Editor’s note from Kyle Field: Having spent 17 years working at a paper plant in a wide variety of roles, I am passionate about finding and sharing solutions for industries built around fossil fuels. The papermaking process is extremely energy intensive and requires thermal energy to dry paper, making it a challenging nut to crack. The path taken by Rolland to clean up its energy footprint is encouraging for the papermaking industry and serves as a model for other gas-consuming industries. As the corporate world continues to examine how to reduce its environmental footprint, and more businesses set strategies with climate change in mind, it is imperative they use energy in a way that’s clean, sustainable, and renewable during their manufacturing processes. At Rolland, we’re committed to industry-leading product quality, continuous improvement and environmental stewardship. This mission is driven by our employees, who help us promote a culture of constant innovation. In honor of National Energy Awareness Month, let’s take a closer look at this important component of our sustainable production process, including the challenge, the opportunity and the outcomes.

“We appreciate Sens. Collins and Merkley’s legislative efforts to bring closure to EPA’s six-plus years of uncertainty for biogenic CO2 emissions and ensure federal regulations recognize the atmospheric carbon reducing benefits of biomass-based energy. The Senate Interior Appropriation bill provides a policy framework that uses a practical, science-based approach to achieve this. “The paper and wood products manufacturing industry is the largest producer and user of renewable energy of any manufacturing sector in the U.S., with on average about two-thirds of the energy needed to run our mills being generated on site from biomass. Most of this biomass comes in the form of manufacturing residuals, the use of which avoids approximately 181 million metric tons of CO2e emissions per year – equivalent to removing about 35 million cars from the road.

Pledges toward net zero emissions have become common as global companies and industries look to address concerns about climate change. Domtar, too, is doing our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop a path toward becoming a net zero emitter by 2050. We have been tracking and working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade. By the end of 2020, we recorded a 27 percent reduction in total direct greenhouse gas emissions and indirect emissions from purchased energy at our pulp and paper mills since 2010. Our work to reduce our carbon footprint has also led to significant reductions in our emissions to air of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, total reduced sulfur and particulate matter.