As concerns about the world’s growing carbon emissions mount, JK Paper is set to cut down on its greenhouse gas emissions by 67,235 tons per year with a $3 million loan from International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the clean production lending pilot facility scheme. The IFC loan would be used to invest in technology upgradation leading to better energy efficiency for the company.
“We are working on technology upgradation in 40 different processes. This would enable us to increase our energy efficiency by almost 10 per cent and reduce water consumption by about 17 per cent,” Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, Managing Director, JK Paper told to media.
Making a strong plea for government to allow private companies to directly build large plantations, Singhania said, “Technology comes with a certain size and scale. A paper mill of the relevant scale requires adequate supply of raw materials. With the government not allowing plantations by private players, it becomes increasingly difficult. Environmental concerns cannot be considered in isolation. You have to find business solutions that enable it.” Singhania added that the company has spent about Rs 2 core per annum on social farm forestry for its requirement of raw materials.
The company would be buying back the pulp wood trees on maturity. The BioCarbon fund would in turn buy 276,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the farmers between 2008- 2017, paying them for every ton of carbon sequestered.
