Taking Responsibility
Compliance with legal requirements, regulations and standards is fundamental to our operations. Since 2013, we have invested more than €200 million in new paper machines and in projects aimed at improving our production processes and the use of energy and resources.
We are well aware that we have only one planet, and we must take good care of it. Our paper machines are equipped with state-of-the-art, energy-efficient technology, enabling the efficient use of energy and resources. Furthermore, we are able to produce paper with very low grammages, thereby – depending on the application – reducing the amount of material used whilst maintaining the same functionality.
Responsible sourcing of raw materials
Our timber raw materials come from certified and/or controlled sources. Heinzel Pöls is committed to responsible forest management and meets the requirements of the FSC® and PEFC standards under its existing certifications. Compliance with these standards supports social, environmental and economic requirements throughout the supply chain.
In 2025, almost 80% of the wood used by heinzelpöls was sourced from Austria.
Wood is a valuable natural resource and is used as efficiently as possible. While high-quality timber is primarily used for applications such as construction and furniture manufacturing, the pulp and paper industry mainly processes thinning wood and by-products from sawmills. In doing so, it plays an important role in the resource-efficient cascade use of wood.
Certificates
At Zellstoff Pöls / Starkraft we have certified management systems for quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 14001), occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001) and PEFC Chain of Custody. In addition, we have certificates of biodegradability/compostability and compliance for our paper products.
PCF (Product Carbon Footprint)
A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is available upon request for selected Starkraft products. Please contact our sustainability team at sustainability@zellstoff-poels.at.
Shortest possible transport routes
At our mill in Pöls-Oberkurzheim, we produce ECF-bleached, long-fibre, sulphate pulp (Orion) and bleached kraft paper. (Starkraft). Due to the high resource and energy efficiency of the pulp manufacturing process, most of the energy needed for pulp and paper production is derived from the raw material wood. By integrating the paper machines into the overall process, the pulp in its liquid form, is pumped directly into the paper machines, which saves drying energy and transport costs.
In the past 14 years our mill has invested around € 650 million in order to increase production and increase energy efficiency, whilst complying with strict environmental regulations.
Efficient use of byproducts and energy
The waste heat generated during pulp production is fed, among other things, into a district heating network that supplies heat to businesses, public institutions, and private households via an 18-kilometer pipeline. Excess electricity from the production process is also fed into the public power grid. In 2025, the surplus energy fed into the grid in the form of electricity and heat was sufficient, in theoretical terms, to meet the energy needs of approximately 20,000 household equivalents. A portion of the energy used for this purpose comes from renewable, wood-based energy sources derived from the pulp production process.
Tall oil and turpentine are byproducts of the pulp production process at the site and are put to further use.
Wastewater and air-emissions management
Production wastewater is treated and discharged in compliance with applicable regulatory limits. Exhaust emissions are monitored and controlled using appropriate combustion and purification technologies.
A closed circuit production cycle
In the liquor recovery process, the cooking chemicals used are recovered and reused in the production process. The chemicals necessary for the cooking of the wood and for the extraction of the fibres, are re-generated from the chemicals used in the liquor recovery production area.
This means that these cooking chemicals are never pumped into tank trucks and transported hundreds of kilometres by road, but are produced and consumed every second in the process, and never leave the factory. This leads to an indirect, substantial reduction of traffic.