Sappi Matane Mill is working to reduce fossil fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions
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The Matane Mill produces its own biogas from raw process wastewater using anaerobic reactor technology. In this process, anaerobic biomass transforms organics in the raw wastewater (mainly sugars) into methane gas.
Sustainability leader reflects on 2020 and shares plans for the next five years
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The words that first come to my mind when I reflect on the past year would be ‘interconnectedness’ and ‘adaptability.’ The profound impact of the pandemic has touched so many different aspects of our lives—the ways we live, work, and connect with each other seemed to change overnight—all with the single goal of mitigating unnecessary damage and suffering. Much like pandemic prevention, sustainability is a global group effort. Our collective success depends on each one of us thinking about our long-term impact when making decisions today.
Efficient use of raw materials improves front-end cost savings and reduces environmental impact
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The efficient use of raw materials improves front-end cost savings, reduces environmental impact, and lowers costs associated with waste processing. To achieve these benefits, we have separate goals for the pulping and papermaking process areas. For the pulp mills, we targeted a 10 percent reduction in losses by 2020, whereas for the paper mills, we established a 5 percent reduction goal by 2020.
With respect to pulp mill losses, we have surpassed the five-year goal, reaching an approximately 13 percent reduction over the 2014 baseline.
The role our forests play in mitigating climate change is gaining greater attention. There has been a push to preserve our forests and use more recycled content in paper or packages. While it can be complicated to decide which is better—using virgin fiber or recycled fiber—there is an answer. It comes down to how that fiber will be used. And yes—in some cases, more recycled fiber means more GHG emissions.
Our Lead Sustainability Ambassadors, a team of 10 passionate leaders at sites around North America, work together to drive employee engagement through a variety of activities—whether it be organizing a volunteer event with a local charity, improving an on-site recycling program, or promoting educational opportunities. Working with Sandy Taft, ambassadors regularly meet to discuss ideas, share best practices, promote our sustainability story, and provide outreach to their local communities.
When Chris Martland analyzes a landowner’s forest to develop a management plan, he has a number of issues to consider—the landowner’s goals, what’s best for long-term forest health, how he can improve biodiversity and wildlife habitat, market conditions, and climate change.
Chris is the manager of Sappi’s private Lake States Forestry program. He helps timber owners in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan manage their forests.
While it may seem counterintuitive, selectively removing trees from the forest through harvesting is often the best way to maximize the benefits that forests provide for mitigating climate change.
Forest carbon sequestration rates and storage levels change as forests naturally evolve. Young, fast-growing forests have the highest carbon sequestration rates, while older, mature forests have higher levels of carbon storage. In decaying forests, both carbon sequestration and storage are reduced until regeneration restarts the carbon cycle.
Sappi Continues Push to Enhance Business Diversification
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Sappi’s continual push to find new ways to extract value from trees has resulted in the exploration of unique applications for our line of Valida products. Valida is a micro- and nanofibrillated cellulose manufactured in our pilot facility in the Netherlands. It’s a 100 percent natural, biodegradable, and sustainable material produced by mechanically processing wood fibers to their smallest components, resulting in a dramatically increased surface area and greater strength as well as enhanced optical, chemical, and physical properties.
The past year has been unprecedented. The impact of COVID-19 cast a long shadow over the world. Our business was negatively affected, which influenced our ability to deliver our sustainability goals. However, I am extremely proud of the manner in which the Sappi family stood up and stood together during this time. Across our global operations, our first priority was the immediate safety and wellbeing of our staff and their families.
