WI PAPER COUNCIL – PRODUCES AN UPDATED VERSION OF AN INDUSTRY STANDARD REPORT
Sustainability reports are created by companies to outline how their business practices and operations are sustainable. They also highlight key objectives for any given company, and highlight their ESG goals – environmental, social and governance issues. While many think the purpose of a sustainability report is outward perception and reputation building, the report also represents a way for companies to identify risks and opportunities, which allows industry to implement changes and respond to changing environmental standards and best practice updates. The Wisconsin Paper Council, the trade association advocating for Wisconsin’s paper, pulp, and forestry industries, took the opportunity to take the typical sustainability reports from Wisconsin companies and update it – highlighting sustainability practices, revealing new industry advancement, and bringing a spotlight to the strong commitment Wisconsin paper companies have to the future of the State of Wisconsin. The report, Wisconsin Paper Council’s 2022 Sustainability Report, is the first of its kind in the Wisconsin Paper Industry.
Bullet point information from the report:
17 million acres of forestland in Wisconsin
68% of paper was recycled in 2021 in the United States
91.4% of cardboard boxes were recycled in 2021 in the United States
$3.2 million in labor income from Wisconsin’s total forest products job
$18 billion in manufacturing output
$200 million provided in state and local taxes
64,000 jobs provided by the first products industry
35% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions since 2010 for 25 reporting paper mill facilities
32 papermills
#1 papermaking state in the United States
The report also highlighted specific sustainable activities:
Peace Tree Project – Menominee Tribal Enterprises
Global Reach – Ahlstrom
Sustainable Solutions at Menasha Mill – Essity
Beneficial Use of Byproducts – Domtar
Green Bay Mill Project – Green Bay Packaging
Carbon Neutrality Team – Packaging Corporation of America
P&G in Green Bay – P&G
Reducing Landfill Waste – Georgia-Pacific
Responsible Water Management – Appvion
A Circular Economy – McKinley Paper
Reducing Reliance on Landfilling – Natural Resources Solutions, LLC
The Wheeler Report sat down with three people at the Wisconsin Paper Council to discuss the report and the industry. They include:
Scott Suder – President
Patrick Stevens – Vice President of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel
Mykaela Chaffin - Research Assistant
Chaffin started the interview by responding to a question about who is driving the changes in the industry by saying, “When I talk to the scientists and the workers in the paper industry, they are passionate about these projects. They want to have better communities that they live in. I would say it’s a dual thing, it’s partially outside groups wanting this to happen, and the paper industry also wants to make it happen.” Suder was quick to add he believes it’s being driven in part by consumers who are demanding proof of strong environmental efforts by paper companies, but also by the industry which is not only meeting the challenges, but he said is providing it is forward-focused. Suder said many of these changes the industry doesn’t “have to do” but he said they are “way ahead of the curve on the regulatory front.” He went on to highlight the Green Bay Packaging story on their net-zero facility.
According to the report,
The Green Bay Mill Project was designed to be one of the most sustainable paper mills ever built. State-of-the-art innovations were core to the project and can be found throughout the facility. The 100% recycled paper facility is capable of producing the highest quality linerboard and medium on the market using energy and water-efficient technologies that greatly reduce greenhouse gases, energy, waste, and water per ton of paper produced. Many of these innovative processes were the first of its kind or size of scale within the paper industry. In addition to investing in these complex sustainability initiatives, Green Bay Packaging (GBP) incorporated variable frequency drives, LED lighting, and motion lighting facility-wide. Energy is also recovered from the paper machine dryer section and repurposed to heat the building. Biogas produced and refined within the Effluent Treatment Plant is utilized as a natural gas replacement in various capacities. Most ambitiously, Green Bay Packaging partnered with a local municipal wastewater plant to develop a water source alternate to freshwater. This partnership has lead to the first-ever third-party Net Zero Water Certification for a paper manufacturing facility in the world. (Read the full story in the Sustainability Report).
Suder said, “That’s incredibly innovative, state of the art, and other states are now looking to replicate that technology. They received national awards. I think they’re way ahead of any outside groups that are demanding this. They want to prove to their consumers that they are sustainable and they’re making sure that our communities are protected for the future…Green Bay Packaging thought way outside the box. This is a completely new innovative project for them. They had the ability to leverage the resources they had, worked closely with the municipality, they worked with the state. This was a huge project that they really didn’t have to do, but they did it anyway because they were so committed to sustainability…This is something that’s very special in terms of their innovation, but very important for the future of the industry as a whole.”
Stevens said, “I think Green Bay Packaging is very good at educating people on what they’re doing in the area. As the word gets out and technology becomes a bit more familiar, that’s an opportunity for others to do that. That’s one of the benefits of publishing a report like this. You get the word out with best case examples of some things that are going on. Things that are proven to work. Part of our role is to try to promote those things and get the word out. Not only to the industry, but also to the public.” When asked what regulations in place might prohibit other municipalities in Wisconsin from looking into something similar, Stevens said, “I’m not sure there’s necessarily prohibitions in regard to regulatory… From our standpoint, it’s a great issue to share that information with industry, but also to the public to understand the efforts and the creative things going on to ensure the environment continues to improve and that the industry is stepping up and going above and beyond to make sure it has taken care of its obligations.”
One trend in America right now is the shift away from single-use plastics, and in some cases all plastics. The paper industry in many cases has stepped up to help society shift from plastics to sustainable paper products. The Sustainability Report highlights two of these instances:
Ahlstrom’s Global Reach: Two areas where Ahlstrom’s Wisconsin plants have excelled is sustainable and plastic replacement solutions have been in the food packaging and processing markets and the e-commerce markets. In addition to its wide rage of cooking, baking, fast-food and microwave solutions, Ahlstrom recently launch a full rang of sustainable pet food packaging solutions branded PawPrint™.
Fiber-based solutions offer more sustainable packaging options in the e-commerce industry, including lower packaging weight creating less waste, package integrity and safety while building distinctive branding through packaging and offering diverse levels of protection. In addition, fiber-based packaging can reduce the overall impact on the environment, offering positive recyclability, repulpability, and at times compostable end-of-life scenarios. Ahlstrom’s PurposeFil™ e-commerce packaging products are helping to meet multiple sustainability goals. Ahlstrom uses fiber from responsible and legal sources, and all PurposeFil™ products qualify for Chain of Custody Forestry Credits and Certification.
Georgia-Pacific Reducing Landfill Waste, One Cup at a Time: Day after day, those disposable cups start to accumulate, particularly during this time when many coffee shops are refusing to fill customers’ reusable mugs. And that’s a challenge quick-service restaurants such as McDonald’s and Starbucks are looking to partners like Georgia-Pacific to help overcome…The Foodservice Packaging Institute estimates that as much as 99 percent of single-use paper cups end up in a landfill. Where others saw waste, the Georgia-Pacific team saw opportunity. Based on actual mass of Georgia-Pacific-produced paper cups, about 90 percent of the material in traditional coffee cups and 80 percent of single-use paper fountain cups can be recycled…In 2016, Georgia-Pacific invested $36 million in new pulping technology with improved recycling capabilities, including with mixed varieties of paper. “That was a turning point,” Mulcahy says. The new pulpers deliver numerous benefits, such as the ability to handle more tons of mixed paper and capture more fiber per ton, which means less waste goes to landfills. A team of Georgia-Pacific engineers, operators and environmental managers worked together to confirm if the new pulping equipment could also better separate the PE from the paper cup fiber during the recycling process…”Georgia-Pacific can now process up to 700 tons of mixed paper per day at its Green Bay facility alone and is expanding these capabilities to its mills in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Savannah, Georgia. “In Green Bay, mixed paper recycling is just one part of ongoing investments in sustainability at the 103-year-old facility,” says Michael Kawleski, public affairs manager for Georgia-Pacific.
Suder replied, “It’s important to make sure that our industry is filling those gaps that exist as a result of consumers wanting to shift from plastics to fiber-based products. Part of our job at the Paper Council is to promote that and get those stories out, but also to defeat those false narratives. It’s so much more than just paper. We’re talking about fiber-based products, and aerospace – spaceships going up, and SpaceX and Blue Origin. There are fiber-based products in your car, your cell phone, and so much of our daily lives depends on paper.”
Stevens said, “I think what’s really interesting about this report is the wide variety of types of things that are going on in the industry.” While that could be innovations in industry practices, the Sustainability Report also highlights things such as biodiversity or The Peace Tree. Sustainable Solutions at Menasha Mill: Essity’s Menasha paper mill has two onsite nesting boxes for peregrine falcons complete with cameras for viewing of nesting season activities by employees. In 2022, for the eighth straight year, the mill was the chosen nesting site by two peregrine falcons. The Peace Tree Project: The spirit of white pine teaches us to be peacekeepers by putting aside our differences and creating a safe place where balance and clear-headed decisions can be made.
Chaffin said, “I thought it was important to have these little facts and figures section at the end…I think these statistics show for themselves how sustainable and how progressive the paper industry is.”
As the interview wrapped up, all three said they believed this new report was important for the Paper Council to do highlighting that there are tons of reports available from individual companies, but this report tells the story of the paper industry in Wisconsin in a “swallowable” way which highlights the industries commitment not only to Wisconsin but to the future of Wisconsin.
Suder said, “Policymakers change, there is a new group of legislators on both sides of the aisle, and new administration folks. They need to understand that our industry is sustainable and why. We believe that highlighting these stories…will help them better understand the sustainability and commitment of our industry...We would love to hear other stories. This is about our industry, not the Paper Council. We want to make sure the industry successes, in terms of sustainability, are highlighted now and into the future. That’s why we did this project…These are real innovations that are going on right here in the state of Wisconsin. They should be proud.”
Chaffin said, “One of the things that surprised me about the submissions we received was it’s not just about reducing water or reducing emissions, it’s also tangible things like the peregrine falcons that Essity has on their paper mill. The white pines that the Menominee Tribe Enterprise is planting around Wisconsin. I think that shows just how diverse the sustainability issues are.”
