Working With Stakeholders
Engaging and building productive working relationships with stakeholders is at the core of Resolute Forest Products’ commitment to sustainability. We view a stakeholder as any individual or group that has an interest in or may be affected by – or have an effect on – our operations, initiatives or products.
Resolute engages with stakeholders in a variety of ways in order to better understand their interests, concerns and goals, including townhall meetings, public consultations and surveys. These efforts help us identify high-impact, high-interest issues – what we call shared priorities – to drive everything from the development of our sustainability strategy to decisions about what we report and how we set public commitments.
We are committed to listening and contributing to constructive conversations with all of our stakeholders and partners, including customers, employees and retirees, First Nations and Indigenous peoples, suppliers, governments, investors, non-profit organizations and other members of the communities where we live and work.
Sustainability Oversight and Commitments
The overall responsibility for our sustainability performance resides with our president and chief executive officer, and we rely on our sustainability committee to support the delivery of our key commitments and implement related plans.
The sustainability committee is a cross-functional group of senior managers from sales and human resources to procurement, operations and environment, among other departments. It is accountable to the executive team and chaired by the vice president, corporate communications, sustainability and government affairs. The committee’s mandate, outlined in the committee charter, is to recommend strategies, set goals and measure results, oversee reporting and communications, ensure continuous improvement, and assess stakeholder expectations and sustainability trends. The committee is also charged with providing project oversight on the company’s key sustainability commitments.
For more information on our carbon committee, visit our Climate Change and Energy page.
Tracking our Performance
We initially developed our sustainability strategy in 2010 to align our environmental stewardship initiatives and social responsibility efforts with our business objectives. In 2011, we established our sustainability committee to track and monitor our performance. Supported by public commitments determined by our shared priorities, the strategy sets out the pillars and focus areas that drive our performance.
Resolute’s sustainability strategy takes a precautionary approach, meaning when there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage, a lack of full scientific certainty is not used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation. We ensure due diligence practices when managing challenging environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity, water use and waste management. Conducting environmental reviews prior to the implementation of new projects, along with constant performance monitoring, also demonstrates our commitment to responsibly managing the natural resources in our care.
For more information on our disclosure practices, visit our Reporting Sustainability page.