North America

WASHINGTON, DC, April 7, 2021 (Press Release) -Anew analysisprovides evidence that large-scale logging in Canada’s boreal forest is not sustainable, despite claims from forestry companies operating there and U.S. corporations that purchase wood and pulp from the boreal. NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) found industrial logging operations are endangering the climate-critical boreal forest and undermining the rights of Indigenous Peoples to say how their traditional lands are managed.   

“Powerful companies’ sourcing practices are damaging some of the world’s last intact forests, and putting Indigenous Peoples’ rights and species at risk,” said Courtenay Lewis, Manager of Ecosystems Policy for NRDC’s Canada Project and co-author of the report. “American manufacturers like P&G that purchase vast quantities of wood pulp from these companies are complicit in the loss of the boreal to unsustainable logging, and the threat this poses to the global climate.”

Industrial logging in Canada clear-cuts more than one million acres every year from the carbon-rich boreal forest, which stores nearly twice as much carbon as exists in all the world’s oil reserves, and nearly twice as much carbon per acre as the Amazon. Canadian provinces have given industry enormous leeway to clear-cut high volumes of the country’s remaining forest, and have failed to adequately report the climate emissions associated with logging, which has led Canada to consistently rank with Brazil and Russia as one of the top three worst global offenders for intact forest landscape loss.

NRDC’s analysis is based on wood sourcing by mills for three companies—Resolute Forest Products, Domtar, and Aditya Birla Group—in Quebec and Ontario. NRDC found these industrial logging companies source alarming levels of wood from areas with weak forestry standards that fail to guarantee critical environmental and human rights protections. A substantial amount of wood is taken from forest units that overlap with threatened boreal caribou habitat.

NRDC’s findings include:

• Combined, the three companies in one year sourced an amount of wood from public lands that if converted to “2x4” board, would stretch from the earth to the moon seven times.  
• Industrial impacts are increasing in vulnerable areas. For instance, since 2013 the logging footprint in Ontario’s 2.5 million-acre Trout Lake Forest, critical for threatened species, has increased by more than 430%.
• None of the companies are publicly committed to requiring the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) by Indigenous Peoples potentially impacted by forestry operations supplying wood to the companies’ mills.
• These companies are overwhelmingly using industry-dominated certification systems to source from forests containing the habitat of threatened species.

“You can’t see the forest if you’re just thinking about trees. The Canadian government and industry claim that planting saplings where forests once stood means there isn’t any long-term damage, but no amount of tree planting makes clearcutting Canada’s intact forests sustainable,” said Anthony Swift, Director of NRDC’s Canada Project.

American corporations are complicit in intact boreal forest degradation and threatening Indigenous self-determination when they purchase wood products without confirming the sustainability of their supply chains. P&G, for example, uses virgin wood pulp from the boreal to make Charmin toilet paper and other one-time use paper products. Citing concern of the climate and human right impacts of boreal sourcing, last fall P&G’s shareholders overwhelmingly called on the company to report on how it will eliminate deforestation and intact forest loss from its supply chains.  

“P&G faced a rebellion by 67% of its voting investors who sent a message that the company’s failure to protect communities, forests, and the global climate through its supply chain is unacceptable. Yet P&G continues to tout spurious claims about the sustainability of its sourcing practices. The path to leadership and responsibility is clear for P&G; the world is waiting for meaningful change,” said Shelley Vinyard, Boreal Corporate Campaign Manager with NRDC and co-author of NRDC’s “Issue With Tissue” report, a review of the U.S. tissue sector’s impact on the Canadian boreal forest.  

NRDC’s industry recommendations include:

• Requiring free, prior, and informed consent of impacted Indigenous Peoples and supporting Indigenous-led conservation initiatives;  
• Sourcing 100% of wood from Forest Stewardship Council–certified forests with strongly-implemented protections;
• Supporting efforts to safeguard undisturbed boreal forest, including boreal caribou habitat;    
• Replacing virgin forest pulp with more sustainable alternatives, such as recycled paper.   

The full analysis, “By a Thousand Cuts: How Powerful Companies’ Wood Sourcing Is Degrading Canada’s Boreal Forest,” can be foundhere.

NRDC(Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

RICHMOND, BC, April 7, 2021 (Press Release) -Andy McCuaig, Fibre Superintendent at our Skookumchuck mill, is leading the charge in wildfire risk reduction logging.

This successful three-way partnership between the City of Cranbrook, Paper Excellence and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) means both Paper Excellence and the local community benefit. Paper Excellence gets hog and chips at competitive prices and the community of Cranbrook get reduced wildfire risk because the forests close to town are logged.

“The whole angle around fire protection is a huge public interest for people,” says Gavin Baxter, General Manager of Skookumchuck. “We’ve had forest fires on our doorstep before.” In fact, Gavin and Andy toured Mayor Lee Pratt in January so he could see the impact the work is having on the community.

“Currently, we’re really focused on the south side of Cranbrook. In this area the tenure holders—Canfor, Galloway, and BCTS—have already logged. We’re the fourth and final piece of the puzzle,” explains Andy. “First, we came in and ground hog fuel after the tenure holders had finished logging and then we came in to clear out the smaller, less economical wood.”

“The rule is there must be 100% utilization–we can’t burn anything, and we’ll get fined for leaving fibre behind,” explains Andy. “The logging contractor we’re working with has embraced some non-traditional methods so instead of falling the trees, skidding them (moving them to the road) and then chipping them we’re chipping whole trees right after they’re felled.”

This work happens through the Wildfire Risk Reduction program run by FLNRORD, through that program Andy bids on contracts with a per hectare price. “Paper Excellence has an advantage because we’re not interested in saw logs. Low value wood is what we want,” says Gavin. “Andy bids so that we’re bringing in fibre at our budget price. He could bid higher, but our goal is to support this important work and extend the program as much as possible. I’m proud of what we’re accomplishing here. Everyone in the forest industry has played their part and government has coordinated it.”

Paper Excellence has also accessed some funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) to help with the cost of trucking the hog fuel. “This funding in place to encourage businesses to access uneconomical fibre,” says Andy. “In this case, it makes up the difference on hauling costs so we can bring hog in on budget.”

Gavin and Andy plan to continue this work as long as there’s funding and they’re focusing on Kimberly next. “That community was on evacuation alert two years ago and their mayor is eager for Paper Excellence to get started,” said Gavin.

WILMINGTON, DE, April 8, 2021 (Press Release) -Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals used in water-intensive industries, recently launched a new redesigned website at solenis.com/explore. The site features enhanced transparency into the company’s sustainability initiatives, easy-to-access product and solution information and an expanded career section.

Website visitors can browse resources related to Solenis’ sustainability work. The site includes a new sustainability and regulatory library that enables easy access to ISO and other regulatory certifications. In addition, visitors can access safety metrics and the company’s annual Sustainability Report. The site also provides information on the Solenis Sustainability Award, a new annual program recognizing customer projects that deliver meaningful, measurable sustainability results.

The website improves user experience, as well, with a new solution finder tool that makes it easier for customers to get industry-specific information for their operational and sustainability challenges. For example, food and beverage packaging customers can find information about the company’s eco-friendly formulations for paper packaging. Likewise, customers in industrial markets, such as geothermal power and mining, can search for innovative water treatment and process improvement solutions. The site also offers fast access to resources, including a new safety data sheet (SDS) library, as well as case histories and upcoming event schedules.

Another important element of the site redesign is the addition of a comprehensive careers section. Prospective employees can now search for Solenis career opportunities globally. The site also allows students and graduates to access information on internships, apprenticeships and the company’s world-class sales technology application rotation (STAR) program. The expanded careers section features information about the company’s diversity and inclusion commitment as well.

“With easy-to-find resources and expanded access to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts, our new website reflects our position as a global solutions provider helping water-intensive customers manage their resources,” said John Panichella, Solenis CEO. “It allows us to better showcase our innovative products and solutions, recruit the industry’s top talent and provide transparency into our commitment to sustainable growth.”

The website will be updated regularly with the company’s latest products, innovations, news and events. Solenis is also planning a new blog and website versions in several additional languages.

About Solenis

Solenis is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals for water-intensive industries, including the pulp, paper, oil and gas, petroleum refining, chemical processing, mining, biorefining, power and municipal markets. The company’s product portfolio includes a broad array of process, functional and water treatment chemistries, as well as state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems. These technologies are used by customers to improve operational efficiencies, enhance product quality, protect plant assets and minimize environmental impact. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company has 39 manufacturing facilities strategically located around the globe and employs a team of approximately 5,200 professionals in 120 countries across five continents.