Water
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We invest in making water use more efficient, which supports the circular economy, the management of water resources, and the achievement of our energy and climate targets.
Indicators and progress
REDUCTION IN PROCESS WATER USE %
Our aim is to reduce the use of process water by 30% per tonne produced from the 2018 level.
In 2022, we reduced our process water use by 12.2% (12.6) per tonne produced from the 2018 level. Lower production in the last quarter of the year weighed on the full-year progress in process water use.
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19 20 21 22 TARGET 2030
Our operations
Water use We strive to optimise the use of water in our processes and enhance the recycling of process water in the production process, the aim being to reduce the need to withdraw new raw water. We circulate water at our paperboard mills an average of 12–14 times, and up to 30 times at our BCTMP mills. This allows us to both minimise wastewater discharges and save energy, which reduces our climate impact. It also reduces our water risk (pp. 19 and 45). All of the process and cooling water we use is withdrawn from nearby surface waters, such as rivers and lakes. The maximum volumes for water intake are defined in the water intake permit issued by the authorities. Given that all our mills are in Finland and Sweden, in areas with plenty of water, we do not withdraw any water from areas with a high or extremely high baseline water stress (WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas). After use, the process water is carefully treated before it is returned to the waterbodies. As the cooling water flows within its own closed cycle, it remains clean at all times and is returned as such to the waterbodies. In 2022, Metsä Board’s use of fresh water totalled 110 million cubic metres (115 million m 3 ). Surface water accounted for nearly 100% and groundwater for 0.06% of our water intake. We withdrew 109,901 thousand m 3 (115,034) of surface water, of which roughly
half was used as process water and the other half as cooling water. A small amount of groundwater, 65 thousand m 3 (61), was used primarily for drinking and hygiene purposes. Our water consumption is very small in proportion to our total water use, as we return around 96% of the water to waterbodies after use. The remaining 4% either evaporates during the process or is bound to products. In 2022, our water consumption was approximately 4,399 thousand m 3 . Roadmap for reducing water use To achieve our 2030 target, we have defined mill-specific measures for enhancing the recycling of water and reducing the withdrawal of raw water from waterbodies. The Simpele paperboard mill, for example, will invest in the renewal of its pulp and white water sys- tem in 2021–2023. This will reduce both the use of process water and energy. In 2021–2023, the Kemi paperboard mill’s develop- ment programme will reduce the mill’s water use by approximately 40% and energy consumption by around 5% per tonne of paper- board produced. The Husum integrated mill accounts for roughly 40% of our water use, which is why the renewal of the Husum pulp mill will reduce Metsä Board’s water use significantly by 2030.
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