The Collins Companies Emissions Reduction

By improving the efficiency and productivity of its mills, U.S.-based paper products company The Collins Companies Inc. has greatly reduced its GHG emissions. In its Climate Savers Agreement, the company set a 10-year goal of reducing GHG emissions by 15%, to be accomplished by 2009. Collins is also investing in using existing steam delivery systems to power its facilities — using backpressure steam turbines to create electricity. This greatly improves the efficiency of electricity production reduces GHG emissions by as much as 60% compared to conventional power generation. Some of its specific programs include:

• In 2002 The Collins Companies invested more than $20 million to improve a softwood mill in Chester, California. This investment created a 60% increase in production efficiency.
• Collins Products stopped using two natural gas boilers in the first quarter of 2002, reducing natural gas usage. The plant is now purchasing an average of 60,000 lbs/hour of steam from an efficient steam generation facility and saves 11.2 million CO2 tons/year.
• Collins Products replaced seven constant volume pumps and replaced the existing motor control with programmable logic control inverted drives, reducing CO2 emissions by 10.2 million tons over the coming 15 years.
• Collins Hardwood replaced old compressors with more efficient motors, reducing CO2 emissions by 5 million tons in the coming 15 years.
• Using motion sensors on vending machines, Collins Products saved 46% of normal electrical costs to run a machine and eliminated ten overhead lights on the particleboard production line.
• The Fremont Lakeview mill installed a backpressure turbine generating approximately 638 kWh of power, reducing GHG emissions by 27 million tons over the next 15 years. The mill also installed a low-pressure kiln at the beginning of 2002.

The Collins Companies’ efforts are a featured project of the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program, which seeks to give companies access to leading experts on the best technologies and most innovative strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while boosting profits and productivity.