Smurfit Kappa is to invest €6m at its Sanguesa paper mill in Spain, which will see the construction and installation of up to 12,000 solar panels on land adjacent to the mill.
The company said the solar panels will reduce CO2 emissions by over 3,200 tonnes annually and will also provide significant cost savings.
Once operational, it is estimated that the panels will generate more than 10 GWh of power annually which will reduce the current external electricity consumption and dependency by 7%.
The mill at Sanguesa is one of the company's main facilities that produces light MG kraft paper.
This is a packaging solution widely used across industrial and consumer markets in products such as grocery bags and wrapping paper.
The Spanish solar energy project is the latest for Smurfit Kappa which has launched similar initiatives in other plants in Spain, Colombia and Mexico to generate sustainable energy.
Reinhard Reiter, CEO of Smurfit Kappa's Virgin Fibre Cluster, said the investment to harness another renewable source of energy is testament to the company's commitment to sustainability and its desire to make real environmental change at a practical level.
"Through collaboration and hard work, together we can make every aspect of our operations as sustainable as possible in our journey towards net zero," he added.
Construction on the solar panels is expected to be completed by the end of this summer, Smurfit Kappa said.
