Sustainability

We took a moment to the 2022-2023 U.S. Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Award winners about what sustainability means to them, why STEM careers are important and what forest product industry innovations they’re excited about. 

People want to know, is the paper industry really sustainable? The answer is yes! Your essential paper products are sustainable. The paper industry is a leader in sustainability, taking steps to reduce GHG emissions, increase energy efficiency and advance sustainable forest management.   …

Cardboard is a highly recyclable material that’s widely accepted for recycling in recycling programs across the U.S. 

We are a workforce filled with inspiring and brilliant women who are making changes and breaking barriers in manufacturing. We took a moment to ask what the industry and its sustainability goals mean to a few women from our member, Ahlstrom.

AF&PA announced our newly elected board chair, and 2023 slate of officers at the Winter Board meeting. Additionally, we welcomed new company and associate members that joined in 2022.

Can you recycle shredded paper? Yes, but shredding it makes the paper less likely to be recycled if small bits of paper aren't properly contained. Only shred things with sensitive information to protect your privacy. 

Hong Wilcoxon is the quality manager at Domtar’s Engineered Absorbent Materials (EAM) facility in Jesup, Georgia. She helps make change for the better, including innovative products with sustainable, nonwoven materials.

You can’t make paper without water. That’s one reason water stewardship is so important to the paper and wood products industry. Lisa Bauer-Lotto shares news of Green Bay Packaging’s ground-breaking net-zero water achievement and how the industry is advancing sustainability. 

In 2020, AF&PA member pulp and paper mills decreased water use (per ton of product) by 8.3%, from the 2005 baseline year. This marks significant progress towards our Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goal to reduce water use at member pulp and paper mills by 12% between 2005…

In 2020, AF&PA member companies’ recordable incidence rate was 30% lower than the 2006 baseline. This surpasses our goal to reduce the incidence rate by 25% from 2006 to 2020.

In 2020, the paper recycling rate was 65.7%. This rate marks significant progress towards our Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goal to exceed 70 percent rate of paper recovery for recycling by 2020. 

In 2020, AF&PA members reduced GHG emissions – measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) per ton of product – by 24.1% from the 2005 baseline. This surpasses the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 goal to reduce GHG emissions by at least 20% from 2005 to 2020.