Recognized for Hawesville Water Conservation Project

Washington, D.C. – The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) recognized Domtar with a 2018 AF&PA Leadership in Sustainability Award for Water for their Hawesville Water Conservation Project. The award was presented at AF&PA’s annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 9 in Dallas, Texas.

“Domtar showed that a number of small, focused projects can add up to a big impact, namely slashing their Hawesville mill’s water intake by a third,” said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman.

Domtar’s mill in Hawesville, Kentucky mill made 17 upgrades, repairs and process changes that conserved vital water resources for their operations and the mill’s surrounding ecosystem. These small, relatively inexpensive projects amounted to collective water savings of nearly 2,200 gallons per minute or 3.2 million gallons per day. The mill’s total water intake decreased 34 percent, contributing to cost savings to pump, treat and heat process water, boiler feed water and effluent.

“Thank you to AF&PA for recognizing our Hawesville Water Conservation Project,” said Domtar President and CEO John Williams. “Continuous improvement is one of Domtar’s focuses and we are proud of the advances we’ve made regarding our water use.”

Designed to recognize exemplary sustainability programs and initiatives in the paper and wood products manufacturing industry, AF&PA’s annual awards are given based on the merit of entries received across multiple categories.

Projects that support progress toward the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals qualify for recognition in the “Leadership” category, which has five subcategories that correspond to the goals: Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Paper Recovery for Recycling, Safety, Sustainable Forest Management and Water. The “Innovation in Sustainability” award is reserved for projects that merit recognition for their contribution to sustainable business practices, not one of the goals specifically.

AF&PA’s 2018 Sustainability Report showed that the U.S. pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and wood products manufacturing industry has made significant, measurable progress toward achieving its Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals. For more information, visit sustainability.afandpa.org.

Domtar won a 2018 AF&PA Leadership in Sustainability Award for Water for their Hawesville Water Conservation Project. Pictured: Steve Sangalli.