Smurfit Kappa meets water quality targets three years ahead of schedule

Packaging manufacturer Smurfit Kappa said on Tuesday that it has cut the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in its water discharge three years early, following a €60 million investment.

The Irish-listed manufacturing giant had set a goal to improve the quality of its water quality by reducing the COD by 1/3 per tonne of produced paper by the end of 2020 compared to 2005, and had invested over €60 million in sustainable water treatment technology to achieve this goal. The treatment transforms water pollutants into biogas which is then reused as fuel in the company’s combined heat and power plants. Improving water quality is an important step for protecting aquatic life, the company said.

Steven Stoffer, VP of development at Smurfit Kappa said: "We are very proud to have reached our water target in 2017, three years ahead of our 2020 goal. This is thanks to the extensive knowledge and experience we have gained in water treatment over the past decades and our focus on closing loops wherever possible. We aim to return all our water to nature as clean as before."

Water is one of the five key sustainability areas for Smurfit Kappa along with forest, climate change, waste and people.