2019 AF&PA Sustainability Award Winners Announced At Annual Meeting

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) presented its 2019 Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Awards at AF&PA’s annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 8 in Bluffton, South Carolina. Five AF&PA member companies received six awards.

“The winning projects further our industry’s sustainability record and contribute toward achieving the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 goals,” said AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “We are proud to recognize these outstanding examples of sustainability leadership.”

Projects that support progress toward the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals qualify for recognition in the “Leadership” category, which has five subcategories that correspond to the goals (see first five winners listed below). The “Innovation in Sustainability” award is reserved for projects that merit recognition for their contribution to sustainable business practices, not one of the goals specifically. The 2019 AF&PA Sustainability Award Winners are:

• Leadership in Sustainability – Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Large Company): Resolute Forest Products—Concrete Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
• Leadership in Sustainability – Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Small Company): Seaman Paper Company of Massachusetts, Inc.—Let There Be (LED) Light
• Leadership in Sustainability – Safety: WestRock—Hopewell Recovery Boiler Life Changing Event Elimination Project
• Leadership in Sustainability – Sustainable Forest Management: Domtar—Promoting Sustainable Forest Management for Landowners
• Leadership in Sustainability – Water: Green Bay Packaging—Water Reduction Achievements at Green Bay Mill
• Innovation in Sustainability: WestRock—EnShield® Natural Kraft

The 2019 AF&PA Sustainability Award winners were selected by a judging panel of sustainability experts from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the College of Natural Resources at NCSU, GreenBlue, Quad Packaging, Two Sides, and the U.S. Department of Energy. AF&PA’s annual awards recognize exemplary sustainability programs and initiatives in the paper and wood products manufacturing industry and are given based on the merit of entries received across multiple categories. 

AF&PA’s 2018 Sustainability Report showed that the US pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and wood products manufacturing industry has made significant, measurable progress toward achieving its Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals. For more information, visit afandpa.org/sustainability.

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