Since December 1999, Torraspapel has been part of the Lecta group that represents the fourth-largest coated paper manufacturing group in Europe, reaching a total production capacity of two million tonnes including all products.

Torraspapel has nine paper mills in Spain manufacturing their own finished product, pulp and base paper, reaching a production capacity in excess of one million tonnes. All paper mills hold the ISO 9001 quality certification and the ISO 14001 environmental certification.
In 2005 Torraspapel achieved a turnover of e820 million, total sales of 851,500 tonnes and employed more than 3,150 people.

Commitment to sustainability

Torraspapel includes in its mission and corporate values its social and environmental commitment, which it manifests through policies and actions that have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates.

Torraspapel is aware that its activity has economic, social and environmental implications. To improve these, it has started taking actions promoting social and environmental responsibilities, such as collaborations with NGOs and organisations dedicated to the conservation and growth of forests, reforestation projects, corporate volunteering programmes, promotion of forestry certification and collaborations with schools and associations. Furthermore, in 2004 Torraspapel signed the United Nations Global Compact, committing to fulfilling the ten principles regarding human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

For years Torraspapel has been introducing new technologies that are more and more environmentally-friendly, making large investments that have enabled it to reduce its consumption of raw materials, water and energy and decrease the environmental impacts of its processes in order to guarantee sustainability.

Environmental performance

To continue to reduce the environmental impact of its activity, Torraspapel systematically applies the best techniques available, thereby achieving the optimisation of environmental surveillance parameters established by law.
Over the last few years, it has invested over e100 million into environmental improvement programmes and Environmental Management Systems have been implemented at all the paper mills, ensuring environmentally-friendly means of production.

In this sense, the following stand out among the environmental activities developed in the last few years:

• Attainment of the ISO 14001 environmental certification in all the paper mills, thus 100 per cent of pulp and paper production have an environmental certification;
• Approximately 44 per cent of the pulp purchased originated from forests certified under one of the certifications that are currently on the market (FSC, PEFC, SFI, QFM);
• Certification of the Chain of Custody in the Zaragoza paper mill in accordance with PEFC Forest Certification – the remaining coated paper mills are expected to receive this certification in 2006;
• Installation of five energy cogeneration plants – Torraspapel has invested over
• 66 million into five cogeneration plants in four of its paper mills;
• Maximisation of the ratio of electricity produced by cogeneration and electricity consumed: the total specific energy consumed (amount of energy used per tonne produced) has decreased by 14 per cent since the year 2000;
• Investments to minimise water usage during the manufacturing process – the total discharge of waste water for pulp manufacturing decreased by 12 per cent between 2000–04. Over this same period, the volume of water consumed during the paper manufacturing process decreased by 30 per cent;
• Investments in the manufacturing process in Zaragoza and Sarrià de Ter paper mills to minimise the amount of sludge being sent to landfill or for inceration;
• To eliminate the use of fuel oil, replacing it with natural gas from 31 per cent in 2000 to only 6 per cent in 2004, the objective of Torraspapel being the elimination of fuel oil consumption by 2006.
  

To eliminate the use of fuel oil, replacing it with natural gas from 31 per cent in 2000 to only 6 per cent in 2004, the objective of Torraspapel being the elimination of fuel oil consumption by 2006.
In 2005 Torraspapel published its first Environmental Report, which comprises all the environmental activities that Torraspapel has undertaken to guarantee sustainable development. It is also a demonstration of Torraspapel’s commitment to the environment, as expressed in its Environmental Policy, combining business activity with sustainability.

For further information please visit www.torraspapel.com