You’ve heard about ecosystems: the way all living things in a given area interact with each other and their environment. There’s a similar concept in sustainability called “industrial ecology,” which is the notion that industrial processes benefit from mimicking the closed-loop efficiency, or circular economy, of a natural ecosystem. Here at Domtar, we’re focusing on building circular economies at each of our mills. Our Plymouth and Marlboro mills, for example, produce nutrient-balanced fertilizers for agricultural crops. And now, our Windsor Mill is closing its sustainability loop by giving back to the 400,000 acres of forestlands that support its operations. André Gravel, Windsor Mill’s fiber manager, says it’s all about rethinking waste. “The point is to stop talking about waste and instead talk about how you can make something out of what used to be waste,” he says. “There’s much more than one way to do that, but the idea is circularity.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Climate change has gained intensity with record-breaking global temperatures and extreme weather, but it has lost ground in business communications. Corporate reports and earnings calls now include fewer references to climate change and even many companies still pursuing net-zero goals are less vocal about their sustainability practices. The phenomenon called greenhushing started amid the pushback against ESG, or environmental, social and governance (ESG) business practices, and has accelerated under the Trump administration's efforts to roll back climate regulation. But a number of experts in marketing and business sustainability argue that companies are making a mistake by staying mum on their climate action. "CEOs should feel confident that climate change does not alienate their investors, customers or employees," John Marshall, CEO and founder of the Potential Energy Coalition, told Newsweek. Marshall said his work with surveys and focus groups tells him that while the political environment around climate change and sustainability has changed dramatically, "the citizen environment hasn't really changed much at all." Most ordinary people, he said, still hold the same, largely positive opinions of companies that take steps to address climate change.

Holmen’s operations already benefit the climate today through forest carbon uptake in growing forests, products that can replace fossil-based products and generating renewable energy from water and wind. Despite this, the work continues to minimise the very low fossil emissions that remain at Holmen’s mill in Iggesund. Holmen’s mill in Iggesund, Sweden, places great emphasis on sustainability and reducing its climate impact. Over the years, it has delivered on this through steady improvements. Last year alone, the mill reduced its direct fossil CO2 emissions (from 2022 to 2023) by almost 25 per cent – and this was achieved without any major investments.