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:
2019 is a very special year for the PEFC family as together we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Before the birth of PEFC, forest certification was designed primarily for large-scale forest owners, managing huge areas of land and able to shoulder the burden of certification. But this meant the millions of small-, family and community forest owners were shut out, unable to afford a certification that was not created for them. It was back in 1999 when European small-forest owners came together to create an international forest certification system that had their needs at heart. On 30 June 1999, PEFC was created! “Having no certification system suitable for smallholders was a serious issue back in the 90s,” said Ben Gunneberg, the CEO of PEFC International since the very beginning. “Not only for the many small-forest owners that could not benefit from certification, but also for the world.” Click read more below for additional detail.
Tetra Pak launches its 25th Sustainability Report, which tracks the progress the company has made against its sustainability agenda. It focuses on five interdependent areas: food systems, circularity, climate, nature and social sustainability. Launching on the United Nations’ World Environment Day on 5 June, the company’s Sustainability Report FY233 shows a 20% reduction in value chain4 GHG emissions and a 47% reduction in GHG emissions across its own operations since 2019. The latter puts Tetra Pak on track to meet its target of net zero GHG emissions in its own operations by 20305 and supports the company’s long-term ambition to work together with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders and achieve net-zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050.6 Another major milestone saw the launch of an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier, reducing its carbon footprint by a third (33%)7 and bringing the company a step closer to developing the world’s most sustainable food package.8 This world-first was a result of a €100 million investment in packaging research and development in 2023, with the same investment planned annually for the next five to ten years.
The report affirms progress toward its 2K30 goals and reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to the Pregis Purpose: to Protect, Preserve, and Inspyre. In 2024, Pregis made notable progress across multiple areas of its sustainability strategy: *92% of operational waste was diverted from landfill and incineration *52% of total revenue came from sustainable products—defined as paper-based, biobased, or containing ≥30% recycled content *Matched the electricity consumption at 6 production facilities with renewable energy *38 million trees saved through sustainable material sourcing and innovation *130,397 lives positively impacted through clean water access, disaster relief, and community programs. “In 2024, we made progress that matters. The engine behind this momentum is our people. Their creativity, passion, and persistence power every milestone. In 2024 alone, our teams helped achieve measurable reductions in carbon emissions, diverted more waste from landfills, and scaled production of circular materials—all while continuing to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving market,” said Kevin Baudhuin, Chairman and CEO of Pregis. “As we look toward the future, our focus remains clear: to create sustainable value for our customers, employees, communities and investors.”
