At Sappi North America (SNA), we keep sustainability at the forefront of our operations. Together with the 2020Vision— Sappi’s global growth strategy—we use our sustainability goals program to set targets, initiate improvement actions, and monitor our commitment to progress. Our goals are reflective of the desires of our employees, customers, and investors.
I would like to congratulate the Sappi North America (SNA) team on another successful year, truly embodying this year’s theme of renewal. The business underwent a significant change with the conversion of Paper Machine 1 (PM1) at the Somerset Mill to be able to produce packaging and speciality paper grades. We also commenced a project to increase dissolving pulp capacity at Cloquet. These exciting changes are part of Sappi’s global strategy to boost capacity in higher growth and higher margin product segments.
Xylem Watermark’s mission—to provide and protect safe water resources for communities in need around the world, and to educate people about water issues—comes alive through the commitment of passionate Xylem employees such as Paul Raybould. On February 7th, Paul showed his dedication to solving water by traveling to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and interact with community members in the local area who lack access to clean water.
World Water Day marked the launch of this year’s Make Your Mark 30 Day Challenge for Xylem Watermark—the philanthropic arm of Xylem, Inc. This month of service spans from World Water Day to Earth Day and encourages Xylem colleagues around the world to volunteer globally and in their local communities to bring awareness to the global water crisis.
This past summer, the Water Well Trust partnered with Xylem Watermark to launch its largest project to date outside of Ashville in Holly Ridge, NC. The small town of 24 households relied on 3 deteriorating wells as its water source and did not have access to clean water. Xylem Watermark worked with local distributors, and together they assessed the site and installed 3 new well houses, which provided all 24 households access to clean, safe water.
Xylem employees from the America’s Commercial Team assembled and sponsored 275 water filters in partnership with Wine To Water at their annual sales meeting. Each filter provides one household, or 6-10 people, clean water for 10 years, so this initiative will help 275 families gain access to clean water.
In alignment with its commitment to solving global water issues, Xylem has responded to several natural disasters that occurred in 2018. The most recent disaster that prompted Xylem employees to act was Hurricane Florence, which caused devastation in North and South Carolina. In preparation of the storm, the local Xylem Commercial Team deployed dewatering pumps and equipment to its customers to help them withstand the weather and protect critical infrastructure to mitigate the negative impacts of the storm.
The following offers a view of our annual performance in important areas of environmental and social responsibility. We monitor key metrics for fiber, emissions, energy usage and the impact of our operations on air, water and solid waste. We use this data to set improvement goals for our operations and interactions with key stakeholders.
On January 3, 2019, Xylem employee volunteers in Pune and Thane completed the installation of ten AquaHomes into households in the villages of Mugoan and Masaad, India. The volunteers spent four days installing the AquaHomes, which provide the households with solar power and clean water for the first time. Prior to this project, the families were using kerosene lamps as their only source of light in their homes. Additionally, the families collected water from contaminated wells in the community, causing many illnesses and diseases among villagers.
Xylem is proud to announce that its employees volunteered over 10,000 hours across the globe during Xylem Watermark’s Annual October Global Month of Service. Through water source clean-ups, restoration projects, educational water monitoring activities, beach and park clean-ups, community building initiatives, and more, Xylem employee volunteers displayed their true commitment to addressing the global water crisis and protecting safe water resources for communities around the world.
