Domtar Corp., Montreal, Que., Canada, this week announced significant updates to The Paper Trail®, its award-winning interactive tool that helps customers trace the impacts of their paper purchases. The totally renovated site includes social and economic information in addition to environmental data, broadening the meaning of sustainability. It represents Domtar's belief that businesses should operate transparently, pulling back the curtain on their operations and the resulting impacts. 

 

With the latest additions, The Paper Trail now showcases the people and places behind the products, featuring stories and photos from all 13 of Domtar's North American mills. The tool assesses Domtar's community investments by tracking charitable donations and volunteer efforts, such as recycling programs or educational initiatives. It also demonstrates the paper industry's impact on the economy, as Domtar employs nearly 9,000 people across the U.S. and Canada. In doing so, The Paper Trail helps both businesses and consumers understand the holistic impact of their purchases. 

 

"Since first introducing The Paper Trail in 2011, our thinking has continued to evolve regarding what sustainability encompasses," said Paige Goff, VP of Sustainability and Business Communication. "The new site embraces all three legs of the 'sustainability stool' by assessing not only our environmental footprint, but our social and economic impact as well. It demonstrates Domtar's commitment to the towns we operate in—not only as an environmental advocate, but also as a driver of community initiatives and a creator of thousands of jobs." 

 

The Paper Trail provides gate-to-gate impact estimates for Domtar products across five environmental categories: fiber, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water, renewable energy, and waste. It provides relevant context by illustrating how Domtar compares with the rest of the industry in these categories and, importantly, highlights areas for improvement in addition to showcasing what Domtar is doing well.

 

"The Paper Trail illustrates many of the complex issues we carefully consider when evaluating opportunities to improve our performance," said Brian Kozlowski , senior manager, Sustainability Performance Optimization. "We've used the tool to display mill sustainability data in an interesting and interactive way—and we're inviting the public to come along on the journey."

In addition to providing social and economic data, The Paper Trail also:

• Includes an expanded list of responsibly produced paper grades, representing the entire EarthChoice® product line 
• Displays histories, pictures, and stories from all 13 of Domtar's North American pulp and paper mills 
• Offers users personalized impact report options with broader sustainability information, including topics of interest such as bleaching processes used and tree species utilized 
• Is optimized for use on all smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices 
• Uses Google Maps to create a geographic trail to the closest mill that produces a select paper grade. 

 

It goes beyond environmental data to show customers how their purchase of North American paper can create a positive ripple effect on local communities.