MONTREAL,
Nov. 30, 2011
(CNW) -
Resolute Forest Products today issued its 2010 Sustainability Report, reviewing Company performance in key areas such as environmental impact, stakeholder engagement, product stewardship, fiber sourcing, community relations, human resources, and health and safety.
This year's report is the first prepared by the Company using the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the world's most broadly accepted standards for accountable and transparent sustainability reporting.
"I'm proud of how far Resolute has progressed in becoming a stronger, more sustainable organization, but we know we need to keep doing better year after year," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "By focusing on the three pillars of sustainability - environmental, social and economic - we will improve our competitiveness, enhance our reputation and be an environmental supplier of choice. And GRI reporting provides a framework to improve the accountability and transparency of our approach to sustainability."
In preparing the report, Resolute conducted an extensive analysis to identify sustainability issues deemed most important by stakeholders. While the analysis found that overall Company performance has been improving steadily over the years, further action was required to manage some key issues. To address these matters, the report includes a series of sustainability commitments to be tackled by the Company, including among others:
Climate Change: achieve a 65% absolute reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2015 over the 2000 base year.
Forestry and Fiber: increase Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of managed woodlands from 18% in 2010 to 80% by 2015.
Health and Safety: reduce the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incident rate to 1.0 or below, with the ultimate goal of zero incidents, zero injuries throughout the Company.
Employees: successfully ensure the next generation of the Company's workforce, with the goal of recruiting between 2,500 and 3,500 employees over the next three years.
Communities: rebuild strong relationships in operating communities.
