We’re kicking off Earth Week 2019 on April 22, which is International Earth Day. While we incorporate sustainability into all parts of our business every day, we are excited to have a whole week dedicated to enhancing nature’s gifts and improving life in our communities.
Colleagues and, at many sites, their family members and friends will raise sustainability awareness through volunteering, learning and playing in the world around us.
EarthChoice Ambassadors
As part of our caring values, we regularly give to educational initiatives, sustainability programs and efforts to improve the health and wellness of our neighbors. Our EarthChoice Ambassador program further reinforces this concept.
EarthChoice Ambassadors (ECAs) are Domtar employees who volunteer their time and energy to promote sustainable practices that focus on our customers, employees, company, and community. By identifying and sharing innovative manufacturing methods, educating and encouraging sustainable habits, and leading by example, ECAs embody our sustainability message throughout the organization.
Heather Stowe, Domtar’s corporate social responsibility manager and mother of the ECA program, describes the program simply: “All EarthChoice Ambassadors across the company are just that: ambassadors of making and teaching good earth choices. An EarthChoice is any act that benefits the planet or your community.”
Earth Week 2019
This year, during Earth Week 2019, more than two dozen ECA teams in North America and Europe are getting together to make hundreds of EarthChoices at work or at home. Events planned for Earth Week 2019 include:
Planting trees and gardening in community gardens and parks
Holding recycling drives
Hosting lunch-and-learn events focused on debunking agriculture and recycling myths
Providing families in need with resources to grow vegetables at home
Teaching students about papermaking and recycling
Creating a monarch butterfly habitat
Conducting reading events at schools in coordination with First Book
How will you celebrate Earth Week 2019? Will you be collecting rainwater, planting trees or participating in a community clean-up event? Share your EarthChoice by tweeting us at DomtarEveryday.
Learn more about our commitment to sustainability in the communities where we work, live and play:
The French Forest Certification System has been submitted to PEFC for assessment. The public consultation, which is your chance to give your feedback on this revised system, will run from 24 July to 21 September 2023. PEFC France revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The revised French Forest Certification System also includes new Trees Outside Forests (TOF) requirements. TOF certification was one of the innovative developments of the 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard.
The North American pulp and paper industry has made great progress in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions over the last decade and at the same time have increased their use of certified fiber and support for sustainable forest management. In the U.S., AF&PA members represent the spectrum of paper and wood products manufacturing and work on an ongoing basis with government agencies, communities and other stakeholders to employ advanced sustainability practices, which benefit the economy, the environment and society.[1] In 2016, the recovery rate for paper consumed in the U.S. reached a record 67.2% and is approaching the AF&PA goal of 70%. Since 2001, recycling rates in the U.S. have increased by about 20% due to voluntary efforts by the pulp and paper industry and the increasing number of Americans who recycle every day. AP&PA member pulp and paper mills produce carbon-neutral biomass energy on site that, on average, provides about two-thirds of their energy needs. As a result, their purchased energy use per ton of production was 8.1% lower in 2014 than in the 2005 baseline year. By advancing their use of combined heat and power and reducing energy intensity in the industrial sector, they are significantly improving their energy efficiency. Click Read More below for additional detail.
Metsä Board has once again been rewarded a position on the CDP Water A List as well as on the CDP Climate A List. This is the third consecutive year that the company has been included on the CDP Water A List and the second year on the CDP Climate A List. Metsä Board also achieved Leadership status in the CDP Forest programme for the third year in a row. CDP is a non-profit global environmental disclosure platform. Metsä Board is among the top 10% of companies participating in CDP’s water programme to be placed on the Water A List. This achievement is in recognition of its actions in the last reporting year to manage water more sustainably. Additionally, Metsä Board is among the top 5% of companies participating in CDP’s climate change programme to be featured on the 2017 Climate A List. This positioning recognises its activities to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy. Click Read More below for additional information.
