Nordic Paper sack paper outperforms European average in fossil carbon footprint

A new study conducted by the Swedish research institute RISE on behalf of the European Paper Sack Research Group (ESG) – a collaboration between EUROSAC and CEPI Eurokraft – shows that the average emissions from European kraft paper sack production is 462 kg CO₂eq per tonne of paper produced. The corresponding figure for Nordic Paper’s production is 202 kg CO₂eq per tonne.

The comparison of carbon footprint between Nordic Paper Bäckhammar and the average for European kraft paper mills* indicates that kraft sack paper from Bäckhammar has a 56 % lower fossil climate impact than the European average. As shown in the figure above, the primary contributing factor is the energy mix used in Bäckhammar, which consists of nuclear and hydropower. Due to its comparatively low emission intensity** (market-based: 0.056 g CO₂e/kWh), it is not visible under Scope 2 in the figure.

The Bäckhammar mill also exhibits lower direct emissions from its own operations (Scope 1) as well as reduced indirect emissions from other inputs.

Learn more about the European figures at EUROSAC's website

*The RISE study uses data from 2024, which is consistent with the dataset from Nordic Paper Bäckhammar

**The Scope 2 data in the RISE study is based on supplier-specific electricity product data where available, and otherwise on calculated emission factors based on the residual grid mix for purchased electricity when mills and converters did not procure a specific electricity product.