Mitsubishi Monitor 0310 GREEN DIAMONDS


	"Alberta-Pacific team members are so passionate and so dedicated when it comes to the environment, we knew that when we put this challenge in their hands, they would find innovative new ways of meeting it," says Plourde (left). They did. They helped the company reduce overall direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions 36% and the intensity of emissions 50% from 1994 levels.

A Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary has earned a national Leadership Award from Canada's Climate Change Voluntary Challenge and Registry Inc. Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., received the award this year for reducing the intensity and amount of carbon emissions at a paper mill in Alberta, Canada.
The Voluntary Challenge and Registry is a nonprofit partnership between governments and the private sector, and it is Canada's only public registry of greenhouse gas emissions and reductions.3/4The Leadership Awards recognize outstanding efforts by Canadian companies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Proactive
"Alberta-Pacific has taken a proactive approach to greenhouse gas reduction, starting in 1999," explains Ken Plourde, the company's director of forest strategies. "Our Carbon Central Team has tackled the challenge of finding ways to reduce emissions without decreasing production."
Plourde credits the mill's green power generation program with the majority of the reductions. Alberta-Pacific self-generates the majority of its required power through the burning of renewable wood waste products, such as bark and sawdust, as well as leftover materials from the pulping process. They have been gradually replacing natural gas fuel with "green" energy sources.


Here are some of the team members who helped rein in the output of carbon dioxide.

A green history
Alberta-Pacific is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation and Oji Paper Company Ltd. It is a world leader in the forest industry, using today's best technology to produce 600,000 tons of pulp per year. Its mill began operation in 1993 as the world's largest single-line kraft pulp mill at the time.
The company produces mainly hardwood pulp made from trembling aspen, a prevalent species. Until recently, a lot of people in the forest industry considered aspen a weed, and companies commonly cleared away the trees to make way for more-valuable species. Alberta-Pacific, however, has demonstrated that aspen trees can produce high quality pulp. Another benefit of aspen is its regenerative capabilities. Aspens sprout naturally from the roots of parent trees, requiring minimal site preparation or planting.


	The MelSMART Energy Center provides clients with a full cycle of support in saving energy.

Mitsubishi Electric's U.K. operations have set up the MelSMART Energy Center to steer clients to energy-saving and money-saving solutions for industrial and commercial needs. The United Kingdom's Carbon Tax is a serious attempt by the U.K. government to encourage users to save energy. For most companies, the tax has added up to 12% to their energy bills. And more legislation is on the way.
  The MelSMART Energy Center steers companies to the latest technologies for reducing operational costs, raising productivity and lessening the impact of environment legislation on business performance. Mitsubishi Electric's end-to-end approach features an emphasis on avoiding large capital expenditures wherever possible. The company's energy consultants keep things simple by working with expert partners who have solid track records in delivering results.
  Of course, clients could tackle the energy-saving solutions on their own, but the sheer volume of information about the Climate Change Levy and energy efficiency is bewildering. Analyzing such issues as the Carbon Tax, the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) and CO2 emissions is a stunningly complex task.

Specialized support
The MelSMART Energy Center brings together experts who marshal expertise across an extremely broad spectrum of energy-related disciplines, such as lighting control, power management, heating and refrigeration. Those professionals, working together, provide clients with truly comprehensive solutions for all of the clients' energy-saving needs.
  Already, the EnergySMART approach is generating impressive results. That's why they call the program SMART!

Tokio Marine, a Mitsubishi company and Japan's largest property and casualty insurer, has inaugurated an innovative new consulting service. Experts from the company's risk consulting subsidiary diagnose the potential risk associated with soil pollution at clients' work sites and propose countermeasures. Japanese regulators have begun requiring companies to account for soil pollution in valuing their real estate assets. Gaining a solid grasp of the risks underfoot has therefore become a pressing business issue.