Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Basics – Fact Sheet

Catalyst Paper was honoured with a SmartWay® Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an industry leader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency. Catalyst partners with SmartWay carriers that share the same values in environmental leadership. These carriers invest in energy efficient lightweight equipment that allows Catalyst to plan and load equipment to maximum capacity to reduce the number of trucks and railcars shipped.

The Ahlstrom-Munksjö Mosinee plant in Wisconsin is teaming up with Via Separations to pilot a cutting edge energy efficiency project. Together, they are validating Via Separations’ Black Liquor Concentration System, which is driven by an innovation in membrane material and system design. Black liquor is the byproduct from the kraft process when digesting pulpwood into paper pulp removing lignin and other extractives from the wood, to free the cellulose fibers and allow for the papermaking process to occur. The new system will reduce energy requirements for this process, increase mill throughput, and increase production of coproducts which are used as a heating source for the plant. “In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Validation program and Ahlstrom-Munksjö, Via Separations is proud to support this trial. We can reduce the resource requirement per unit of pulp produced by implementing a step change process intensification,” said Shreya Dave, CEO of Via Separations. "At commercial scale, the technology has the potential to provide a 64% decrease in energy demand in the evaporator process."

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and PwC Canada have released an updated Buyers’ Guide to Canada’s Sustainable Forest Products so that customers can be well-informed and confident that their purchasing decisions are environmentally and socially responsible. The guide provides practical advice to help ensure buying decisions go beyond the traditional concerns of price, quality, and availability to also consider environmental and social impacts such as climate change, legality and certification. It will help inform the growing number of companies who wish to adopt green procurement policies as part of their efforts to achieve their own sustainability goals.