Inputs

Waste? Not!

Where others see garbage, we see good resources. That's why we use what others don't. Wood residuals are our source of virgin fibre, bark becomes steam and biomass electricity; 'waste' water is recaptured and reused. Post-consumer paper waste? We use that, too.

• coastal trees
• lumber for typical family home
• 10 tonnes of paper
• enough derived electricity to power the same family home for 6 months

Tracking you can trust

It's important to you to understand where your paper is coming from. Illegal logging is a global concern. And in the U.S., sources of wood and fibre must comply with the Lacey Act, which prohibits trade in illegally procured plant materials. Catalyst accounts for our products and verifies the resources we use. We do not buy from controversial sources, and none of our fibre is sourced from the Canadian boreal forest.

We are certified to both FSC® and PEFC chain of custody standards, which follows the fibre from the forest floor to your door. You can be confident your paper is from a responsibly managed source, and our transparent chain-of-custody systems add integrity to end product labelling.

• Forest
• Transportation
• Mill
• Customer
• End User

• Certification
• Chain of Custody
• Chain of Custody

Saving water

Water conservation is a real and growing concern to all of us — including Catalyst. Although we've reduced our water use intensity by one fifth since 2000, we still aim to do better through greater conservation, recovery and treatment.

Learn how we make sure that we're protecting our receiving waters.

77% of our manufacturing inputs are wastes

Great Bear Rainforest

The Great Bear Rainforest on the central coast of British Columbia is one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world. It's a unique habitat, and a valuable forest resource. Regions such as the Great Bear Rainforest can be the focus of highly divisive action between those who wish to develop its resources and those who wish to protect it.

Click here to view detailed maps
of the before and after
protected areas »

Catalyst does not harvest trees, but we source our residual fibre from companies that do. That's why we assisted in the development of the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI), an innovative partnership between First Nations, environmental groups, local communities, the provincial government and five forest products producers (including Catalyst). The CFCI aims to support the development of an ecosystem-based conservation and management plan for this region. The CFCI sets a global standard for social, ecological and economic collaboration under some of world's most stringent sustainable forest management practices.

Learn more about our fibre certification.

Read our Chain of Custody policy here.

Manufacturing

More from less

Manufacturing paper is what we do. But it's how we do it that makes us different. Catalyst produces products that are light, bright, strong—and environmentally responsible.

Our lean manufacturing principles begin with making only enough paper to meet customer demand. We don't make what we can't sell.

We use less, too: less fibre, less energy, less water, less wrap. This creates lighter basis weight mechanical printing papers with more printable surface than comparable freesheet products.

More printable surface per tonne means lower transportation and inventory costs. This means you don't have to choose between what's good for your brand, what's good for your budget and what's good for the environment.

Right fibre to right paper

At Catalyst, we use both recycled and virgin fibre. Making paper with recycled fibre makes sense. But using 100% recycled content, 100% of the time...doesn't.

We put recycled fibre into paper grades that require less processing. This in turn lengthens the lifespan of the recycled fibre. We wouldn't, for example, put recycled fibre into archival-grade laser copy paper, because the chemicals required to produce such a grade would weaken the recycled fibre, produce more waste, and limit the lifespan of the recycled fibre.

Responsible production...and reduction

What we don't produce matters as much as what we do produce. We've dramatically minimized emissions, toxins, water use and energy use using state-of-the-art technologies to clean our wastewater and air emissions.

But there's more. We've moved beyond obvious reduction targets to the challenge of microscopic improvements. That's why, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada, we've implemented the Clean Production Initiative. WWF Canada has identified the significance of specific emissions to air, land and water. By setting our priorities on reducing the emissions that matter most, we can ensure even small changes will make a big difference.

Want to know exactly what's in your paper? Get the facts

Leader in carbon reduction

Catalyst has reduced carbon emissions at our Canadian operations by 85% compared to 1990 levels. That's equal to taking 250,000 cars off the road. Every year. Permanently.

In fact, we reduced emissions so much, we were the first low-carbon paper manufacturer able to offer manufactured carbon-neutral paper.

How did we reduce our carbon footprint?

Our reduction strategy:
» 67% from switching to renewable biomass
» 21% from energy improvement projects
» 12% from closures

70% of the energy we use comes from renewable sources

Learn more about our manufacturing process.

Transportation

Efficient logistics management reduces both material miles and carbon emissions produced from shipping finished product. A few extra days of shipping time, combined with good forward planning, can reduce transport related carbon emissions by as much as 97%.

Catalyst is proud to be a registered partner with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay™ transportation program. SmartWay™ demands that we meet fuel efficiencyand emission reduction targets through the prudent use of intermodal shipping, full load planning, and pick-up and delivery scheduling.

Want to know more? Have a look at this case study to see how Catalyst has worked with our supply chain to understand the complete carbon picture and reduce emissions. Download the report here »

Our logistics support teams are experts in planning shipments from our mills and distribution centres across North America that optimize time and money, and minimize environmental impact.

Catalyst Cooled™ Supply Chain
Carbon Contributions

• Paper Manufacturing
• Product Distribution
• Forest Harvesting
• Sawmilling
• Printing
• Chip Transport

Paper Lifecycle

We're proud to produce paper. Paper is a readily recoverable, reusable and renewable resource — and it holds primacy as our preferred medium of communication. With it, humans are able to create material that engages, informs, and inspires.

The Paper Life Cycle project promotes greater understanding of key issues across the paper supply chain. It encompasses topics such as climate change, forest management practices, recycling, illegal logging, energy use and product performance. Users can download forest trend reports, white papers, case studies and fact sheets. In addition, Paper Life Cycle offers regular updates and expert opinion on the latest industry news.

Copyright 2010 GreenBlue
greenblue.org
thepaperlifecycle.org

A multi-stakeholder initiative developed by Metafore (a program operated by non-profit organization GreenBlue), Paper Life Cycle offers key environmental information about the sourcing, production and use of paper so that buyers of paper and fibre-based products can make better-informed purchasing decisions with an eye to sustainability.

Follow these links to learn more about the life cycle of paper and the environmental considerations of print and digital communications.

thepaperlifecycle.org
sustainablecommunication.org

U.S. and Canada
Fibre Input Sources (industry averages)

• Byproducts*
• Recycled Paper
• Trees

*Byproducts are materials such as wood chips, shavings and sawdust.

It’s a common — though erroneous — belief that "going paperless" saves trees, and that shifting to digital media is good for the environment. In reality, very few trees in Canada are harvested to make paper. Plus, for every tree that is harvested in a managed forest, several more are replanted.

The reality is, all communication methods impact the environment — and the environmental footprint of digital communications can be significantly higher than paper. For example:

• Burning a CD produces 4 times as much CO₂ as producing a single annual report. Source »
• The energy use of data centres in the U.S. grows at an annual rate of 24%. Source »
• The growth/popularity of 'cloud computing' could double energy use over the next 10 years. Source »

Partnerships

At Catalyst, we believe we can accomplish greater things by working cooperatively, transparently and safely with others. This includes teaming up with employees and external groups that share some of our interests. We partner with organizations like World Wildlife Fund Canada, the Sierra Club of BC and GreenBlue to enhance our commitment to sustainability — and to the natural world surrounding us. We also work hard to promote and improve the safe working conditions of our employees. Our relationships with local communities not only include ecological discussions but concerns around property taxation levels.

Since 2003, Catalyst has worked with WWF Canada on the Clean Production Initiative, which focuses on lightening the manufacturing process and detoxifying its emissions. Catalyst was also a founding member of Climate Savers in 2005, a group of corporations that partner with WWF to reduce climate change by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

www.wwf.ca

Catalyst has been a longtime supporter of GreenBlue, a nonprofit that equips business with the science and resource to make products more sustainable. GreenBlue's Forest Products program includes the Forest Products Working Group, the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool and the Paper Life Cycle.

www.greenblue.org

Since 1999, Catalyst has worked with four other companies as part of the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative. We partner with Greenpeace, Forest Ethics and Sierra Club of BC to protect the Great Bear Rainforest on BC's central coast. Over the past decade, 8,200 square miles of valuable forest lands have been permanently protected. At the same time, the initiative has developed a new approach to forest management and successfully implemented FSC® forest management certification in the region.

www.coastforestconservationinitiative.com