Cascades Renews Sustainable Development Commitment

Cascades, Kingsey Falls, Que., Canada, a producer of green packaging and tissue paper products, has launched its third sustainable development plan, which covers the 2016–2020 period. Building on the experience gained in producing the two previous plans, the company is confident that it will continue to improve its business practices and act as a leader while generating positive impacts for the planet, prosperity, and its partners.

The past six years have shown Cascades that a sustainable development plan can be profitable on a number of fronts. "It is a strategic tool that mobilizes our teams toward achieving clearly defined objectives. Thanks to our efforts, we finished 2015 with strong results: we used 2.7 times less energy and 6.5 times less water than the Canadian industry average, and we achieved the lowest accident rate in our history," said Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Cascades. 

Suzanne Blanchet, SVP, corporate sevelopment, is in charge of rolling out the sustainable development strategy within the company. In her view, "this third plan is the natural continuation of the work begun in 2010. At the time, we conducted a broad consultation with all of our stakeholders so as to identify priority issues. This dialogue proved to be very revealing in terms of what the different parties expect of us and today allows us to continue to create added value for our shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and for the communities in which we are present." 

The 2016–2020 plan focuses on 10 action priorities subdivided into three pillars. The "Planet" pillar is composed of four action priorities: energy, greenhouse gas, residual materials, and water. The "Prosperity" pillar includes three priorities: sustainable procurement, innovation, and financial performance. Lastly, the "Partners" pillar also comprises three priorities: health and safety, employee engagement, and community involvement. 

The objectives of the 2016–2020 Sustainable Development Plan, along with the results of the 2013–2015 Plan, are available on the Cascades website.