Sappi North America has released it 2016 Sustainability Report showcasing an industry-leading sustainability performance. “Each year, we look forward to reporting our progress against the five year goals we set to ensure that Sappi North America continues as a thriving, sustainable, re-investable paper and paper-based packaging company,” says President and CEO Mark Gardner.
Sappi’s 2020Vision
In 2015, Sappi Limited established an aspirational vision for the future structured around concrete, measurable initiatives with clear baselines for performance. The goal to become a truly diversified wood fiber group, targeting a substantial increase in EBITDA through an expanded product portfolio, reflects the company’s confidence in its ability to evolve with the changing world; continually maintain and improve returns in mature markets; and deliver top-line growth in newer businesses, like consumer-based packaging. From realizing on innovations such as Neoterix™ ST, the first casting and release paper that creates surfaces that inhibit bacterial growth without toxic additives or chemicals, to reinvestment projects at its Somerset Mill Woodyard and the recently announced $165 million Paper Machine 1 rebuild, Sappi North America is poised to continue its success through 2017 and beyond.
Sustainability Goals
Sappi North America’s sustainability goals are segmented according to the three critical elements of its business: People, Planet and Prosperity. Collectively these goals account for an aggressive approach to increasing safety and education for Sappi employees, building returns on net operating assets through increases in operational efficiency; and reducing energy and raw material waste. Some of this year’s performance highlights include:
· Sappi maintained its commitment to responsible sourcing with 100 percent of its fiber procured in accordance with the SFI® Fiber Sourcing standard, as well as the FSC® Controlled Wood standard; 54 percent of its total fiber came from certified sources.
· Sappi’s Cloquet Mill reached multiple safety milestones, including reaching one million work hours without a loss time injury twice in the fiscal year, ending with a total LTIFR of 0.13.
· Sappi maintains the lowest carbon footprint out of all domestic producers of coated freesheet papers in the US, and its combined direct and indirect emissions total just 0.38 tons CO2/ton of product.
· The solid waste sent to landfills reached its lowest level in the past five years, due in large part to the continued expansion of Sappi’s beneficial use program where by-products are used by local landowners as a soil amendment.
Additionally, these sustainability efforts are being recognized outside of Sappi. In 2016, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) awarded Sappi with the AF&PA Leadership in Sustainability Award for Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Reduction for creating a process to capture excess heat and reuse it elsewhere in the manufacturing process. According to Donna Harman, President and CEO of the AF&PA, “Sappi’s Hood Heat Recovery Project at Somerset is a shining example of how improvements to industry infrastructure can benefit the environment as well as the bottom line.”
