Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Basics – Fact Sheet

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) recently announced the results of its 2024 Sustainability Awards, and Domtar was among the winners. Our winning project was our water conservation program, which began as a pilot program in 2023. It will save more than 1 billion gallons of water annually and contribute to our goal to reduce water use by 20 percent per unit of product by 2030 (compared to a 2019 baseline). AF&PA’s Leadership in Sustainability — Water Management award recognizes our efforts to reduce our water usage as part of our overarching sustainability goals. “Sustainability is foundational for our members, and our awards program reflects that,” said AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock in a recent press release. “These award-winning projects demonstrate sustainability leadership and innovation in action. We are proud to recognize real-world examples of how our forest and paper industry sustainability goals come to life.” We launched our award-winning water conservation program in 2023. We dedicated a portion of capital spending solely for water-reduction projects. This water reduction fund was designed to attract innovative projects and ideas from teams within the Domtar network. Mills could submit proposals for a chance to earn a portion of the available funds. “The projects didn’t need to provide a financial return. The priority was saving water,” explains Brian Kozlowski, senior director of environment and sustainability for Domtar’s Paper and Packaging business unit. “That gave our employees the chance to think beyond the bottom line, and they really did!” The results from 2023 were impressive. The water conservation program completed ten projects at seven mills that will save more than 1 billion gallons of water annually. That’s enough water to fill more than 1,600 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

A group of volunteers from Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in printing high-quality children’s books, cookbooks, and hard-cover best sellers, assembled to clean up a stretch of County Highway HH on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Volunteers cleaned up 2 miles of the highway and cleared many bags of trash and debris. Worzalla recently adopted the section of County Highway HH from R to Burbank as part of the Portage County Adopt-A-Highway program. This program allows businesses and organizations to claim a section of highway in their community in an effort to reduce litter, enhance the environment and beauty of area roadsides, and educate the public to properly dispose of litter. “Since Worzalla has such deep roots in the Portage County community, we thought it fitting to lend our support in beautifying our community through the Adopt-A-Highway program,” said Brianne Petruzalek, Vice President of Human Resources. “We appreciate the associates and their family members who came together to organize and participate in this volunteer opportunity.”

The 400,000 acres of forestland surrounding Domtar’s Windsor Mill in Quebec are a hot spot for forestry and climate research, with several projects currently taking place in partnership with organizations and universities across Canada. The company reaps benefits from these projects, including data that supports the continued Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of fiber harvested from the Domtar forest. Additionally, engaging with student-led research projects helps Domtar build relationships with young people who may consider joining Domtar in the future. “Several of the projects and collaborations — and those that will follow — contribute to strengthening and developing the reputation and performance of the Windsor Mill and our forestry practices,” he says.