Look around – there are newspapers, magazines, and advertisements in post boxes, documents on worktables and wallpapers; and all of these are made from paper produced from different type of wood.
Paper needs are growing every day, and deforestation is increasing along with this fact including illegal instances. Repeated floods, dust storms and droughts, atmospheric and water reservoir pollution, extinction of biological diversity are all outcomes of the deforestation process.
Everybody is talking about the ecological crisis, but no one is really doing a thing to escape it; whereas the use of scrap paper would essentially make it possible to economise wood materials. 250 km of scrap paper replaces about 1 cubic metre of wood.
KPO has again confirmed with action more than words its adherence to nature protection principles. The company’s obligations to utilise waste material and implement nature protection efforts continued at the end of 2010, when the pilot project for collecting scrap paper was launched.
The nature protection project did not come to life in a vacuum. As a large employer in the Burlin District, KPO annually consumes over 100 tonnes of paper. Last year, over 22,820 tonnes of paper and scrap cardboard was collected from a few of the company’s offices. By looking at this figure, it is possible to imagine a forest saved from chopping.
When commenting on the outcome of the pilot project, Steve Grayson, the manager of the Infrastructure and Service Department noted KPO aspires to become a role model for the entire oil and gas industry of Kazakhstan.
“Our company’s primary goal is to achieve world level ecological indicators in the Karachaganak project. I hope this project will be applied successfully in various enterprises across the country,” Mr. Grayson stressed. According to statistical data from Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV, scrap paper constitutes the majority of the company’s solid waste, and it is worth noting that as a result of the pilot initiative, the volume of used paper and cardboard taken to garbage storage in Aksai city has dropped by 22,820 tonnes. As the KPO Press Office reported, in the near future the first train carrying scrap paper is planned for shipment to the Pavlodar recycling plant.
Another equally important stage in the successful project is sustainable training of personnel. The workers involved in the project are taught to collect and sort out scrap paper. To execute this effort, KPO provides special instruction sessions and presentations.
“In addition the scrap paper collection project incorporates the daily practice for KPO employees of separating wastepaper as well more economical paper use. Such practice also makes it possible to economise energy and natural resources as well as sort wastepaper correctly”.
“Aside from this, the volume of wastepaper taken to the garbage storage has made it possible to improve ecological indicators and increase the efficiency of the company’s operation,” Gaziz Khasanov, manager of labour protection and occupational safety at KPO said.
KPO BV intends to continue working to reduce its amount of solid waste and thus improve the ecological situation at the Karachaganak field. This year, KPO plans to implement the project at all company offices and enhance the level of personnel information content about the need to collect the scrap paper and become an example for sub-contractor companies to participate in the project.
It is worth noting that last autumn, the company passed through its second certification audit on labour protection, occupational safety and ecological management having confirmed its compliance with OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001standards.
KPO General Director Giuseppe Pasi, noted that as the international level operator that Karachaganak is, one of KPO’s main goals is to provide maximumally high standards in labour protection, occupational safety and environment protection.
The introduction of OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 into the KPO management system has made it possible to decrease potential risks related to the company’s professional operations and that of its subcontractors. It also shows its compliance with ISO 14001:2004 standards with a significant reduction in the negative impact onto the environment according to all the requirements of the regulatory documents and existing legislation.
In addition, the efficiency of the system affects the quality of nature protection event planning as well as programmes for the constant improvement of industrial processes, including a series of prevention measures, the removal of problems and regular inspections by the company administration.
Through the adoption of advanced foreign standards and technology, KPO BV will maintain the industrial impact on the environment at the minimum level. The economical use of crude hydrocarbons and water resources, the reduction in greenhouse gases, highly toxic waste as well as the elimination of spills and leaks are key components of the environmental protection programme launched by KPO.
In a world, the company is the leader among other oil and gas companies in terms of gas utilisation standards with this indicator at 99.92%, which is unprecedented in world practice.
