We’re kicking off Earth Week 2019 on April 22, which is International Earth Day. While we incorporate sustainability into all parts of our business every day, we are excited to have a whole week dedicated to enhancing nature’s gifts and improving life in our communities.
Colleagues and, at many sites, their family members and friends will raise sustainability awareness through volunteering, learning and playing in the world around us.
EarthChoice Ambassadors
As part of our caring values, we regularly give to educational initiatives, sustainability programs and efforts to improve the health and wellness of our neighbors. Our EarthChoice Ambassador program further reinforces this concept.
EarthChoice Ambassadors (ECAs) are Domtar employees who volunteer their time and energy to promote sustainable practices that focus on our customers, employees, company, and community. By identifying and sharing innovative manufacturing methods, educating and encouraging sustainable habits, and leading by example, ECAs embody our sustainability message throughout the organization.
Heather Stowe, Domtar’s corporate social responsibility manager and mother of the ECA program, describes the program simply: “All EarthChoice Ambassadors across the company are just that: ambassadors of making and teaching good earth choices. An EarthChoice is any act that benefits the planet or your community.”
Earth Week 2019
This year, during Earth Week 2019, more than two dozen ECA teams in North America and Europe are getting together to make hundreds of EarthChoices at work or at home. Events planned for Earth Week 2019 include:
Planting trees and gardening in community gardens and parks
Holding recycling drives
Hosting lunch-and-learn events focused on debunking agriculture and recycling myths
Providing families in need with resources to grow vegetables at home
Teaching students about papermaking and recycling
Creating a monarch butterfly habitat
Conducting reading events at schools in coordination with First Book
How will you celebrate Earth Week 2019? Will you be collecting rainwater, planting trees or participating in a community clean-up event? Share your EarthChoice by tweeting us at DomtarEveryday.
Learn more about our commitment to sustainability in the communities where we work, live and play:
“Making daily green choices is not a trend, it is a regular ritual and a priority for our customers,” said Mark Buckley, vice president, environmental affairs, Staples, Inc. “Our survey found that both businesses and individuals engage in some form of regular eco-friendly activity both in the workplace and at home, and are actively seeking environmentally conscious choices. Staples is excited to be a trusted partner through our large sustainable product assortment and extensive recycling services.” The Staples sustainability study revealed: • 89% of businesses and consumers believe that eco-friendly products are the same or higher quality than non-eco products • While 74% of consumers recycle containers made of glass, metal or plastic, only 51% recycle electronics at the end of their life • 59% of businesses implement one or more energy efficient practices. click Read More below for more of the story
Climate change is the challenge of our time, requiring action across all sectors of society. While there are many emerging technologies, today there is only one proven, economical way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a global scale: Forests. While much of the emphasis to date has been on reforestation and afforestation, increasingly leaders are looking to responsibly managed forests as an opportunity to sequester additional biogenic carbon. As the world’s most trusted forest certification – impacting more than 500 million acres – the Forest Stewardship Council represents the gold standard for responsible forest management. As a result, many stakeholders – including leading brands, supply chain companies, architects, builders, and developers – are asking FSC about the carbon impacts of FSC-certified forest management.
Starting last summer, staff at the Sonoco Recycling facility in Savannah took a hard look at its business operations, in terms of both cost and sustainability. Working together, the team realized that by diverting dry waste material from their normal waste streams and taking it to a waste-to-energy service provider every month, they could save money and lessen their environmental impact. Now, only wet or bulky waste goes in the Dumpster, and all other waste is converted to energy via hauling trips that are often combined with normal hauling operations to optimize freight cost and lessen the facility’s carbon footprint.
“This process change is a first for a Sonoco Recycling location,” said Mike Pope, general manager and president, Sonoco Recycling. “The plant is doing a great job capturing a large amount of waste for recovery in waste-to-energy programming, and their improvements have positive implications for both sustainability and cost savings.”
