SCA Hygiene Australasia Kawerau
SCA HA Kawerau is a tissue paper manufacturing and converting plant based in the Kawerau.
The main challenges facing the plant are protection of the immediate environment with the Tarawera river beside the mill, Pulp and energy supply from sustainable and ethically managed resources, keeping jobs in NZ by staying competitive and engaging with an increasingly environmentally savvy consumer base.
To effectively face these challenges SCA has a sustainability team made up of managers and staff from the various groups who meet monthly to plan and implement company wide solutions around water, energy, emissions & waste. The team coordinates sustainability activities and lead innovation around production processes. The Dry waste team recently reworked a process that converts a blue coloured waste stream into a new product line. It involved re-designing and re-ordering collection of a waste stream that was going to landfill by incorporating extra collection bins into the shredding and baling process. According to Manager Engineering & Maintenance Systems Lester Murfitt “You don't get these solutions without engaging front line staff. It is essential to have administration and engineering teams working together and we've seen some great wins such introducing waste sorting and recycling along with food waste composting with a 'Green Cone' being installed.
SCA recently has recently mothballed old gas fired boilers which were replaced with local geothermal steam power and initial results say it is looking like a big success. In the last month SCA completed a major native planting initiative with local intermediate school staff and students. They have also replanted the Tarawera river bank adjacent to SCA land with native trees. Tree planting days have been become a regular staff team buildng activity.
The sustainabilty team has become a great source of new ideas such as:
- SCA makes use of internet based conferencing facilities so travel is reduced.
-access to advice and counselling should they feel the need. to employees who are known to have something happening in their life such as a partner with cancer.
-local community are engaged by inviting the leaders of local groups such as the council, EBOP and iwi to the mill giving them tours and explaining our operation it's challenges .
-SCA benchmarks internationally within SCA to identify improvement opportunities and engage external experts to provide advice on improved methods of manufacture.
