Kruger Products and sustainable leadership

Kruger Products L.P. recognizes has made considerable progress to become more sustainable, in fact, it is one of the most sustainable tissue companies in North America, but it also understands that there is so much more to be done.

As a leading Canadian tissue manufacturer, Kruger Products believes it is responsible to influence change. “We understand how intricately sustainability is linked to our continued growth and success. Our corporate mission is to make everyday life more comfortable, and that means at every point along our value chain we are evaluating alternatives and evolving,” says Steven Sage, Vice President, Sustainability & U.S. Marketing. “And we know that by making these changes, we can influence both companies we work directly with and even those we don’t, to commit to more sustainable choices.”

Kruger Products is making changes that have real impacts. Its Sustainability 2020 initiative views sustainability as an opportunity, not a challenge. Kruger Products is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and making a positive social impact. Some of its most significant achievements include:

• Since 2011, more than 50 per cent of Kruger Products’ fibre is third-party certified by Forest Stewardship Council® providing assurance that the virgin fibre in these products comes from sustainably managed forests. Nearly 30 per cent of Kruger Products’ fibre is from recycled paper.

• OSHA total incidence rates fell by 50 per cent between 2015 and 2018 because of a dedicated safety education and awareness program across the company’s operations.

• Greenhouse gas emissions and energy have been reduced by 22 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, since 2009 largely due to new, award-winning technologies integrated into various mills, including a biomas gasification system in New Westminster, British Columbia and heat recovery systems in in Crabtree and Gatineau, Quebec.

• Water consumption has been reduced by 28 per cent since 2009.

• Offers more than 150 third-party certified products, including the EnviroCare family of tissue products made from 100 per cent recycled paper including Cashmere EnviroCare and Purex EnviroCare bathroom tissue, Scotties EnviroCare facial tissue and SpongeTowels EnviroCare.

But the journey is far from over. In 2019 it will introduce three more capital projects that will benefit its energy and emissions at mills in Canada. “We have come so far, but there is always more to learn and ways we can evolve to improve our footprint,” says Sage.