Sustainability at Saica begins with its values, which contribute to proper decision-making for the future.
OUR VALUES
We care for the future and value the development of our people and the communities where we operate.
We value diversity and cooperation with the fight against climate change. We see sustainability as a challenge.
We challenge ourselves continuously and commit to using the best available technologies and developing the Circular Economy.
AREAS
Saica Pack
Saica Flex
Saica Natur
Saica Paper
Energy valorisation plant
Saica Venizel biomass plant
We transform recycled paper into innovative and efficient corrugated cardboard packaging solutions.
We offer flexible packaging solutions which are environmentally-friendly such as: Saica Monoflex or Saica GreentHeart
We work towards the “Vertido Zero” goal by providing environmental services to manage waste for transformation into secondary raw materials, fostering the use of renewable energies and implementing all-new technological solutions.
At Saica Paper, we recycle 3 million tonnes of paper and cardboard.
The use of non-hazardous waste generated in the paper production process as a fuel was a step forward in our Circular Economy model and towards the achievement of our Zero Waste goal.
More than 480,000 tonnes of waste a year are used as fuel in our valorization plants, which prevents this waste from being sent to a tip and the consumption of fossil fuels to obtain the electricity and steam used in our processes. See vídeo.
The new biomass energy valorisation plant in Venizel, which will begin operating in 2018, will provide the necessary steam for our production process and replace the use of fossil fuels with the use of biomass waste from the nearby wood transformation industry and reject material from the paper production process that is currently being sent to a tip.
The use of biomass as a fuel will prevent the emission of 45,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
BOOSTING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Aligned with European policies
Europe 2020 is the European Union’s growth strategy for the next decade based on a social economy with a market that boosts knowledge and innovation, fosters a high level of employment and territorial cohesion and promotes more efficient use of resources.
At Saica, we develop a smart and integrated production model which is aligned with these principles.
Waste, the secondary raw material
The Circular Economy has a central role in this model. We see waste as secondary raw materials that can be reintegrated in the production cycle.
This vision requires collaboration from stakeholders who participate in this cycle to provide products that are more easily recycled and improvements in waste collection and transport, boost the secondary raw material market and innovate processes.
A vertical integration model
We have always been concerned about applying these principles by reducing the impact of our activities on the environment and searching for new ways to provide our stakeholders with value.
Our vertical integration model has allowed us to progress towards expanding our business model, turning the Circular Economy into the driver of our long-term strategy, diversifying our services and opening up new markets.
TRANSPARENCY
SEDEX
The Supply Ethical Data Exchange is a non-profit organization which disseminates ethical and responsible business practices in the development of global supply chains. Saica Pack is registered with this platform so its stakeholders may have a reference for implementation of and compliance with sustainability standards in the areas of occupational safety, environmental affairs and business ethics.
ECOVADIS
It provides sustainability rating to suppliers to guarantee the development of the supply chain all while maintaining certain quality and integrity levels.
ECODESK
It facilitates the formation of a responsible business by managing sustainability data, identifying risks and enforcing regulations. This is also a way to measure one’s carbon footprint in order to analyze environmental risks. Saica participates in Ecodesk and shares its data with clients.
CDP
Carbon Disclosure Project requests information on risk management and opportunities relating to climate change and water. Several multi-national companies and their suppliers already trust in CDP Supply Chain Programme to achieve sustainable supply chain management.
2020 GOALS
In order to carry out our circular business strategy, we defined some future commitments in relation to the main environmental vectors affected by our activities:
Products and Raw Materials
Energy
Water
Emissions into the atmosphere
Waste
- Our committment: To calculate the environmental impact of our products via LCA (“Life Cycle Analyses”).
- 2020 Goals: Natur Cycle Plus: To maintain EUCERTPLAST certification.
- 2015-2016 relevant facts: FSC Recycled certification for Saica Pack and the use of LDPE (low-density polyethylene) waste to produce recycled pellets.
- Our committment: To reduce the consumption of fossil fuels
- 2020 Goals: To increase the use of renewable energies by 25% and reduce the use of natural gas by 3%.
- 2015-2016 relevant facts: The elimination of the use of fueloil and a 13% increase in the use of biofuels.
- Our commitment: To reduce the load of waste contaminants at Saica Paper
- 2020 Goals: To reduce the tonnes of N (nitrogen), P (phosphorous) and TSS (total suspended solids) waste in comparison to 2015 by 20% and 10%, respectively.
- 2015-2016 relevant facts: Participation in CDP Water, obtaining a “B” result for 2015.
- Our commitment: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- 2020 Goals: To reduce CO2 emissions by 30% in comparison to 2015. And at Saica Paper, limit the NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions by 50%. 2015-2016 relevant facts: Scope 3 calculation at Saica Paper. Tools for calculating Scope 3 for our Saica Natur clients. The reduction of CO2 (Scope 1+2) in comparison to 2014.
- Our commitment: “Zero” Waste.
- 2020 Goals: To reach “Zero” Waste at Saica Paper, Saica Pack and Saica Flex.
- 2015-2016 relevant facts: An increase in the valorization rate of 1% to reach 89.7% in 2016 at Saica Paper and Saica Pack.
DEVELOPING TALENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES
We actively collaborate with several universities and intermediate and higher education centres. We are committed to developing the communities in which we operate and their job market talent.
In collaboration with Universidad de Zaragoza , we created the “Saica Sustainable Solutiosn Chair” in 2013, to encourage research projects in the field of energy sustainability and its application to the industrial sector. This chair has been granting an award each year since 2015, to recognize students who show high motivation for working in energy sustainability and its application to the industrial sector.
In collaboration with the ELISAVA School in Barcelona, we gave students of the Design and Industrial Design Engineering degree programmes the opportunity in 2015 to suggest new packaging designs for different products, aimed at e- commerce clients. The students offered their extremely fresh designs, creativity and innovation.
ENVIRONMENTAL VECTORS
Raw Materials
Energy
Water
Emissions into the Atmosphere
Waste
- We recover waste and convert it into secondary raw materials and we recycle it in order to provide recycled and recyclable packaging. For us, secondary raw materials are valuable and necessary for the manufacturing of high quality recycled products.
- Our commitments 2015-2016
- Invest in quality improvement of the raw material and the efficiency of processes:With initiatives such as the Fibre, we have reduced waste pulper by 0.5% and the waste from none paper components by 1.1% compared to 2014.
- Reduce our use of natural resources: by optimising production processes and packaging lines, in order to reduce rejections and cuttings.
- Minimise the impact of our activity on the environment: we require our providers to adhere to a series of environmental criterion. We also carried out optimisation initiatives in the use of chemical products and the reuse of process waters, etc.
- Encourage the use of secondary raw material: at Saica Pack we have increased the use of recycled paper by 6.9% with regard 2014. In the Paper section we have increased the amount of paper to be recycled by 2.1% and at Natur Cycle Plus 15,000t of recycled LDPE pellets are produced.
- For more than 30 years we have bet on cogeneration plants as a source of efficient, clean energy; combining heat production and electric energy in a single system to consume less fuel and reduce losses on electric networks.
Our commitments 2015-2016
- Reduce our use of natural resources: by installing new boilers or burners of natural gas at Saica Pack and Saica Paper. We have increased efficiency, completely eliminated the use of fuel oil and implemented energy efficiency improvements, such as the use of low pressure steam or the optimisation of circuits, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels.
- Minimise the impact of our activities on the environment: preventing non-recyclable waste being sent to landfill and using it as a fuel to generate electricity and steam, rather than using fossil fuels.
- Continue developing our integrated business model: by making use of non-recyclable waste, such as RDF produced at Saica Natur plants, the waste from Saica Paper processes or the biogas generated in our water process treatment plants, and enhancing waste, turning it into steam (140 GWh) and electric energy (356 GWh), therefore preventing it from being sent to landfill.
- Water is an essential part of our production process and it is a resource that is increasingly more scarce and valuable. We work to reduce its consumption, respecting its natural life cycle. We implement responsible practices throughout the entire value chain.
- Our commitments 2015-2016
- Reduce our consumption of natural resources: the reuse of process water and the recovery of steam in our Paper and Pack factories have allowed us to reduce our use of water and energy. At Natur Cycle Plus we reuse the water from the manufacturing of recycled pellets, recycling 83% of the volume of the process water.
- Minimise the impact of our activities on the environment: we worked to reduce our wastage parameters, expanding and improving existing facilities, creating new lines and introducing plans to reduce COD and TSS contaminated loads. We have invested almost 1 million euros in the implementation of continued improvement in our process water treatment plants.
- We carry out continuous efforts to monitor and minimise NOx (nitrogen oxides) and CO2 emissions; the main contributors of our environmental impact on the atmosphere. We carry out exhaustive monitoring in all our sites and some Continuous Measurement Systems in Energy Recovery sites.
- Our commitments 2015-2016
- Minimise the impact of our activities on the environment: through the installing of low NOx (nitrogen oxides) emission burners, the updating of boilers and the substituting of fuel oil for other fuels, we have reduced Saica’s emissions by 0.86% compared to 2014.
- Improve the sustainability of our logistics chain: carrying out a pilot scheme for the use of up to 60 tonne and 25.5 m long lorries, in the framework of the EMS (European Modular System), preventing the emission of almost 40,000 kg of CO2.
- Contribute to the measurement and management of our clients’ environment footprint: by developing a tool to calculate the emissions associated to transport and waste treatment (indirect emissions- Scope 3), we identified the impacts of and opportunities for reducing emissions.
- We are pioneers in waste recovery and we are committed to using the fibre from recovered paper, rather than virgin fibre and making the most of paper production waste to generate energy.
- Saica entered the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) market with the installation of Natur Cycle Plus which manages 15,000 tonnes of LDPE each year and converts it into recycled pellets.
- Our commitments 2015-2016
- Minimise the impact of our activities on the environment: we worked to meet our “zero waste” goal. Saica energetically enhances more than 400,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste from paper production processes. On the other hand, 210,000 tonnes of sludge from process water treatments are allocated to agricultural uses.
- Create new enhancement means to give new life to waste: we collaborated with our clients to develop management systems in order to reach their “zero waste” objectives, thus increasing the recyclability of products and expanding our range of services by means of Natur Cycle Plus and the future site of Venizel (France), where we will recover biomass from wood processing waste.
- Increase the level of recovery of managed waste: offering new supply and waste management services to our clients. For example, at Auchan Retail España we were able to reintroduce materials into the cycle that would previously have been waste, thus achieving “zero waste” in 11 centres.
- Encouraging innovation in environmental solutions: We provided clients, such as Auchan Retail España, with innovative collection and transportation solutions, we developed new technology for the recovery and conversion into raw materials, and we invested in the search for new uses for waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
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