Ahlstrom-Munksjö is investing €15 million for new technology and converting its existing boilers at its Mosinee and Rhinelander plants in Wisconsin, U.S., to reduce its carbon emissions and landfill waste.

These investments at the Mosinee production plant will enable a reduction in its carbon footprint by an estimated 20%, and a reduction of landfill waste by more than 10%. The project is estimated to be completed at the end of the second quarter in 2023.

In addition, the Rhinelander production plant is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 14% and landfill waste by more than 50%. A new energy center and associated buildings at Rhinelander will consolidate and simplify energy operations, enabling the plant to house a future boiler and a heat recovery steam generator. The project will commence immediately and is estimated to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

“Being able to proceed with these key projects constitute an important milestone in further strengthening our operations in the U.S., making Mosinee and Rhinelander stronger platform to support for future growth with our customer base,” says Dan Adrianzon, EVP, Technical Materials.

“These investments will enable us to reduce carbon emissions and enhance our operational efficiency,” says Thomaz Gruber, vice president of Operations for the Wisconsin U.S. plants. “We take our responsibility to protect our natural resources seriously and we have demonstrated this through our sustainable forestry practices as well as the contributions our plants have made to Wisconsin communities for more than 130 years.”

In 2022, Ahlstrom-Munksjö updated its sustainability targets and committed to The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which is a global body enabling businesses to set emissions reduction targets to be in line with new climate science.  SBTi unveiled a new strategy to encourage businesses to obtain a minimum target of 1.5°C.

“Ahlstrom-Munksjö intends to reach that trajectory of 38% absolute reduction by 2030 and aspires to reach net zero emissions by 2050,” adds Robin Guillaud, EVP, Sustainability, Innovation & Marketing. “Reducing the emissions and the landfill waste at the Rhinelander and Mosinee plants will be a significant step towards achieving the company’s ambitious sustainability metrics and goals.”