The AC² Innovation Award recognises businesses that have made an exceptional contribution to innovation. Winners are traditionally drawn from the automotive or medical sectors, but the judging panel – which consisted of eminent university professors including the Chancellor of the RWTH University of Aachen and senior business leaders – created a special Jury Prize for the recycled paper facility.
Smurfit Kappa’s Zu¨lpich paper mill impressed the jury with its sustainable and profitable operational approach. The mill operates a closed loop for production water which, due to local restrictions around returning water to the environment, ensures that zero water waste is emitted from the mill. It also captures the biogas produced from the water cycle as a by-product, and burns this for energy to power production. Finally, a multi-fuelled boiler uses unrecoverable waste to burn as fuel.

The AC² Innovation Award coincides with the launch of Smurfit Kappa’s eighth annual Sustainable Development report, which highlights strong progress against key strategic priority areas including forest, climate change, water, waste, and people. The recognition by the District of Aachen of the Zu¨lpich paper mill is the latest example of Smurfit Kappa’s commitment to designing and enabling truly circular systems, and to using sustainability as a driver for business value.