Staff
Resolute Forest Products’ future is based on innovation and sustainability, company president and CEO Richard Garneau told delegates at the annual meeting of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association in Thunder Bay last Thursday.
“The forest products industry has been instrumental to the history and economy of Northwestern Ontario, and Resolute’s roots run almost as deep here as the industry itself,” Garneau said in his speech.
“We’re working hard to ensure a sustainable future in this region and in all our operating communities.
“The past decade has been hard on our industry,” he conceded. “Mills closed and companies disappeared, often with serious consequences for the communities in which they operated.
“Over the past seven years, over 94,000 jobs were lost across Canada, with most of those in northern and rural areas, where the loss of good jobs can be especially tough and where the likelihood of equivalent economic opportunities is low.
“In Ontario alone, almost 28,000 jobs in the forest sector have been lost since 2006. But forestry is still a $57-billion industry in this country, and it provides livelihoods for almost 600,000 Canadians.
“Our future is based on innovation—finding ways to use wood and wood fibre in new and better ways—and on sustainability,” Garneau stressed.
“For Resolute, sustainability means balancing environmental, social, and economic priorities,” he noted. “Operating sustainably makes us a more efficient company for our shareholders, a better employer for our colleagues, a stronger partner for our customers, and a more stable force in the communities where we operate.
“Over the last two years, there has been a major shift in the role sustainability plays at Resolute.
“Our industry has faced some criticism regarding our forest management practices,” Garneau said. “Certain criticisms of our company, in particular, have recently been shown to be unfounded; based on opinion and perception rather than fact.
“Actually, our company, our industry, our governments, and our society have a lot to be proud of when it comes to responsible forest management,” he noted. “With its Crown Forest Sustainability Act, Ontario has among the best—if not the best—forest management frameworks in the world.
“For Resolute, 100 percent of the timberlands we manage are third-party certified to internationally-recognized sustainable forest management standards. And while only 10 percent of the world’s forests are certified, Canada accounts for over 40 percent of that 10 percent.
“Last year, we celebrated the planting of the billionth tree in Ontario by Resolute and its predecessor companies,” Garneau said. “This number doesn’t include reforestation through aerial seeding and natural regeneration.
“We replace in multiples the trees that we harvest,” he stressed. “We’ve also worked with government and the public to create 25-year forest management plans that promote forest biodiversity, and we have expanded the network of restricted spaces in the boreal to protect specific habitat and species.
“In Ontario, the target for land set aside under the landmark collaborative process known as ‘Lands for Life’ was 12 percent. From Thunder Bay to Manitoba, over 16 percent of the operable land base has already been withdrawn. This does not include areas covered by regulation—greenbelts around lakes, river reserves and waterway corridors, and other similar preservation areas.
“When those areas are taken into account, that withdrawal percentage goes up to over 30 percent.
“As part of this overall effort, in co-operation with the provincial government, we’ve protected over 21,000 square kilometres of Ontario forestlands as regulated parks. That’s about 33 times the city of Toronto.
“We are also committed to accepting our share of responsibility for global warming,” Garneau said. “In 2011, we joined the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program, committing to reduce absolute (scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2015; compared to 2000 levels.
“That’s equivalent to taking almost 1.5 million cars off the road.
“So far, we’ve reduced our absolute emissions by over 62 percent, so we’re well on track to meet our target.
“To improve our energy efficiency, we use hydroelectricity, and are switching from fossil fuels to cleaner renewable energy sources like carbon-neutral biomass wherever possible,” Garneau noted.
“Around 70 percent of our energy requirements come from renewable sources, and we have seven sites that operate cogeneration facilities to produce ‘green’ energy from carbon-neutral biomass.
“We also use alternative fuels like methane from landfills, used oil, and tire-derived fuel. And right here in Thunder Bay, we’ve just announced the start-up of a condensing turbine which will reduce energy costs at the mill and enable the facility to sell ‘green’ energy from biomass to the Ontario Power Authority.
“Through efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our products, we have invested in developing innovative products like AlignTM, our brand of eco-efficient, budget-friendly, high-performance papers.
“While our approach to sustainability certainly focuses on environmental performance, we are sensitive to the important social and economic impacts of our operations,” Garneau stressed.
“Health and safety is a top priority; our safety record approaches world-class performance. And we are proud of our collaborations with municipal governments, First Nations and Métis, chambers of commerce and others, especially our partnership with the Fort William First Nation, which dates back to 2003.
“Our new sawmill project in Atikokan will also create direct employment for around 90 people.
“The forest products industry is evolving, and it remains an important Canadian industry,” Garneau concluded. “It has not only played a key role in this region’s past economic development, but it has a bright future and still much to contribute to this region’s prosperity.
“At Resolute, we believe that only a true commitment to sustainability will secure that bright future.
“The equation for us is simple: strong sustainability performance means delivering on environmental, social, and economic objectives that benefit and provide value to all our stakeholders—customers, shareholders, employees, and especially the communities where we live and work.”
