Group in protective clothing in front of industrial building.

Parliament's Environment and Agriculture Committee: "Sunpine the perfect example"

The Riksdag's Environment and Agriculture Committee visited SunPine's factory on Haraholmen in Piteå on Tuesday.

– It was a direct request from our side to visit SunPine, which is a perfect example of how we can refine our active forestry, said Kristina Yngwe, C, Chair of the Environment and Agriculture Committee.

27 members of parliament arrived at SunPine on Haraholmen in Piteå on Tuesday and took part in a lecture about SunPine's origins, sustainability work and climate benefits. A question and answer session was then followed by a tour of the factory area, where there is currently a bit of a "sorry for the mess, we're rebuilding" atmosphere as the company is in the middle of an investment in a new laboratory, larger offices and a second factory to increase tall oil diesel production by 50 percent.

Magnus Edin, CEO, SunPine:

– For us, it is obviously important that politicians understand that in Sweden we have sustainable forestry, that for every tree that is felled, two are planted, or in Södra's case three. This is primarily a challenge in the EU, where many countries have already cut down all their forests.

– Then it is also important to understand that our raw material is a residual product from the sulphate pulp mills. So not a single extra tree needs to be felled in order for us to be able to produce our tall diesel. And when we are now building a new factory and increasing the volume by 50 percent, this fact remains. No more forest needs to be felled in order for us to cope with that increase in volume.

During question time, the politicians in the committee wondered what decisions SunPine "wanted":

– For us, the most important thing is that you decision-makers all understand that the day we give the OK to palm oil, we have to shut it down. Now everyone knows that this production destroys agricultural land and is problematic. But at the same time, there are important players who advocate palm oil.

– We advocate that we must look at the entire climate impact, “from well to wheel” as it is called. And evaluate the different alternatives based on that.

– Right now there are also decisions that mean that the regulations do not really favor investments like ours taking place here in Sweden. We of course think that is wrong. We should create models that favor Swedish investments in this area.

Kristina Yngwe, C, Chair of the Environment and Agriculture Committee:

– SunPine gives a good picture of the entire process, how it all fits together from forestry to product. And how you can think about working with cycles and sustainability at every step. I would say that SunPine is a perfect example. And that is why it is valuable for us to visit the factory and see how they work.

2019-08-27