MILAN – Paulig is among the winners in the Energy Genius of the Year 2020 competition for its unique waste heat recovery project in Finland. Waste heat from the Vuosaari coffee roastery is recovered in quantities sufficient to cover the annual heat demand of 1,000 two-room apartments. The competition is organised by Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Energy Authority of Finland and governmental sustainable development company Motiva Oy.
“As we produce 100 million coffee packs a year, our responsibility is to keep our position as one of the most sustainable coffee roasteries in the world. Our Vuosaari roastery has recently been declared a carbon neutral production site, which requires investments and innovations. I am happy that one of our efforts has been noticed in the Energy Genius of the Year 2020 competition”, says a delighted Lea Rankinen, Paulig’s Sustainability and Public Affairs Director.
Energy company Helen and Paulig together launched a pioneer project to recycle waste heat generated by the roasting process in 2019. The recovered heat is used for the heating of the Vuosaari roastery and excess heat is directed to Helen’s district heating network. This heat recovery solution is unique in the Helsinki region.
“What makes this solution significant, is the amount of energy that can be recovered. Sustainability is one of our key drivers and I am proud that we came up with this idea of heat recovery at the Vuosaari roastery. During the past year, we have been building the technical solution with our partner Helen and the solution will be ready by the end of the year”, says Timo Tuukkanen, Facility & Security Manager at Paulig.
Helen’s business development manager Jouni Kivirinne continues: “Sustainability is our common interest with Paulig. Helen’s Open district heating offered a simple energy efficiency solution. Thanks to the expansive heat network of Helsinki city we are able to use the heat that would have been wasted otherwise. We all need to join forces in order to find the best solutions to meet the carbon neutrality targets.”
The co-project between Paulig and Helen is a wonderful example of energy efficiency collaboration where both parties decrease their emissions and save money. The heat recovery project is part of Paulig’s long-term sustainability work. Paulig Vuosaari roastery sources renewable electricity, biogas and renewable district heating. With these activities, the roastery building’s emissions have been reduced by 98% since 2014, and the remaining emissions resulting from the waste generated from the production and refrigerant leaks from the cooling equipment have been compensated through third-party verified forestry projects in Colombia, Asia and East Africa.
Paulig is one of the main partners of SOS Children’s Villages in Finland
The heat recovery project is not just environmental action, it also allows social responsibility contributions. Paulig is one of the main partners of SOS Children’s Villages in Finland and the company saw an opportunity to pay the good forward. Paulig donates the savings of EUR 10,000 generated by waste heat recovery to support the Apuu chat service. Apuu chat is an SOS Children’s Villages chat service to help children who feel insecure or threatened in their home.
