Vajda-Papír to Become Carbon Neutral by 2050

Hungary's leading manufacturer of hygiene paper products, Vajda-Papír, has pledged to reduce its water consumption by 20% by 2030, increase the use of renewable energy by 50% and become carbon neutral by 2050.

In a statement sent to MTI, the company said that over the past ten years, it has invested around HUF 40 billion to ensure that its production and operation of tissue paper is based on the most environmentally friendly, sustainable technologies. They added that Vajda-Papír was one of the first industrial producers to publish its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, which includes its environmental measures and commitments.

Its main pillars are environmentally friendly production with modern, environmentally friendly technical solutions; environmentally responsible raw material procurement: the use of fiber from certified responsible forestry; environmentally responsible operations and management; and environmentally responsible transport. Consumer education on environmentally friendly products (green labels) is also an important element of sustainability efforts, they said.

"We are expanding the range of sustainable hygiene products, working to reach 45% of environmentally conscious products by the end of 2023," managing director Attila Vajda was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that the company produces 140,000 tons of paper products annually in a highly energy-intensive area.

According to the report, the proportion of recycled materials in packaging materials will be increased to 60%, which will reduce the company's plastic consumption by 600 tons per year, he said.   

Among the "sustainability milestones" achieved by Vajda-Papír so far, he pointed out that it was the first industrial producer in Hungary to issue a green bond. Partly from this HUF 9.9 billion fund, they financed "the expansion of one of Europe's most modern and energy-efficient hygienic paper mills, the Dunaföldvár plant", which – with a capacity of 80,000 tons – will fully cover the company's raw material needs. At the company's production sites, 100% of the waste from paper pulp is recycled, they added.

"Our green strategic goals in our Green Bond framework include reducing water consumption in the Danube Forest paper production from 12 cubic meters per ton to at least 5.5 cubic meters by 2030, reducing specific energy consumption to below 2,800 kilowatt hours per ton by 2030, increasing the use of renewable energy by 50%, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5%," he said.

Among the corporate social responsibility steps were the relaunch of vocational training in the paper industry and the preparation of educational materials for training, as well as the creation of a foundation to help the needy by the end of the year.

Vajda-Papír was founded 24 years ago as a family business, employing around 650 people across the group. In addition to sales in Hungary, the company's tissue paper products are exported to more than 30 countries around the world, with 60% of the group's total tissue paper production going to exports.

The group also entered the Norwegian market in 2013, employing more than 130 people at its factory there. In 2021, the group's turnover increased to HUF 57 billion from HUF 52 billion in the previous year, EBITDA was HUF 2.7 billion and profit before tax was HUF 1.5 billion in 2021.