We’re kicking off Earth Week 2019 on April 22, which is International Earth Day. While we incorporate sustainability into all parts of our business every day, we are excited to have a whole week dedicated to enhancing nature’s gifts and improving life in our communities.
Colleagues and, at many sites, their family members and friends will raise sustainability awareness through volunteering, learning and playing in the world around us.
EarthChoice Ambassadors
As part of our caring values, we regularly give to educational initiatives, sustainability programs and efforts to improve the health and wellness of our neighbors. Our EarthChoice Ambassador program further reinforces this concept.
EarthChoice Ambassadors (ECAs) are Domtar employees who volunteer their time and energy to promote sustainable practices that focus on our customers, employees, company, and community. By identifying and sharing innovative manufacturing methods, educating and encouraging sustainable habits, and leading by example, ECAs embody our sustainability message throughout the organization.
Heather Stowe, Domtar’s corporate social responsibility manager and mother of the ECA program, describes the program simply: “All EarthChoice Ambassadors across the company are just that: ambassadors of making and teaching good earth choices. An EarthChoice is any act that benefits the planet or your community.”
Earth Week 2019
This year, during Earth Week 2019, more than two dozen ECA teams in North America and Europe are getting together to make hundreds of EarthChoices at work or at home. Events planned for Earth Week 2019 include:
Planting trees and gardening in community gardens and parks
Holding recycling drives
Hosting lunch-and-learn events focused on debunking agriculture and recycling myths
Providing families in need with resources to grow vegetables at home
Teaching students about papermaking and recycling
Creating a monarch butterfly habitat
Conducting reading events at schools in coordination with First Book
How will you celebrate Earth Week 2019? Will you be collecting rainwater, planting trees or participating in a community clean-up event? Share your EarthChoice by tweeting us at DomtarEveryday.
Learn more about our commitment to sustainability in the communities where we work, live and play:
“For forest certification to be affordable and successful in meeting the needs of smallholder bamboo communities, it needs to be risk based, regional, nationally appropriate and internationally recognized,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, at the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC2018 ). BARC2018“PEFC can provide this.” BARC2018, held recently in Beijing China, brought together stakeholders from around the world to discuss how bamboo and rattan can contribute to South-South cooperation, climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals, among many other issues. Click Read More below for additional information.
Responsible business conduct is not a trend but a permanent change that companies should willingly embrace. Responsible companies take care of the environment as well as their employees, production chains and profitability. Investors and potential employees are increasingly assessing companies based on their responsibility actions. In addition, consumer expectations for true corporate responsibility continue to rise. Actions and transparency are required. It is hard to think of an industry that would not be affected by stakeholders’ expectations for responsible business practices. Responsibility requirements also widely impact the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector because of the expectations relating to the production and sub-contracting chain. Clear business advantages encourage companies to strengthen their corporate responsibility. Integrating responsibility into the company’s strategy creates cost savings and brings new business opportunities. It is also a chance to come up with ideas for innovations that solve sustainability challenges. Mapping operational risks creates trust in the future and strengthens the company’s brand. According to one estimate, there is EUR 11 trillion worth of business opportunities in promoting sustainability targets. The capabilities, technologies and solutions of Finnish companies are desperately needed around the world.
After setting and meeting two successive Scope 1 and Scope 2 absolute reduction goals for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)1, HP Inc. announces a new target to reduce the GHG emissions from its global operations by 25 percent by 2025, compared to 2015. The new target is a significant milestone for HP as it accelerates its commitment to reduce the company’s total carbon footprint in accordance with what climate science indicates is required to help keep global warming below 2° Celsius. In 2016, the company announced a goal to reduce the GHG emissions intensity of its product portfolio by 25 percent by 2020, compared to 20102, and committed to source 100 percent renewable electricity in its global operations with an interim goal of 40 percent renewable by 2020. click Read More below for additional detail
