Sustana Group, the parent company of Rolland, a paper mill serving the commercial print market, and Sustana Fiber, a paper pulp provider, released their first comprehensive sustainability strategy. We spoke with Renée Yardley, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sustana Group, about the company’s specific sustainability initiatives as well as the current state of sustainability in the paper and printing industry. Yardley has more than two decades of experience in global organizations, including Tembec, CCM, and General Motors, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA from McGill University and an MA in General Management from Harvard University. Active in the Montréal, Québec, community, Renée has served as president of Literacy Partners of Quebec, and she currently sits on the board of directors for the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation and mentors MBA students at McGill.

WhatTheyThink: First of all, how do you specifically define sustainability in the printing industry today? What are the various components that go into making a shop or a vendor “sustainable”?

Renée Yardley: I’ve been in the pulp and paper industry a long time, so when we used to talk about sustainability, we used to just be focused on the environment. Because we’re using natural resources, the environment has always really been a focus of pulp and paper companies. But now, the definition has expanded beyond just focusing on the environment. It’s focusing on what some people call the “triple bottom line”—ESG. You’re looking at the environmental element, the social element and the government element. So it’s a much more comprehensive look at sustainability. It’s really about the long-term health of the industry and the business itself within that industry. You have to focus on all three of those pillars to make sure that the business and the industry have staying power.