Woody Harrelson - famous actor, who has appeared in film and television in a variety of roles, ranging from bartender Woody in the 1980s TV series Cheers to Haymitch Abernathy in last year's The Hunger Games. There were many more milestones along the way, including two Oscar nominations. He is also known as an ardent environmentalist, especially when it comes to North American forests. Having left his role as a political activist in the past, he has now gone far beyond the protest format in favor of a project designed to shift society’s appetite for paper products from forest areas for a much less in demand product: agricultural waste.
How relevant is this? Intact forests absorb nearly a fifth of the carbon dioxide produced by burning, according to Canopy, a company that promotes forest conservation. various types fuel. When we cut down trees, we not only reduce the size of one of the most efficient mechanisms for recycling carbon dioxide on the planet, but we also simultaneously release tens, if not hundreds, of years of stored carbon dioxide. Globally, 71% of the world's paper raw materials come from diverse forests. It is estimated that 63 thousand trees are required for one edition of the New York Times Sunday.
RP Siegel spoke with Woody ahead of a press conference announcing the U.S. launch of Step Forward paper from Prairie Pulp & Paper, which Woody co-founded. This paper is made from 80% wheat straw instead of regular wood pulp and thus has the lowest environmental impact. environment of all those on the market. Beginning with today, Step Forward paper will be sold at Staples. Jeff Golfman, President of Prairie Pulp & Paper, also took part in the conversation.
TriplePundit: What inspired you to take on this project?
Woody Harrelson: I've been worried about forests for a long time. For example, in 1996, I participated in demonstrations on the Golden Gate Bridge against the logging of redwood trees in Northern California (Woody was arrested at this demonstration), and even earlier, in 1992, I participated in protests against the transfer of 6 million acres of virgin forests in Montana for logging. This hurt me very much. I contacted my friends at Greenpeace and we started working on how this could be stopped. But in the process of this, I realized that even when it is possible to save this or that forest from deforestation, they begin to cut down somewhere else, well, like in the game “Whack a Mole” (an arcade game whose task is to hit moles with a hammer that randomly appear from minks). Therefore, we must look at how paper is produced. Of the three to six billion trees that are cut down worldwide each year, half are used to make paper. Thus, a change in the approach to paper production would greatly change this picture. This is exactly what we have achieved. We now have a paper made from 80% wheat straw, and it is better than any other paper available today in terms of sustainability. And now, for the first time, such paper will be available in the United States, at Staples stores.
TriplePundit: Do you plan to increase production volumes as demand grows?
Woody Harrelson: Yeah, we're thinking about growing it organically. The volume of this industry is huge, global demand is 400 million tons per year, and this number will double in the next fifteen years. Thus, the load on forests is simply monstrous. Our plans are to launch the first North America paper mill that does not use wood pulp within the next 3-5 years. This will be an eco-factory outside the system, all paper will be 100% from non-wood raw materials, completely from agricultural waste - from what remains from farms. The price will be comparable to the price of regular paper or even lower. Then the revolution in this area will move to qualitatively new level.
TriplePundit: What about other paper products, like newspapers, napkins, etc.?
Woody Harrelson: We'll definitely get there, but right now we're focusing on office paper.
Jeff Golfman: I would like to add that the boxes that our paper is packaged in are also made from agricultural waste. So, sooner or later, we will start promoting many other types of paper products.
TriplePundit: Where does your paper come from now?
Woody Harrelson: We're making it in India. Jeff was able to find a mill that could produce chlorine-free paper from agricultural raw materials that met our requirements. This is fine with us until we set up our own production here.
TriplePundit: Setting up a factory like this will move your production offshore, which means it will significantly increase your environmental footprint.
Jeff Golfman: On our website, anyone can find a report on the analysis we ordered life cycle all company processes. Even with our overseas sourcing, our overall greenhouse gas emissions and footprint are lower than all other North American paper manufacturers today. As soon as we launch industrial production wood-free paper powered by renewable energy here in North America, we will set new standards for sustainability in paper products.
TriplePundit: So over time you'll go from 80% non-wood in your paper to 100%?
Woody Harrelson: Yes, we've already produced some pilot samples of 100% wood-free paper. I remember what really struck me were the faces of the factory workers. They realized that they were part of a turning point in history. These people have dedicated years of their lives to working in their industry. But the sight of rolls of paper coming out of the press that contain absolutely no wood should excite anyone.
TriplePundit: So what's holding you back from moving to 100% wood-free paper?
Jeff Golfman: It took us about 14 years of research to get the first pieces of paper to market, so getting to 100% will take a few more months and several million dollars in R&D.
TriplePundit: Looking to the future, I imagine more people will use their smartphones and tablets rather than print anything. More and more people will be involved in waste recycling. And today we are going to produce paper that does not contain wood. Do you think we will reach the moment when forests will not be influenced by humans at all?
Woody Harrelson: Today, the demand for paper just continues to grow, regardless of the Internet or anything else. And although people expected that they would get rid of paper in their offices, statistics stubbornly say the opposite.
But given all the changes happening in the industry, I am optimistic about the future. As Ramez Naam aptly points out in The Infinite Resource, such forecasts consistently miss the impact of innovation. And I believe the innovation that will be unveiled today will do just that - change the current situation regarding forests and our way of life.
Prairie Pulp & Paper provided me with samples of Step Forward paper that I tested for print quality in both color and black and white. laser printers, with excellent results in both cases. Plus, typing was much more enjoyable knowing that I was saving trees.
About the Author: Mr. Siegel is a professional engineer, inventor, consultant and author. He co-authored the environmental thriller Vapor Trails, the first in a series of books exploring the impact of human factors in various areas of sustainable development, including energy, food and water resources. The book is written in a fascinating and somewhat hooligan style and is now being adapted
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The demand for cardboard packaging is gradually increasing.
Now our team knows how to produce cardboard without harming our planet, since straw supplies are endless. Paper and cardboard made in this way are of high quality and environmentally friendly. Within 5-10 years, in Russia this production method will be the main direction in the pulp and paper industry industry. No deforestation, no pollution of rivers with chemicals, all this will be a thing of the past!
Current state
Pre-investment stage. There is a site for the implementation of the project. Tests were carried out in 2017 innovative technology by our team on the basis of Karton-Yug LLC, Novocherkassk.
Market
The project plans to produce products using
consistently high demand not only in a particular region or federal district, but also in Russia as a whole. The company adequately evaluates its products in terms of
consumer qualities and prices for these products. The balance of these parameters ensures stable demand and successful competition. The planned price difference with competitors is at least 10-12%, and this is a significant indicator for wholesale buyers. The main contractors of the planned plant will be corrugated enterprises producing corrugated cardboard, enterprises producing roofing materials based on roofing cardboard.
Problem or Opportunity
Demand for corrugated packaging Russian market is influenced by
consumer market and industrial sectors. Increase
consumer spending due to growth in real disposable income
population, of course, has a positive effect on retail trade, while
increasing trade volumes require more and more packaging throughout the chain
supplies. Increase in volumes retail in the country over the past seven years
explains the rapid growth dynamics of corrugated packaging production by
in relation to production volumes of manufacturing products.
Introduction of restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Europe and
North America turned out to be beneficial for Russian food manufacturers
food, beverages and tobacco, which have benefited from reduced competition from
import side. Some local production was focused on
import substitution, which contributed to an increase in workload
industrial enterprises (mainly food industry companies) and the creation
additional domestic demand for corrugated packaging in 2018.
Solution (Product or Service)
The production plan involves the production of two main types of cardboard: packaging and roofing. The versatility of production is one of the advantages of this project. Recycled packaging cardboard for smooth layers of corrugated packaging is a raw material
the buyer of which is the manufacturer of packaging products. So
Thus, the Company, by launching a cardboard production project, enters the b2b sector,
understanding and taking into account all the features of working in this market.
The target sales figure for cardboard is 21,000 tons per year. These are very significant volumes, and even despite the gradual withdrawal of production to this volume, it is necessary to be prepared for competition.
Technical cardboard is a raw material for which consumers have two main
requirements:
Price
Consistency of quality corresponding to the price.
Price will be the main tool for promoting products.
Because the business idea of cardboard production is based on the desire to reduce costs as much as possible finished products By optimally using energy resources and secondary raw materials, the Company has the opportunity to enter the market at an unprecedentedly low price and at the same time maintain a relatively high sales margin.
Competitors
The project initiator company thoroughly analyzed the main trends in the cardboard consumer market. The basis of a possible summary as a result of this analysis could be the following statements:
1. Domestic cardboard consumer market in last years, despite the crisis, shows confident and significant growth.
2. The increase in demand for cardboard is due to an increase in demand from corrugated packaging manufacturers, and it is these enterprises that are potential partners of the project - buyers of finished products planned for production - cardboard for smooth layers of corrugated packaging.
3. The constant increase in the cost of secondary raw materials, namely waste paper, also indicates the presence of demand for cardboard and, in part, a certain shortage of waste cardboard.
4. Using only waste paper as a raw material for cardboard production can be a very risky decision, since the high share of waste paper in the cost price and its price can significantly affect the marginality of cardboard, its selling prices and the planned, very high and ambitious dynamics of achieving planned production and sales volumes.
Competitors:
Nicole-Pack, Novoulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk region. The factory is focused on the production of cardboard sleeves for winding rolled materials. The factory was put into operation in October 2011. The design capacity is 3,000 tons of products per year, with productivity increasing to 6,000 tons. The volume of production and sales of the factory is steadily growing: its territorial location has made it possible to expand the geography of sales and reduce the costs of our clients for transporting products.
"Nicole-Pak Mr. Nizhny Novgorod", Nizhny Novgorod Region
Founded on the basis of a cardboard and roofing felt plant, Nikol-Pak g.
Nizhny Novgorod" after the reconstruction of KDM, which began in December 2011, began production of box and sleeve cardboard in May 2012. Design production capacity −20,000 tons per year; in 2016 it was planned to increase the indicators to 24,000 tons of finished products per year.
Limited Liability Company "KARTONPRO", Nizhny
Novgorod. KartonPro LLC is engaged in wholesale supplies and comprehensive supply of paper products and packaging to enterprises in various fields of activity: printing, pharmaceutical, industrial, furniture, food, etc. The range of main products includes paper, cardboard,
corrugated cardboard, roofing felt. There are no competitors in the Tyumen Region (where the plant is planned to be located and operate).
Benefits or differentiators
The main material for producing cellulose is wood. For this purpose they are used coniferous trees. 30% of the volume of commercial wood production is spent on the production of cardboard packaging. The demand for this material is gradually increasing. Exhausted forest clearings will renew themselves in 50 years at best. When clearing, the forest boundary moves further and further from transport routes.
Destruction of forests causes irreparable harm to humanity. To produce 1 ton of cardboard, on average, 7 trees are processed. This is a terrifying statistic. However, there is an alternative production method, which has been actively popularized in the West since 2015 (for example, Actor Woody Harrelson, an ardent defender of forests in the USA and Canada, invested in organizing the production of office paper from straw). For this purpose, ordinary straw (cereal straw) is used. After the wheat harvest is harvested, a lot of straw remains in the fields; many agricultural enterprises completely dispose of it by burning it.
1.2 tons of straw is enough to produce one ton of paper;
for the production of cardboard 1.3 tons.
Our organization, having studied a huge amount of literature, in consultation with foreign technologists of this type of production, conducted closed trial tests in 2017, producing 1 ton of cardboard from straw on the basis of the Novocherkassk Cardboard Plant (Carton-Yug), the indicators are simply stunning (given that the cost straw cardboard will not exceed 6-6.5 thousand rubles per ton). Now we know how to produce cardboard without harming our planet, since the supply of straw is endless. Paper and cardboard made in this way are of high quality and environmentally friendly. We are confident that within 5-10 years, in Russia this production method will be the main direction in the pulp and paper industry. No deforestation, no pollution of rivers with chemicals, all this will be a thing of the past! This technology has not yet been used anywhere in Russia.
Finance
Planned monthly revenue 52,500,000 rubles
Planned gross profit per month 39,013,539 rubles
Planned net profit per month 27,250,000 rubles
Discount rate 10.00%
Payback period 8.6 months
Project profitability 22%
Net present income per year 327,000,000 rubles
Purpose of investment
Equipment for paper production (stock preparation, paper making machine, cutting machine)
44 000 000
Generator (with cogeneration system)
18 000 000
Circulating water purification system
12 000 000
Fire extinguishing system
2 000 000
Room ventilation systems with catalysts
1 200 000
Equipment for packaging finished products
380 000
Laboratory equipment for quality control of raw materials and products (QC)
600 000
Drilling a well and organizing water disposal
200 000
Purchase and installation of beam cranes in a production facility
450 000
Purchasing and setting up automated control systems
700 000
KamAZ truck tractor
2 800 000
Semitrailer
700 000
Forklift
800 000
Purchase of construction tools for installation work and production process
500 000
Other expenses of the investment stage (costs of obtaining permits, unforeseen expenses)
500 000
Total:
84 830 000
Also 8,170,000 rub. to replenish working capital.
Proposal to investor
We will announce the proposal for interested investors at a meeting during the negotiation process.
Risks
The equipment provided for by the project must, at the request of the Project Initiator, be capable of producing a wide range of cardboard at relatively high productivity: in a wide range of grammage (i.e. density and, accordingly, weight) using mass prepared from different raw materials. This unification allows us to significantly eliminate the risks associated with a drop in demand and prices for a particular type of cardboard. The possibility of using straw and sawdust together or as a replacement for waste paper is a step in the same direction: reducing the cost of cardboard and roofing felt. The successful implementation of this plan will reduce the risks associated with rising prices or shortages of raw materials for production.
Overall, future production looks balanced, the main cost items are taken into account, and the estimated cost of production allows us to be optimistic about the sales plan and planned revenue and gross profit.
Office paper It may be made from wood or be the result of recycling already used paper, but when it comes to large-scale production, wood is still used to make it.
In an effort to save tens of millions of trees from this fate, the company "Nature"s Paper» offers an alternative that uses leftover wheat straw.
When wheat is harvested, typically only the grain is used, which becomes the raw material for products such as flour and grains. Residues from mowing, namely wheat straw, are usually left in fields to decompose or fed to livestock.
Company "Nature's Paper" collects the remains of straw and converts them into paper pulp. At the same time, the straw is also used to produce organic biofuel, which helps the company heat water in production.
The bleaching process uses chlorine and sodium salts. The company currently produces office paper in A4 and A3 formats. Its quality is no different from paper made from wood.
This is an ideal business for district and regional scales.