Label manufacturer opts for 100 percent renewable energy at factory via Duke Energy program

UPM Raflatac, a manufacturer of pressure sensitive label materials, is now sourcing all of the electricity at its factory in Mills River, N.C., via renewable sources through Duke Energy’s NC Renewable Energy Program. The company opted to increase its renewable electricity use from 4 percent to 100 percent from sources like wind, solar and hydropower.

The use of renewable electricity is a key component of UPM Raflatac’s Biofore Site program, which aims to improve the sustainability performance of the company’s manufacturing sites. The program includes a Biofore Site scorecard with approximately 30 sustainability measures, including energy use, aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are the framework that governments, business and civil society use to drive the sustainability agenda. The Biofore Site scorecard is also a tool to make the company’s sustainability performance more tangible and transparent for its employees and others.

“We are proud to be North Carolina’s first manufacturing facility to boast 100 percent renewable electricity use,” says Ari Salminen, the General Manager of UPM Raflatac’s Mills River factory. “It is just one way we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils and leading the way for positive change in our state.”

“Through our REC program, Duke Energy is working with large customers to secure renewable energy credits that will quicken their goal to promote a greener energy mix,” said Christy Daniel, managing director, Renewable Customer Solutions and Programs. “Our knowledge of the energy market can help companies like UPM Raflatac achieve this in a cost-effective way.”

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/news/label-manufacturer-opts-for-100-percent-renewable-energy-at-factory-via-duke-energy-program/]