2 when they grow, we have increased our volume of growing trees,” says Björn Lyngfelt, Senior Vice President, Communications. “By harvesting a share of the trees, we offer products that replace those with a larger footprint.”
For example, using biofuel instead of fossil fuel and paper packaging instead of plastic. While the business is actively taking more CO2 out of the air, it is also reducing its own emissions annually. SCA is dedicated to preserving biodiversity too. The company sets aside 20% of its forest, which means about one in five trees are left to die naturally.
Forest growth and harvesting is far from the only part of SCA that holds sustainability close to its heart. With the completion of the new Östrand pulp mill in Timrå, the pulp division of the firm is positioned to be the most environmentally friendly department of its kind active on the market.
“Östrand will be equipped with state of the art technology in order to minimize its air and water emissions,” explains Mr. Lyngfelt. “The new plant will become the leader in terms of resource management that generates surplus energy that is then sold as green electricity.”
To add to its achievements, Östrand will house the largest production line for bleached softwood kraft pulp worldwide, with a capacity of 900,000 t per annum of its new SCA Pure line of pulp.
Keeping the planet’s health in mind while maintaining an innovative spirit can also be clearly seen in the various business areas of SCA. Arcwise is a revolution in corrugated cardboard packaging. This revolution in corrugated board packaging makes it possible to shape corrugated board into a continuous curved form. This helps clients create a product that is more attractive to their end users while also achieving material savings of up to 30%.
Secondly, energy is an up-and-coming sector within the firm and like the rest of SCA, this branch is very dedicated to renewable business practices. The business is hard at work manufacturing biofuels in many forms, some of which include, wood shavings, pellets, bark, sawdust and more.
Having our own logistics branch allows us to personally serve our customers from start to finish. Björn LyngfeltSenior Vice President
“We also are a big partner in the wind industry,” adds Mr. Lyngfelt. “Currently, there are 301 turbines in operation on SCA’s land and another 235 are under construction.” The company works hard to use every part of every tree, whether that translates into physical products or using the byproducts of production to fuel commercial buildings and private residences.
Plans for this future-focused firm include increasing its presence on the pulp market since the Östrand mill will double that part of the business, expanding its kraft liner production and preparing for the potential investment in a bio-refinery that may produce as much as 4% of the total Swedish demand for fuel for all kinds of transport. “Sustainability is the key to our future,” concludes Mr. Lyngfelt.
