Sappi North America Releases 2017 Sustainability Report, Receives Gold Rating from EcoVadis

BOSTON, April 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has released its 2017 Sustainability Report showcasing its industry leading sustainability performance. The report includes up-to-date information on the company's progress against five year goals measuring environmental, economic and social responsibility commitments as well as providing insights into its continued technical innovation.

"Sappi North America is committed to a holistic approach to sustainability.  We believe that we best create sustained value for our customers, communities, employees and shareholders by committing to the right actions across our operations and company, from improving operating efficiencies, reducing waste, to investing in our employees and our mills," said Mark Gardner, President and CEO, Sappi North America.

"This year I'm pleased to report that we have been awarded Gold Recognition Level in sustainability performance by EcoVadis, an independent rating agency.  We are gratified by their recognition of the excellence of our sustainability approach and performance, which places us among the top 4 percent of the roughly 30,000 companies surveyed annually.  I encourage all of our stakeholders to learn more about our significant investments by reading our 2017 Sustainability Report," continued Gardner.

EcoVadis, an acknowledged leader in the third party evaluation of sustainability performance, takes an evidence based approach in its rating process, covering 21 criteria across four themes of Environment, Fair Labor Practices, Ethics/Fair Business Practices, and Supply Chain. Their methodology is aligned with international standards including the United Nations Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and ISO 26000. 

Sustainability Goals
Sappi North America's sustainability goals reflect commitments across social, environmental and financial metrics: People, Planet and Prosperity. Some of this year's highlights:

• Sappi North America achieved a 38 percent improvement in safety performance across all of our operations, as measured by Lost Time Frequency Rate (LTIFR), an achievement which puts us well within the top quartile of all U.S. paper mills.  Our Cloquet Mill experienced over 2 million hours without a loss time injury, receiving a 2017 Sustainability Award for Safety from AF&PA for this achievement.
• Sappi North America is an industry leader in sustaining a low carbon footprint of just 0.33 (tonne/admt), with approximately 80 percent of our energy use from renewable or alternative fuels.
• 100 percent of our wood fiber is procured in accordance with the SFI Fiber Sourcing standard as well as the FSC controlled wood standard, with nearly 54 percent third party certified.

Sappi's 2020Vision
In 2015, Sappi Limited established an aspirational vision for the future that was structured around concrete, measurable initiatives with clear baselines for performance. The goal to become a truly diversified wood fiber group, targeting a substantial increase in EBITDA through an expanded product portfolio, reflects Sappi's confidence in its ability to evolve with the changing world; continually maintain and improve returns in mature markets; and deliver top-line growth in newer businesses.

Sappi North America employs over 2,000 individuals at its three mills, sheeting facility, Technology Center and supporting offices across the United States, and produces 1.17 million metric tons of paper annually. Its four diversified businesses include pulp, printing papers, casting and release and packaging and specialty papers.

To read Sappi North America's 2017 Sustainability Report and learn more about its sustainability initiatives, please visit: https://www.sappi.com/sustainability-north-america.

About Sappi North America
Sappi North America, headquartered in Boston, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses – high quality Coated Printing Papers, Specialised Cellulose, Release Papers and Specialty Packaging – is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high quality Coated Printing Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Specialised Cellulose used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods, and one of the world's leading suppliers of Release Papers with our Ultracast, PolyEX, Classics and Neoterix lines for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Our Specialty Packaging products, such as LusterPrint and LusterCote, represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 150 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com.

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SOURCE Sappi North America