Sappi North America, Inc., a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper, packaging products and dissolving pulp, recently released its 2019 Sustainability Report, illustrating the bright future for sustainability within the company. The report provides an overview of the continued progress toward Sappi's sustainability goals, and highlights its long-standing commitment to employee safety standards, innovation and a low carbon footprint across the operation.
"As a diversified and resilient organization navigating through this unprecedented time, our commitment toward sustainability remains intact and at our core," said Mike Haws, President and CEO, Sappi North America. "Our results from 2019 have established a foundation for future investments and growth that will continue to support all of our employees and their local communities, which is needed now more than ever."
Sustainability Achievements
Sappi North America's 2019 results reflect its commitment to improving environmental, social and business performance. Highlights include:
Record-breaking safety performance. Sappi achieved a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate of 0.25 for the year—the lowest in Sappi North America's history for the second consecutive year.
Over 75% of our total energy needs were met with renewable fuel. This gives us one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry at just 0.38 tons of CO2 generated per ton of product made.
Investment in employees. The company provided an average of 105 hours per employee of training across the organization in 2019.
Continued innovation to align with a global sustainability platform. Sappi North America made significant strides in research related to utilizing the full value of trees to create products, while minimizing the impact on the environment.
"We have achieved much since launching our Vision 2020," said Sandy Taft, Sustainability Director, Sappi North America. "In the years ahead, we expect our progress to accelerate as we align our goals with seven of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals most relevant to us. Through that focus, we can make a real difference, using more clean energy to mitigate climate change, working with our partners in the forests and continuing to deliver economic growth in our communities."
