GP Powers Up Energy Savings, Wins “Leaders in Sustainability Award”
Leading the Charge
GP Powers Up Energy Savings, Wins “Leaders in Sustainability Award”
Putting in more insulation, using energy efficient light bulbs, turning off the lights when you leave the room. . . these are things many of us do at home to be more energy efficient, but did you know that these same practices can add up to big energy savings for manufacturing plants as well?
That’s what our large pulp and paper mills discovered when we launched a comprehensive energy management program more than two years ago. The program spawned over 200 energy efficiency projects and other efforts that have resulted in savings of more than $50 million in purchased energy and a reduction in energy use of over 2 trillion Btu.
Here are just two examples of how we’ve incorporated these sustainable business practices:
Seeing the Light
Georgia-Pacific’s Crossett, Ark., pulp and paper mill saw the light - and it wasn’t very efficient. An evaluation of the facility’s lighting resulted in the replacement of more than 10,000 fixtures with new, energy efficient lighting. This effort resulted in a nearly 33 percent reduction in purchased electricity use by the affected lighting, and it added up to an estimated savings on purchased energy of more than $600,000 a year for the mill.
Blanket Savings
The Monticello, Miss., containerboard mill generated energy savings by adding insulation blankets to piping, tanks and other equipment. An audit showed that there were more than 1,700 points in the facility where a lack of insulation was causing heat loss, which significantly affected the energy efficiency of equipment and processes in the mill. Replacing the insulation led to savings of more than $200,000 a year in purchased energy costs.
These are just some of the many efforts that helped us win a “Leaders in Sustainability Award” for energy efficiency in November from the American Forest & Paper Association, a leading industry trade group, as part of the association’s Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Awards program. Read more about it here.
