Domtar Uses a Balance of Energy Sources for its Pulp and Paper Mills

One of our industry's distinct sustainability advantages is our reliance on one of the Earth's most renewable resources, wood. Through our chemical pulping processes, we separate the individual wood fibers by removing the natural "glue" (lignin) that holds them together, thereby providing us both the fiber that forms the basis of the products we make and the majority of the energy (e.g., black liquor and woody biomass) required to make them.  We also utilize the bark removed from the logs as well as the chipping and screening rejects to recover the energy value or beneficially reuse these residuals in some other manner.  Collectively we call these wood-based energy sources, “biomass.”

The balance of Domtar’s energy comes from natural gas, purchased steam and electricity, coal and other smaller energy sources such as hydropower, oil, pet coke, propane and tire-derived fuel.

Since 2010, the amount of coal burned has steadily declined while our share of cleaner burning, less carbon-intensive natural gas used has increased.  We expect these trends in our fossil fuel mix to continue over the next year as we realize the full-year benefits of recent boiler fuel conversion investments.

Sustainability at Domtar is our endeavor to take a longer-term view of creating and preserving shareholder value. We accomplish this by considering how we respond to and contribute to emerging opportunities and risks in the world around us. Our 2016 Sustainability Update provides insight into our priorities on the journey towards becoming a more sustainable business. Click here to read the full update, and view updated performance metrics here.