ISO 14001
KANZAN belongs to a branch of industry which has always made use of natural resources. Our respect for humankind and for nature gives us a special feeling of obligation to help conserve our natural environment.
In the framework of our environmental management system, we are committed to acting responsibly, both in economical and ecological terms, in the way we handle energy and raw materials, and we continually strive to improve our processes and our technologies.
Example water:
Water is essential for the production of paper. Our water requirements are met using surface water from the Rur river. Continuous improvement of the way the water is cycled and of the production technology has over the years significantly reduced the amount of water we need for the production of one ton of paper.
All our waste water is piped to a central treatment plant in the north of Dueren. Even forty years ago, both industry and the community in Dueren had already recognized that it is safer and much more efficient for factories to treat their waste water together than for each company to run its own treatment plant. This led to the formation of waste water facilities which have today become the Wasserverband-Eifel-Rur (WVER). In this sewage plant, all the waste water is cleaned in several stages according to the state of the art and, when purified, is then piped back into the Rur.
Example energy:
As well as electricity, steam is also needed in paper production to dry the paper. With combined heat and power (CHP), i.e. the simultaneous generation of electricity and steam, we attain a significantly higher level of efficiency in our own power station. The waste heat produced during power generation is not vented unused through the chimney. On the contrary, it is exploited in further drying and heating processes in the paper factory.
KANZAN is one of the first paper producers in Europe to be certified as compliant with the Energy Management System standard DIN EN ISO 50001.
Read more about our energy policy.
Example raw materials:
KANZAN has pledged only to use materials for paper production that imply no danger to the environment. Risk assessment of the specific constituent materials is conducted by an independent agency.
Our papers are made of cellulose, which in turn is refined from wood. We only buy highest quality cellulose that comes from an ECF production process (ECF = Elementary Chlorine Free).
In addition we have pledged to only use cellulose from controlled sources, preferably certified sources (FSC, PEFC, SFI etc.). In this way, we can exclude the possibility that we are using cellulose that
- has been made from illegally felled wood
- comes from forested areas where basic traditional or legal rights are being infringed
- comes from genetically modified (GM) trees
- comes from natural forest that has been sacrificed for plantations or for non-forestry purposes
- has been produced from wood from natural forests and woods which particularly deserve to be protected.