AF&PA Sustainability Report – Letters to the Editor

As previously reported, the AF&PA Sustainability Report was released last month and it provides a good opportunity to highlight the work that the paper industry has, and continues, to do around biomass and renewable energy. The economic health of the U.S. paper and wood products manufacturing industry is vital to its sustainable future. Our industry depends on natural resources and has a strong role in maintaining and improving the natural resources used to make products and assure their availability for future generations. For decades, the industry’s production has increased while the amount of emissions and energy use is overall declining; but it becomes more challenging and costly to achieve continued reductions.

  • We are asking you to work with your mill management counterparts to develop letters to the editor and other pieces for your local newspapers. Below are some key figures from the sustainability report that you can showcase and your company and mill can help provide more specific figures for your location:
  •  The average wage for a U.S. paper industry employee in 2014 was $54,712; The U.S. paper and wood products industry spent $10 billion on capital in 2014; 75% of U.S. pulp and paper mills are located in rural areas.

  • The pulp and paper sector contributed to $55.5 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014. The industry is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states.

  • In 2015, 102,000 people were employed at pulp, paper and paperboard mills, and 271,000 at paper and paperboard converting plants.

  • In 2014, biomass and renewable fuels provided 66.8% of pulp and paper mill energy needs – nearly 50% of which were in the form of spent liquor solids like black liquor.

  • In 2014, AF&PA members reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 16%, surpassing its goal to have 15% reduction by 2020.

  • 52 million tons of paper was recovered for recycling in the U.S. in 2015. According to the EPA, recovery of paper and paperboard from municipal solid waste streams exceeds that of plastics, aluminum and glass.

 Please let us know at [email protected] if your location takes on this challenge, we will highlight those that do so and their letters in future Monday Morning Minute editions and recognize this activity at our next USW Paperworkers Conference.