Rolland creates truly sustainable paper, from pulp to production line

Rolland is a manufacturer of fine paper, focused on high quality recycled grades for the North American market, as well as security papers that are distributed internationally. As the paper market has became an increasingly challenging environment, the company has chosen to invest in a major renewable energy project that will enable it to use biogas for more than 90 percent of its thermal energy needs.

Biogas is a renewable fuel, created by the decomposition of waste in a landfill site. The methane produced is captured, condensed and carried through an eight-mile pipeline to the paper mill. At the factory, the gas is burned in a boiler to create steam. This step has the advantage of converting methane into less harmful carbon dioxide.

Recycling old papers to make new ones is a naturally good idea. However, making paper is a complex process that involves a lot of resources and knowledge. A truly environmental sheet requires more than just recycled fibre

As a project, this fits very well into Rolland’s commitment to the circular economy, as it uses waste from one industry – gas originating in a landfill – and turns it into raw material for another industry, namely thermal energy for paper production. It is locally sourced and reduces the extraction of non-renewable fuels.

The value of cooperation
A unique project such as this required a partnership between different parties to transition from a good idea to a fully implemented energy source. Waste Management owns the landfill site located in Sainte-Sophie, Quebec, and manages the collection of methane gas, which in the past was burned on site and then released into the atmosphere. Now, Waste Management’s output not only generates revenue for the company, but it has allowed the complete elimination of a substantial greenhouse gas chimney. Gaz Metro is in charge of transporting the gas through underground pipelines and ensuring it is moved with minimal disturbance. These pipes run for many miles before reaching the paper plant.

Once the new system was in place, Rolland found that using biogas was so logical and natural it was difficult to envision doing business differently. The gains have been far reaching, with the environmental benefits perhaps the most profound. Using biogas allows the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 70,000 tons every year. Effectively, this is the equivalent of removing 23,000 compact cars from the highways. Basically, one of the two largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the mill’s entire region has been shut off permanently.

In order to quantify the benefits of biogas, a life cycle assessment was performed to measure its environmental impact in the production of Rolland paper. The results showed the ecological impact of Rolland’s products is now remarkably lower than that of standard papers. Thanks to biogas energy, this low level of impact benefits human health, natural ecosystems and non-renewable resources, as well as the obvious benefit of mitigating large-scale climate changes.

Abundant benefits
Rolland’s vision is to ‘get closer’. The company’s objective is to better understand the impacts of its processes and their related environmental effects. This allows Rolland to better engage with its customers. The company wishes to help corporate paper users modify their purchasing habits in order to reduce their ecological footprint.

In addition to environmental benefits, there are also significant social gains from switching to biogas. The paper industry is a mature market, which presents some significant challenges. Rolland’s biogas project has helped to maintain quality jobs on a regional scale in a difficult time. Financial gains are clearer and more direct. What’s more, switching to biogas has allowed the company to reduce costs. Importantly, despite the initial investment, this project is profitable.

The entire biogas venture is ultimately good news for consumers. Above all, it has allowed ecologically conscious consumers to buy one of the most eco-friendly lines of paper on the market at an affordable price, turning their strong environmental values
into reality.

Corporate openness
This massive project, which involved a non-traditional process of inspiration and execution, was made possible by Rolland’s open leadership. Innovation is the core of the company’s business model, and explains its decision to invest in such an ambitious idea.
The idea of using biogas to fuel paper production did not come from paid consultants, or even from Rolland’s own team of scientists, but rather from a single employee – then the company’s director of purchases – acting on his own curiosity and passion. He had the idea while watching a television programme on the reduction of greenhouse gases. He dug a little deeper, only to discover his idea had some potential for Rolland. At that point, he broached the subject with the upper management team. Eventually, several departments and specialists – both internal and external – had to get involved, and millions of dollars had to be invested to turn his initial idea into reality.

Independent recognition
While the Rolland mill has changed ownership in the last few years, its roots go back to 1882. From humble beginnings, the small Canadian mill soon became a serious player in high-quality paper grades in North America. Rolland’s business model is unusual for a paper mill, as it does not own and manage forest. Instead, the company chose to tap into the urban forest: recycling bins. It acquired two pulp mills that take old paper and clean it to produce the main raw material: recycled pulp.

Recycling old papers to make new ones is a naturally good idea. However, making paper is a complex process that involves a lot of resources and knowledge. A truly environmental sheet requires more than just recycled fibre. To reduce the impact on water – a key element of paper – Rolland implemented a chlorine-free deinking process to remove ink and other contaminants that come with papers found in recycling bins.

To validate the strength of the company’s environmental assessments, a full basket of third-party certifications have been gained. The Forest Stewardship Council validates the fibre supply as being virgin or recycled. It makes sure that any harvesting was conducted in a sustainable way, and that recycled fibre comes from post-consumer and post-industrial sources. The paper’s Processed Chlorine-Free certification, which is quite self-explanatory, makes sure the water that is released back into rivers is safe for aquatic ecosystems and human health. Finally, EcoLogo certification confirms the superior environmental profile of the paper, looking at the lifecycle of the product.

Niche market
After high-quality recycled papers, Rolland’s other speciality is security paper. As global concern over document security grows, Rolland’s reputation for integrity, professionalism and quality enables the company to serve this very specific market. The mill produces paper for cheques, passports, stamps and ballot papers, and most of these need to include features that prevent fraud. To facilitate this, industry technology has to evolve faster than that of fraudsters – not an easy task, but one Rolland relishes taking on. For the corporations and governments that purchase Rolland’s security paper, the environmental profile of the mill is something of a cherry on the cake. tne