150 years of Austropapier: With one voice for sustainability and environmental protection

On 7 May 1872, in the then newly built Palais Eschenbach in Vienna, the foundation stone was laid for the Austrian paper industry to pull together in the future and to master every challenge together. This decision has proven to be the right one. Also in the anniversary year, the now 23 members are working tirelessly on the highest quality of products, extensive environmental protection measures and sustainable production processes. In recent years, the focus has increasingly been on decarbonisation and the steady increase of renewable energy sources with the ultimate goal of phasing out fossil fuels.

Domestic paper industry is energy self-sufficient

The Austrian paper industry has developed into a true beacon of the bioeconomy and now generates more energy than it consumes itself. The energy surplus of some mills is fed into the local grids and supplies a total of around 100,000 households in Austria. This is roughly equivalent to the population of the city of Linz. The domestic paper and pulp producers together invest more than 100 million euros annually in environmental protection measures.

The investments in state-of-the-art facilities have contributed significantly to keeping domestic air and water quality high. "On the occasion of Austropapier's 150th anniversary, I would like to thank the industry for its leadership in innovation, for setting an example and for securing the incomes of hundreds of thousands of people along the forestry-wood-paper value chain as well as in the packaging and graphics sector. With the use of more than 60 percent renewable energy and a reduction of CO₂ emissions by 40 percent per tonne of paper since 1990, the paper industry is also a pioneer in environmental and climate protection," says Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer.

Responsible use of wood as a raw material

All the wood that is processed at the sites in Austria comes 100 per cent from sustainable forestry. Half of it comes from forest management and is removed so that the remaining trees can develop better. The other half is residual wood from the sawmill industry, which remains in the form of wood chips when the logs are cut into boards. In 2021, more than 5 million tonnes of paper were produced with this and with the waste paper from the circular economy that functions excellently in Austria. Around 90 per cent of this is exported. "The Federation of Austrian Industries warmly congratulates the paper industry as one of Austria's strongest export industries and Austropapier as its strong voice on this significant anniversary," said IV President Georg Knill.

Wood is the most important natural raw material in the transition towards a sustainable and climate-friendly form of economy. In order to secure the supply of raw materials from the domestic forest in the future, targeted measures for a climate-friendly forest are necessary. "The Austrian paper industry is an important part of the domestic value chain. As an industry with tradition and future, it generates added value in our regions and secures jobs. The pulp and paper industry offers innovative solutions for the implementation of the bioeconomy. This is a key to transforming our economic system towards more sustainability and climate protection," emphasises Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig. Simone Schmiedtbauer, Member of the European Parliament, also appreciates the good cooperation: "The paper industry has always been an indispensable and reliable partner for us forest farmers. I warmly congratulate the Association of the Austrian Paper Industry on its 150th anniversary."

The entire industry is also very proud of its own training centre (ABZ) in Steyrermühl, which produces top trained paper technicians year after year and thus meets the high demand for skilled workers. "Without well-trained and motivated employees, all the efforts made in the areas of sustainability and environmental protection would not have the same effect and the Austrian paper industry would not be able to look to the future with such unity and optimism, even after 150 years," says Austropapier Managing Director Sigrid Eckhardt with conviction.