Mill Environmental Performance
Resolute Forest Products' manufacturing processes have environmental impacts resulting primarily from the consumption of resources, air emissions, waste generation and water discharges. We seek to minimize these impacts and to go beyond minimum legal requirements, such as those in the Ontario Toxics Reduction Act, by focusing on continuous improvement and establishing environmental management systems (EMS) at all our operating facilities.
Environmental performance is managed at the facility level, with top-level oversight by the organization. Guided by our Environmental Policy, mill environment coordinators are responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations and for facilitating continuous improvement.
Environmental comparison tools can help customers and other stakeholders make informed decisions about the products they purchase by comparing the environmental performance of different suppliers. The tools can also help identify tradeoffs related to certain aspects of the manufacturing process, such as the energy requirements associated with increased use of non-wood fiber.
For more information on Resolute’s proactive approach, visit our Environmental Management page, which explains how the company selects, monitors and evaluates key performance indicators (KPIs) across all of our operations.
Reducing our Environmental Footprint
Our operations strive to continuously improve environmental performance in key areas, and we track sustainability performance metrics in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. Detailed descriptions of the scope of our climate, water and waste management reporting and data measurement techniques are available on our Key Performance Indicators page.
In addition to optimizing fiber use, we are focused on reducing Resolute's environmental footprint in the following ways:
- curb water and energy use
- improve effluent quality
- reduce air emissions
- reduce the quantities of mill organic waste sent to landfills by optimizing beneficial use alternatives
- reduce environmental incidents
Actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and combat climate change are a cornerstone of our efforts to reduce the company's environmental footprint. At the end of 2022, we had reduced the absolute GHG emissions at our pulp, paper and tissue mills reduced by 87% over year 2000 levels, which reflects our company-wide focus on improving energy efficiency and switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources
In 2022, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated our new reduction goals, which include a 41.5% reduction in absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2026 from a 2015 base
year, and a 16.5% reduction in scope 3 emissions within the same timeframe. Our scope 1 and 2 target is in line with a well-below 2°C trajectory, and our scope 3 target is in line with a 2°C trajectory, conforming to the SBTi Criteria and Recommendations (version 4.2). The target boundary includes biogenic emissions and removals from bioenergy feedstocks.