James Cropper to revolutionise energy usage following government funding of over £4 million

The funding has been awarded as part of the Government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) designed to support industry on the path to energy demand reduction and Net Zero.

As a business in an energy intensive industry, the majority of James Cropper’s energy and emissions result from heat demand. Decarbonising this heat will be the focus of the IETF funded deployment project and will deliver a step-change reduction in primary energy usage. This will require an overhaul of how energy is consumed and managed on site.

The project is expected to result in a 24.3% reduction of annual gas consumption by over 47,000 MWh and in over 8,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The success of the programme will put James Cropper on track to deliver significant decarbonisation advances and act as a crucial reference case for other large heat consumers to follow. James Cropper will actively seek to inspire change within and beyond the paper industry, helping others on their decarbonisation journeys.

The IETF funding will enable James Cropper to deliver the industry-first programme by providing essential capital support to retrofit the engineering solution to existing equipment within a new low carbon energy centre. This will be the first part in delivering a multi-stage programme to reach the business’ 2030 goals.

Established in 1845, the Group manufactures advanced materials incorporating pioneering non-wovens and electrochemical coatings, as well as creative papers and luxury packaging. Ranging from substrates and components in hydrogen electrolysis and fuel cells to bespoke colours and textures in paper and moulded fibre packaging designed to replace single use plastics.

A purpose-led business, built upon six generations of the Cropper family, James Cropper has a 600+ international workforce and an operational reach in over 50 countries.