Exemplary water management for Cartonnerie Gondardennes

The urgency of protecting water resources is no longer in doubt. For this purpose, regulatory provisions have been put in place by the public authorities. As a reminder, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) harmonizes European regulations on water management and establishes the obligation to protect and restore the quality of water and aquatic environments throughout the European Union.

The transposition of this directive is organized in particular around the law on water and aquatic environments (LEMA), adopted in 2006, which constitutes the central text of French water policy. Companies of course have their role to play in preserving this precious resource.

Cartonnerie Gondardennes understood this very early on, anticipating government directives by setting up a closed water circuit in 1992. Through its good water management, the Pas-de-Calais company combines economic performance and environmental performance.

In 2023, Cartonnerie is developing new processes and several investments.

Preserve water resources: zero discharge of process water into the environment

Cartonnerie Gondardennes is one of the very first papermakers in Europe - and one of the very few in France - to have stopped discharging water into the natural environment. Cartonnerie Gondardennes is proud to have been and to continue to be a pioneer as a "zero discharge company" on water since... 1992!

The preparation of the pulps, from recovered old papers, is done using the water from the canal, filtered and then injected into the manufacturing process. The water residues after manufacturing are sent to a treatment plant and then used again in the paper pulp production chain. An equivalent paper mill for corrugated paper consumes on average 10 m3. per ton of paper produced when Gondardennes only uses 3.6 m3!

This low consumption performance is achieved through the total recycling of industrial process water in a closed circuit.

This water management at Cartonnerie Gondardennes is a strong marker of its visionary commitment to the preservation of water resources, with water consumption equivalent to only 1/3 of that of a conventional open-circuit paper mill.

Investing in rainwater recovery

Cartonnerie Gondardennes is investing €1.7 million in 2023 to further significantly reduce its water consumption and is launching ambitious work to recover more than 125,000 m3 of rainwater from all the roofs of its Wardrecques production site, covering an area of ​​11.5 ha. This investment will reduce its water consumption to around 2.7 m3 per tonne of paper produced, i.e. consumption almost 75% lower than that of a conventional paper mill.

The Water Agency declared "your project was presented as a model file qualified as exemplary".

Furthermore, Cartonnerie Gondardennes will invest more than €900K to continue to optimize the performance of the treatment plant connected to the site.

Cartonnerie Gondardennes has long been able to develop a CSR and sustainable development strategy that positions it well ahead in these areas. For this company, water management, now a global and global issue, has been the subject of great attention and significant investment for three decades. The company is also diversifying its energy mix, in particular through cogeneration, the use of biogas produced in its water treatment plant and its heating network set up in partnership with the Syndicat Mixte Flandre Morinie  qui lui permet which allows it to decarbonize its industrial process.