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Visy Gibson Island: 34,000 t CO2‑e Cut a Year With Waste‑to‑Energy

A premium, circular economy project cutting waste, coal and carbon – with strategic carbon creditA certificate that is equivalent to 1 tonne CO2-e. Credits often refer to instruments issued under a cap and trade scheme, where companies are allocated credits up to their emission cap. If they exceed the cap they need to purchase more credits. monetisation.

“This is a true example of ‘doing more with less’ – less waste, less fossil carbon, less cost and more long-term value.”

– Hamish McGovern, Group Managing Director, Northmore Gordon



Project Summary

As part of a $48 million self-funded sustainability investment, Visy transformed its Gibson Island paper mill into a leading industrial biomass facility. With Northmore Gordon’s strategic advisory, the project:

• Converts over 33,000 tonnes of mixed commercial waste annually diverted from landfill into on-site renewable fuel

• Displaces 17,000 tonnes of coal per year in steam generation

• Delivers verified emissions reductions of 34,000 t CO₂-e annually, peaking at 60,000+ in year 7.

• Achieves dual-method ERFThe Emissions Reduction Fund is a voluntary scheme that aims to provide incentives for a range of organisations and individuals to adopt new practices and technologies to reduce their emissions. registration: Alternative Waste Treatment (AWTThe alternative waste treatment method provides an incentive to develop new alternative waste treatment (AWT) facilities, or expand existing AWT facilities to increase the capacity of waste that can be processed.) and Industrial & Commercial Emissions Reduction (ICERThe Industrial Commercial Emissions Reduction method provides a framework for evaluating and crediting carbon abatement projects, ensuring they are additional, measurable, and verifiable.)

This integrated approach reduces landfill levies, methane emissions, and fossil fuel use – while unlocking stacked carbon credit revenue within a single facility.



Client

• Organisation: Visy Paper Pty Ltd

• Sector: Pulp & Paper Manufacturing

• Location: Gibson Island, Brisbane, QLD

• Project Commissioned: April 2023

• ACCUAn ACCU is a unit issued to a person by the Clean Energy Regulator (Regulator) by making an entry for the unit in an account kept by the person in the electronic [Australian National Registry of Emissions Units] registry. Each ACCU issued represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) stored or avoided by a project. An ACCU can only be issued to a person if the person has a Registry account. Registration Commenced: 2024



Northmore Gordon’s Role

• Designed a stacked carbon credit strategy across AWT and ICER methods

• Project registration under the Federal Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) methods

• Ensured full compliance against rigorous legislation and annual reporting requirements

• Provided emissions reporting and ongoing carbon credit verification



Project Impact

Environmental Outcomes

• 33,000+ tonnes of landfill waste diverted annually

• 17,000 tonnes of coal displaced per year

• 34,000 t CO₂-e p.a. verified emissions reductions growing to 60,000+ by year 7

• Significant methane emissions avoided



Economic & Operational Benefits

• Approx. $2 million in annual fuel cost savings

• Additional revenue from carbon credits and materials recovery (steel, aluminium, PVC)

• Substantial savings in landfill levies (33 kt avoided annually)

• Operational flexibility enabled by the upgraded multi-fuel boiler



Strategic Leadership & Replicability

• First Australian pulp and paper site with dual-method ERF registration

• Fuel Preparation Plant uses eddy currents, magnets and optical sorting to recover metals/PVC recyclable materials

• Establishes replicable model for waste-to-energy in pulp & paper and other manufacturing sectors

• Demonstrates commercial viability of circular biomass in industrial steam systems



Community & Employment Benefits

• Reduced truck movements to landfill, lowering traffic and emissions impacts locally

• Significant local job creation during construction and ongoing operations

• Local suppliers and service providers engaged, strengthening the Australian waste-to-energy capability



Technical Highlights

• Advanced fuel preparation using Lindner primary shredder, Steinert magnets and eddy-current separators, and TOMRA optical sorters

• Production of consistent-quality process-engineered fuel from contaminated waste

• Seamless John Thompson boiler retrofit for multi-fuel capability and emissions compliance

• Real-time analytics system for fuel, emissions and performance monitoring

• Smart system integration supporting 24/7 mill operations without disruption



Innovation Highlights

• First-of-its-kind stacked ERF method deployment on a single industrial site

• Circular economy model that converts in-house waste into a renewable fuel asset

• Fully self-funded $48M investment – no external grants or subsidies required

• Carbon credit strategy that avoids inter-site logistics and third-party processing



Why It Matters

This project demonstrates what’s possible when industrial decarbonisation meets circular economy thinking and engineering precision. Visy now runs a high-efficiency biomass system that:

• Eliminates its own waste stream

• Displaces coal

• Secures long-term fuel resilience

• Generates multiple revenue channels – all without interrupting production

With Northmore Gordon’s regulatory and technical expertise, compliance became commercial advantage.

For more information, call or email Craig Morgan or submit your interest here today.

Visy is powering the circular economy, closing the loop between packaging, recycling and remanufacturing.

Industry

Manufacturing

Location

Australia Wide

Reuben Forster

Senior Engineer, M&V

Contact Reuben ›

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Get in touch

Australia

1300 854 561 (Advisory)

1300 878 500 (Certificates)

Melbourne

Suite 1, Level 4

607 Bourke Street

Melbourne

VIC 3000

Singapore

+65 6690 2480



Singapore

1 Keong Saik Road,

Singapore 089109

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