While many companies are looking to shrink their carbon footprints, Resolute believes that it has a special obligation to do so because we live and work among the very forests that help to manage the world’s climate. To that end, we’ve set an ambitious target to reduce our scope one and scope two greenhouse gas emissions, and we continuously seek ways to improve our energy efficiency.

We’ve Cut CO² Emissions Dramatically

• As part of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program, Resolute has committed to reducing its scope one and scope two greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2015 (base year 2000). This is an industry-leading target and is the equivalent of taking 1.45 million cars off the road. We are delighted to share that we expect to achieve this goal ahead of schedule.
• About 70 percent of our energy requirements come from renewable sources. While hydroelectricity is the primary source, eight of our sites operate cogeneration facilities producing “green energy” from carbon-neutral biomass.
• We use alternative fuels like methane from landfills, used oil, and tire-derived fuel in an effort to avoid waste.
• Our Align^TM product line has a carbon footprint that is 35-86 percent lower than the average competitive paper.

More CO² Cuts Planned

• Industry-wide, we’re looking at ways to better utilize organic waste products. Between 2007 and 2009, industry usage of biomass material grew from 58 percent to 68 percent of energy used. This means our reliance on the fossil fuels that contribute to climate change has declined substantially, while our ability to reuse waste material has increased.
• On August 22, 2013, Gaz Métro, Resolute Forest Products and the town of Saint-Félicien announced a new natural gas line that will enable Resolute`s Kraft pulp mill in Saint-Félicien to replace heavy oil with a cleaner form of energy. The total investment regarding this project is 17 million dollars. By switching to natural gas, our Saint-Felicien Kraft mill will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 17,000 tons every year, the equivalent of emissions produced by 5,000 automobiles. The new line will be 22 kilometers long, and the construction process will be completed by December 2013.
• Resolute recently announced the construction of a wood pellet plant that will convert left-over wood fibers — an underutilized bi-product of our work — into a reliable source of renewable energy. This will be the largest power plant in North America fueled entirely by biomass and will contribute significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The boreal forest has fed, clothed and housed humans for thousands of years. Today, it continues to be a source for people’s livelihood through direct employment – in harvesting and regenerating forests, and in manufacturing operations – and indirect employment; the grocery stores, schools, hospitals and thousands of other businesses and organizations that depend upon boreal communities.

Boreal Forest Economic Facts

• More than 233,800 Canadians are directly employed in forestry jobs, and more than 600,000 Canadians rely on the industry for their livelihoods.
• The forestry sector’s contribution to Canada’s GDP was $24 billion dollars CDN in 2012, or nearly 2 percent of the entire Canadian GDP (and 12 percent of Canada’s manufacturing GDP).
  
• Over 800 First Nations communities are located in Canada’s boreal region, and an estimated 17,000 First Nations people in Canada make their living in the forest products industry.
  
• The average wage of a forest products industry employee is $52,673, or 16 percent above the national Canadian average. The Canadian forest products industry pays roughly $9 billion in wages annually.
  
• The industry is a vital contributor to trade between Canada and the United States — the U.S. alone counts for 65 percent of Canada’s wood and paper product exports for use in a range of products, from printing paper to building materials to packaging to labels and advertising.

Preserving these communities and their way of life is a major reason why the industry has invested so heavily in science-based conservation of forests to ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability.