Earth Day is April 22, 2019, and to celebrate, we are sharing some environmental highlights from our businesses. Air, land, and water are areas where the JDI team works every day to reduce our environmental footprint. Below are some of the efforts and results:
Since 1990, our Pulp and Paper operations have reduced their carbon footprint by 55%. This puts us amongst top performers in North America and exceeds the target set by the Government of Canada and the Paris Climate Change Accord.
Today renewable green energy sources account for 59% of the fuel used at our pulp, paper, and tissue mills as well as our sawmills.
A recent $30 million investment at Lake Utopia Paper near St. George, N.B. earned the team the 2019 Industry Excellence Award from Natural Resources magazine. Natural Resources magazine’s 2019 Industry Excellence Award in Environmental Stewardship. The new environmental treatment facility turns organic waste into clean-burning biogas. This green energy replaces the use of fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. Check out the video here:
This year we will plant over 16 million trees – Nature’s air filters. Over the next 50 years growing trees on the lands we manage will absorb over 92 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s equal to 350,000 cars off the road each year for the next 50 years.
NBM Railways have achieved a 31.4% improvement in fuel efficiency (2015-2018) – reducing fossil fuel consumption by over 13 million liters.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) today released its 13th annual Sustainability Report, highlighting its growing investment in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and commitment to log 20 million hours of volunteer time by the end of 2020.
With its “Rolling Laboratory” approach, UPS accelerated its investment in an alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles last year, increasing the number of vehicles by 61 percent over 2013 and adding 1,100 natural gas vehicles. According to the report, UPS logged 154 million miles in 2014 toward its goal of driving 1 billion miles with the fleet by the end of 2017 – an almost threefold increase from 2013.
Brazil has become the first jurisdiction worldwide to permit the commercial use of FuturaGene’s genetically engineered eucalyptus. The Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) approved the commercial use of the yield-enhanced eucalyptus developed by FuturaGene. According to the company, field experiments conducted since 2006 at various locations in Brazil have demonstrated an approximate 20% increase in yield compared to its equivalent conventional variety.
The company says this approval represents the most significant productivity milestone for the renewable plantation forest industry since the adoption of clonal technology in the early 1990s. This approval enables the production of more fiber using less resources.
Two Sides North America is pleased to welcome the Pharmaceutical Printed Literature Association (PPLA) as its newest member. PPLA is a coalition representing printers, equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers and distributors of regulated printed pharmaceutical information used by both medical professionals and patients, including package inserts, medication guides, and other label packaging such as folding cartons and pressure-sensitive labels. PPLA’s 25 member companies employ thousands of individuals across manufacturing operations in 15 states. “As Two Sides continues to grow our membership across all sectors of the print, paper and paper-based packaging industry, we are delighted to have PPLA join us and look forward to working with them to help promote the sustainability of our industry and our products, and printed pharmaceutical information in particular,” said Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie.