Quebec-based Cascades Inc. offers sustainable, innovative, value-added solutions for packaging, hygiene, and recovery needs. The company has 10,000 employees who work in nearly 80 facilities in North America. It is committed to sustainability, having adopted Science-Based Targets aligned with the Paris climate agreement to keep temperature increases in check. Sustainability, it says, is in its DNA.
The company closely evaluates its operations and processes, all with an eye on ensuring it meets its climate and recycling targets. It has been increasing its use of renewable energy while engaging its supply chain.
The goal is to increase the beneficial use of residual resins and to reduce the amount of energy it buys to make its products while increasing its use of renewable energy. Using those measures, it is succeeding at all levels.
The results:
— 45% less greenhouse gas emitted than the North American pulp and paper industry average.
— 2.4 times less energy is used to manufacture our products than the North American pulp and paper industry average.
— 4.4 times less water consumed than the average North American pulp and paper industry.
"Even though we have already reduced the intensity of our emissions by 50% since 1990, we believe it is our responsibility to do even more. By aligning itself with the Science-Based Target initiative methodology, Cascades is committed to reducing the impact of its activities and offering products and solutions with a low-carbon footprint," said Mario Plourde, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades.
The conclusions of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report are clear: each organization must contribute to the global effort and dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, he adds.
Cascades aims to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 38% by 2030 at its mills, and to cut them by 28% for its other units, all compared to 2019. It will cut its Scope 3 emissions tied to its supply chain by 22%. The goal is a 6% cut in energy usage by 2025 compared to 2019. Meantime, it plans to reduce paper mill water effluents by 15% by 2025 from a 2019 baseline.
The primary way it will get there is to power its operations with renewable energy fully and by deploying new energy-efficient technologies.
The company’s production plants are the big energy hogs and produce the most greenhouse gases. Machines consume 90% of the energy: natural gas, electricity, steam, oil, and biomass. Cascades also purchases goods and services and virgin materials such as wood pulp, fiber, and paper. Cascades says its energy intensity is 2.4 times lower than the industry average because it prioritizes recycled fiber.
“The company believes that using recycled fibers in its paper production is vital to protect the world’s forests and reduce its footprint not only on the forest but also in terms of the water and the energy the company's operations use to manufacture products,” it says.
Cascades is also a pioneer in the circular economy, and it has launched 100% recycled plastic packaging that is also recyclable for the entire Cascades Fluff & Tuff line.
In 2021, it rolled out a resistant and environmentally friendly packaging made from recycled materials. It is 100% or partially made of recycled fibers and uses 4.5 times less water and 2.4 times less energy compared to the North American paper industry average.
It is made up of 100% recycled resin, which reduces the impact on climate change by 76% compared with its virgin resin equivalent.
Broadly, it says that 80% of its manufacturing waste finds a second life.
Looking ahead:
— It will use 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging by 2030. Currently, it is 90%.
—It will recycle 100% of the fiber and paper it uses. Currently, it is 80%.
— It will buy 70% of its supplies from those businesses “deemed responsible.”
Cascades ensures that 100% of the packaging manufactured by its plants is designed to be recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2030, and it has 18 sorting centers that divert 2.2 million tons of waste from landfills annually. The commitment covers paper and cardboard products and plastic packaging.
“At Cascades, supporting the circular economy also means using resources responsibly and offering hygiene and packaging solutions with a smaller footprint. This commitment enables our customers to achieve their sustainable development objectives. The recycled content we integrate into our solutions reduces their footprint, which we scientifically demonstrate through life cycle analysis for many of our products,” the company says.
Recovered paper is a significant component of Cascades’ operations. It means that 83% of the fiber it uses to make products is recycled, reducing the pressure on forest resources. It diverted 1.9 million metric tons of recycled fiber from landfills in 2020.
It monitors the origin of wood to ensure its sustainability, and the company confirms that the raw materials are bought from forest-friendly places. In 2020, it says that 100% of the market pulp met the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, which has the highest forest management standards.
