CLOSING
AWARDS & CERTIFICATIONS
OUR STEWARDSHIP FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTION
PROGRESS WITH PURPOSE
Breaking Down Barriers Seek mutual benefit with customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and other key constituencies.
Go to Connect Section
CONNECT
Sustainable Products Make goods and services that help people improve their lives.
Go to Contribute Section
CONTRIBUTE
Emissions Keep outputs in check through the reduction of emissions.
Go to Control Section
CONTROL
Efficient Resource Use Innovate responsible use of all resources.
Go to Challenge Section
CHALLENGE
Natural Resources Conservation Work responsibly as future-focused stewards of forests, air, water, and biodiversity.
Go to Conserve Section
CONSERVE
Progress with Purpose
2023 Stewardship Report
Efficient Resource Use Innovate reponsible use of all resources.
Natural Resources Conservation Work responsibly as future- focused stewards of forests, air, water, and biodiversity.
APPLYING THE FIVE C'S
A message from John Mulcahy, Vice President, Stewardship
See the Georgia-Pacific approach to stewardship.
Our Stewardship Framework
Sustainable outcomes that benefit society
We discover new technologies and methods to create more value for our customers while using fewer resources, minimizing waste, and improving the environmental performance and effectiveness of our products and processes.
Environmental Priorities
We help people improve their lives by providing products and services they value more highly than their alternatives. We experiment and innovate to responsibly create more value while consuming fewer resources. We seek mutually beneficial outcomes with customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and other key constituencies.
The safety and well-being of our employees and communities is our first priority. We seek to unleash the power of diversity and create an inclusive environment that enables employees to fully realize their potential. We reward employees for their contribution to Georgia-Pacific’s long-term success and make society better through mutual benefit.
Social Priorities
Koch companies are guided by the Vision of creating more value for others through virtuous cycles of mutual benefit. Because it is privately held, GP is better able to make decisions and take actions that create real and lasting value. We are not constrained by quarterly or short-term demands, such as earnings or share price targets. Instead, we focus on long-term value creation. Audit and self-assessment results, incident tracking, investigations, and knowledge sharing are just some of the tools we use to learn and improve our performance. There is board-level oversight of our audit and assurance programs. We openly and proactively communicate with customers, employees, and other constituents about our principles and EHS performance.
Governance Priorities
GP has been helping people improve their lives through mutual benefit for almost a century, providing solutions that create shelter, improve hygiene, offer convenience, extend shelf life, and protect goods in transit. We have been and continue to be an important part of the communities in which we operate, providing good jobs and contributing to prosperity through our economic activity and the engagement of our company and employees in civic and philanthropic activities. Our focus is to make progress daily, improving performance by living a principle of stewardship, embracing creative destruction, improving efficiencies, eliminating waste, finding new ways of meeting needs, and driving conservation activities that leave more resources available to satisfy other needs in society.
At Georgia-Pacific (GP), stewardship encompasses the responsible management of our actions and the resources entrusted to our care in a manner that respects the rights of others. These resources include the natural environment, which we rely upon for our raw materials, the processes we manage to transform them into goods and services, and the relationships we have with our employees and communities. We seek mutually beneficial outcomes across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities with customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and other key constituencies.
You can also take a look at our broader Stewardship Framework.
Natural resources conservation
Forests protect air and water quality; serve as habitat for wildlife; provide recreational, spiritual, and cultural uses; deliver carbon benefits; and offer natural resources to make products people want and need. At Georgia-Pacific, we work to use these resources efficiently, source responsibly, protect endangered areas, and support wildlife conservation and biodiversity. It is all part of our commitment to helping maintain healthy forests for generations to come.
Forests for the future
Georgia-Pacific only partners with sustainable, legal, and responsible sources.
Responsible sourcing
DOMESTIC FIBER
Read our statement on forest stewardship.
More than 90% of the fresh fiber in our products is grown in the United States, where landowners employ best management practices to act as proper stewards of the forests, water, and biodiversity.
90
>
%
Our commitment to stewardship encompasses responsible resource management and building mutually beneficial outcomes with our partners, the public, and other key constituencies. Learn how we follow and promote good science-based protection, restoration, enhancement, sequestration, and recovery practices.
Forest stewardship
The majority of our fiber is grown by private and family forest owners who have helped the U.S. grow more wood now – in the form of living trees – than in the last 60 years.*
FAMILY FORESTRY
We take additional steps to help ensure all the fiber we receive is legal, sustainable, and respects social values.
BEST PRACTICES
Forest Ownership & Certification in the U.S.
10.6 Million Family Forest Owners Average of <30 acres
FOREST OWNERSHIP IN U.S.
SOURCE OF WOOD FOR DOMESTIC FOREST PRODUCTS
Monitoring resources
In regions where we purchase wood and fiber in the United States, we actively map endangered forests and special areas using scientific criteria and modeling that assesses high conservation values. GP doesn’t buy wood from these areas except in unique situations when active forest management is needed to improve habitat for endangered, rare, and/or vulnerable species. As part of this process, we have:
- Partnered with NatureServe to provide the latest scientific modeling and mapping behind up-to-date, high-conservation-value areas in all of our U.S. fiber procurement basins. - Leveraged internal monitoring resources to provide monthly images of our endangered forest areas and developed a GIS algorithm to identify changes in areas over time for monitoring purposes. - Developed a new online platform for suppliers to easily access the latest endangered forest maps.
Georgia-Pacific works with others in the forestry and environmental community to support wildlife and forest enhancement projects in areas near GP operations.
Support wildlife conservation and biodiversity
Learn more about how Georgia-Pacific promotes biodiversity.
LEARN MORE
Family Forest Federal Corporate State Local
20%
31%
38%
2%
9%
No Certification FSC SFI & ATFS SFI & FSC
90% Privately Owned 10% Other
% CERTIFIED IN U.S.
3%
1%
93%
We protect endangered species, restore forest ecosystems, and promote wildlife diversity.
PROJECT IN 23 STATES AND CANADA
See how Georgia-Pacific contributes to the sustainability and conservation of forestry and wildlife across North America.
CONSERVATION PROJECTS
In addition to the new trees planted in our sourcing basins, we have planted more than 7 million seedlings since 2018 in restoration and reforestation projects.
7 MILLION
Conservation programs creating wildlife havens at our Big Island, Virginia, and Monticello, Mississippi, facilities have been certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council.
HABITAT CONSERVATION
* The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Forest Service.
We believe in going beyond certification in our sourcing practices so that all people who rely on forests for income can participate in wood markets, but do so responsibly and in a manner that conserves our world’s resources.
Take a virtual walk through a working forest, experience responsible harvesting methods, and learn about our sustainable foresetry practices.
TAKE THE TOUR
Resource efficiency
Georgia-Pacific continuously evaluates and transforms how we use resources. From fiber efficiency to energy choices and bleaching technologies, we operate responsibly to better serve our partners, consumers, and communities.
Innovating responsible solutions
Since 2013, we have made capital investments that resulted in the closure of eight solid fossil fuel power boilers and replaced this energy demand with either natural gas or biomass.
We operate economically and efficiently, decreasing our reliance on solid fossil fuels by 72% since 2013. Shifting to natural gas and biomass has also resulted in a decrease in our greenhouse gas emissions.
Solid fossils fuels
Percentage of GP’s Energy Derived from Solid Fossil Fuels
Pine chemicals such as turpentine are recovered and sold. We also use a mix of recycled and fresh fibers to make our tissue, boxes, and other paper products.
We use every part of the tree
An interconnected, circular story
AT 30-40 YEARS,
The remaining trees are harvested and processed at our lumber, plywood, and OSB mills. Trees that are too small for these processes are used to make pulp and paper products. The forests are prepared to grow new trees, and the circular process starts again.
The forest is thinned again to aid with growth. Some of the wood is large enough for lumber, but the remaining scraps and byproducts are used to supply our pulp and paper mills.
AT 20-25 YEARS,
Forests are thinned to increase growth and reduce mortality. At this stage, removed trees are too small for lumber and are used to make pulp and paper products.
AT 10-15 YEARS,
Learn how we are reducing our environmental impact.
Most limbs, branches, leaves, and needles remain in the forest to promote nutrient cycling. The bark and other organic materials are used as biomass – the primary energy source for our manufacturing facilities.
Cellulose from trees is the main building block for our pulp and paper products. But more than half of every tree consists of water, which we capture and process to use in our mills.
Use this interactive infographic to learn more about how we source and sustain our resources.
Pennington, AL
Emissions
We apply transformative solutions to help control our emissions. Focus areas include air, waste, greenhouse gas, and water.
Keeping output in check
At our Broadway Mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, we invested in improvements that generated immediate reductions of SO2 emissions, which contribute to smog. By converting that facility’s coal-fired boilers to natural gas, the mill dramatically reduced its sulfur dioxide emissions by 95%, yet boosted its energy efficiency. In fact, GP’s facilities have realized a more than 75% reduction in SO2 emissions since 2010 — that’s more than 26,000 tons — with even more reductions on the way.
Learn how this Georgia-Pacific facility transformed into one of the most competitive containerboard mills.
Over reduction in SO2 emissions since 2010.
SO2 Emissions from Pulp and Paper Mills
Air
75%
DID YOU KNOW?
Only about 12% of the water at our mills is consumed during the pulp and papermaking process. Most is recycled, treated to remove contaminants, and returned to its original source. We conduct wastewater discharges in compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state standards.
Water
The Georgia-Pacific mill in Palatka, Florida, built a solution to treat and cycle water back into the papermaking process. In just 10 days, it reduced water usage by 40%.
Through this project, the mill has replaced outdated and less-efficient equipment with a new lime kiln; added a green liquor clarifier and stabilization tank to improve efficiency and recover biomass for paper; added a white liquor clarifier to improve pulping efficiency, chemical recovery, and environmental compliance; and improved efficiency and safety with truck loading and unloading.
An ongoing $160 million capital investment project at Georgia-Pacific’s Brewton, Alabama, containerboard facility is making the mill one of the most modernized paper mills in the country and helping operations reach the next level.
Investing in Efficiency
Efficiency improvement requires more than state-of-the-art assets. It requires employees who are empowered by our bottom-up philosophy to find new ways of doing things and share knowledge across the organization.
"For Brewton, this project goes beyond industry advancements,” said Jerry Clark, VP and GM of Operations at Brewton. “It’s about being the best employer and the best community partner we can be. It’s those commitments we hold near and dear.”
Responsible products
Georgia-Pacific contributes to society by creating products that people depend on every day. We choose materials responsibly and minimize the impact of our products in use. This includes building in options for recycling and composting. Our approach is to offer sustainable products for everyone.
Making a difference
Our philosophy of mutual benefit helps generate breakthrough innovations to improve lives, deliver better products, and consume fewer resources.
Societal benefits
Building products essential to homes and workplaces.
SHELTER
In 2023, the Quilted Northern® brand launched paper packaging for its line of Ultra Soft & Strong bathroom tissue. This innovative paper packaging is curbside-recyclable and is expected to reduce plastic usage by 500,000 pounds each year.
Brand Stewardship
- The packaging meets consumer preference for reducing plastic waste and making recycling easier because it can be recycled through municipal curbside recycling. - GP’s product development team spent several years designing and testing the packaging to withstand wear and tear from manufacturing and shipping while also meeting standards for curbside recycling.
Reduces plastic used by pounds each year.
500,000
Bath tissue, paper towels, and ingredients used for diapers and other hygiene products.
HYGIENE
Quick transfer of goods for food service and other industries.
CONVENIENCE
Paper-based packaging transports goods to stores and homes, supporting the economy.
PRODUCT PROTECTION
The brand was awarded: Sustainable Materials Usage
2023 SEAL Environmental Initiatives Award
2023 Business Intelligence Group Award
Sustainable Materials Usage
GP PRO replaced more than 240 dispensers at no cost, ensuring teachers and students alike could focus on learning rather than worrying about having access to safe, stocked facilities.
OVER THE COURSE OF 2021
During the pandemic, a viral trend on social media resulted in widespread vandalism and destruction of soap and paper towel dispensers at schools, just when they were needed the most. That’s when GP PRO stepped in to help make things right. GP PRO provided free replacements for schools’ paper towel, toilet paper, and soap dispensers that were vandalized.
Offering schools a hygienic helping hand
Through 2023, Georgia-Pacific produced 1,000,000,000 padded mailers.
240
Dispensers
The project aligns with GP’s commitment to good environmental stewardship through partnerships that create value for society responsibly and sustainably.
Homegrown timber
By tapping into local timber, this project reduced transportation- and construction-related emissions, maximizing the sustainability benefits of mass timber, a building product with a low carbon footprint relative to other traditional materials such as concrete and steel.
GP’s lumber business is making a sustainable impact at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Georgia, delivering the resources for Georgia’s first homegrown mass timber project at 619 Ponce – a mixed-use commercial and retail space spanning more than 100,000 square feet, slated to open in 2024.
Ponce City Market, Atlanta, GA
is one of the most widely recycled materials in the U.S.
PAPER
Strong global markets for recovered fiber emerged as businesses and communities sought to reduce disposal costs and gain value from recovered material, while manufacturers looked to respond to customer demand for recycled content, reduce waste, and lower production costs.
Meeting demand for recycled paper
Recycling
Georgia-Pacific utilizes more than 2.5 million tons of recovered paper annually to manufacture products with recycled content, primarily in our Packaging and Away from Home tissue businesses.
We utilize several grades of recovered paper that originate from a variety of sources, including corrugated containers (OCC), printing and writing paper, newsprint, and mixed residential recycling.
GP Recycling is one of the largest pure traders of recycled fiber in the world, trading in excess of 100,000 tons per week.
million tons
As demand for this alternative grew, we opened two additional facilities and produced our one billionth padded mailer in 2023. - We have now expanded our offering with an unpadded version, which is designed to ship apparel and other items that do not need padded packaging during transport.
Fiber flows to where its attributes are most valued, as fiber choice can impact consumer-preferred attributes such as softness, strength, absorbency, and color.
Although some grades (such as OCC) have very high recovery rates, others are lower, as factors such as coatings and food residue can lower the value. GP continues to innovate to find additional value in the waste stream, including: - Juno® Waste Diversion Technology - Mixed paper processing at our consumer products mills in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and Rincon, Georgia.
2.5 million tons
of sources
One of the largest traders
A variety of sources
Creating value
Fiber choice
In 2020, Georgia-Pacific opened a manufacturing facility near Phoenix, Arizona, to produce curbside recyclable padded paper mailers – a sustainable alternative to non-recyclable dual-material packaging.
Recyclable padded mailers
Expanded capabilities
The growth of e-commerce has generated significant demand for sustainable packaging options, as both consumers and e-retailers look to increase the recyclability of their packaging.
Creating new solutions for e-commerce
2.5
VARIETY
LARGEST
One of the
traders
RECYCLABLE
padded mailers
EXPANDED CAPABILITIES
A vision for mutual benefit
At GP, we believe diversity and inclusion are requisites for innovation and growth. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued and empowered. By celebrating our differences and encouraging collaboration, we drive mutual benefit and create opportunities for employees to thrive and communities to flourish.
Our work goes beyond business
Learn more about Georgia-Pacific‘s Diversity & Inclusion efforts.
Leveraging the diverse skills, knowledge, and experience of our employees creates a stronger workforce – it leads to better ideas, greater innovation, and superior value. We provide inclusive opportunities and work continuously to ensure Georgia-Pacific is a place where all individuals are valued, respected, and can succeed.
Diversity & inclusion
As a long-time supporter of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Georgia-Pacific donated $1 million toward the center’s expansion project (slated for completion in 2024). This expansion will help the center continue telling important stories of the ongoing fight for civil rights through its exhibits and education programs.
Social stewardship
We have a long history of supporting the civil rights movement. Among others, our partnerships include The King Center, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the National Council of Negro Women, and 100 Black Men of America. We support their focus on STEM, financial literacy, economic stability, entrepreneurship, youth leadership mentoring programs, and social justice initiatives.
Georgia-Pacific embraces equal rights as values critical to the success of our businesses and communities. We are doing our part to help break down barriers in racial justice, our criminal justice system, and small business licensing.
Breaking barriers
That’s what we have contributed to purchase coats, boots, safety gear, equipment, and educational materials for fire departments within 30 miles of GP facilities.
MORE THAN $3 MILLION
Georgia-Pacific partners with Convoy of Hope, an international humanitarian organization, to supply products such as bath tissue, paper towels, and tableware in places affected by natural disasters.
In 2006, we launched our Bucket Brigade program to help support local fire departments and the brave men and women who keep our communities safe.
Disaster relief and first responders
We provide opportunities that enable employees to make a positive difference in their communities based on what is important to them.
Philanthropy
Students
5 million
Teachers
205,000
Every child should have equal access to a quality education. We help narrow the opportunity gap in America’s underserved communities, focusing on STEM programs, technical/trade programs, and getting teachers the right resources. That’s why we partner with Kids in Need to help nearly 205,000 teachers and more than 5 million students across the country each year.
Education
Learn more about how Georgia-Pacific supports education.
Mattie Freeland Park
Completed in summer 2021 and funded in part by Georgia-Pacific, this previously abandoned lot near downtown Atlanta, Georgia, is now revitalized as a public multiuse playing field, picnic, and grilling area.
Providing equitable access to public spaces helps people participate in shared experiences and build community. From ballfields and butterfly sanctuaries to parks and playgrounds, we provide areas across the U.S. where people can gather together.
Public spaces
We contribute to philanthropic and societal goals by engaging in and supporting volunteerism as well as responsible and ethical practices. Our aim is to celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and create an environment where all people have the opportunity to develop their talents and abilities. We strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect, encourage and foster networking, and sponsor activities that are inclusive and focus on shared interests.
Social responsibility
Learn more about how Georgia-Pacific supports green spaces.
SEE HOW
See how Georgia-Pacific supports Habitat for Humanity.
Georgia-Pacific proudly employs more than 2,000 veterans from all branches of the armed forces who strengthen our company by bringing their unique talents and experiences to make a positive impact at GP facilities every day.
Veteran support
When natural disasters strike, our people rally in support of their own friends and neighbors. In such times, Georgia-Pacific has also provided financial aid, essential products, and prompt volunteer support to affected communities.
Disaster relief
Georgia-Pacific supports education through scholarship opportunities, sponsoring STEM programs, and partnering with local schools to enhance learning opportunities like GP Buddy, an employee-volunteer tutoring program.
Educational initiatives
As a leading producer of a wide array of building products, Georgia-Pacific has shared its expertise with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity for more than 25 years, helping families build and improve places they can call home.
Providing shelter
We encourage our people to connect with various philanthropic endeavors, and we provide opportunities for employees to build relationships, have meaningful and fulfilling experiences, and make a positive difference in their communities. By doing so, we not only reduce waste and division, but we create a thriving work environment while also helping the communities we call home to thrive. It’s all part of being a good neighbor.
Supporting our communities
To provide greater career access to job applicants, we have removed unnecessary requirements such as degrees and prior experience for some roles.
Rethinking applications
At Georgia-Pacific, employees can gain direct access to training opportunities, industry experts, and hands-on experience across diverse roles at more than 180 locations to continue developing their skills.
On-the-job training
Georgia-Pacific supports skilled trade scholarships through the mikeroweWorks Foundation Work Ethic Scholarship Program to help students pursuing industrial trades learn new skills and achieve success.
Skilled trade scholarships
Through the Georgia-Pacific Second Chance Program, we work to empower individuals to realize their full potential and positively contribute to their communities, providing hope for individuals reentering society after incarceration.
Second chance hiring
To help people pursue careers that provide meaning and fulfillment, we actively work to remove barriers to opportunity while promoting initiatives and programs that encourage individuals from all backgrounds to be all they can be.
Empowering people
BREAKING BARRIERS
PHILANTHROPY
EDUCATION
SOCIAL REPSONSIBILITY
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES
EMPOWERING PEOPLE
BACK TO TOP
Many Georgia-Pacific products and facilities are recognized and/or certified by these third-party groups:
Certifications
We appreciate the recognition we’ve received from local and federal government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and customers. Georgia-Pacific is especially proud of our employees who helped make these awards possible.
Awards
The Leaf River cellulose mill in New Augusta, Mississippi, became the first U.S. pulp mill to earn the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® certification in 2020, signifying the manufacturing facility performed in the top 25% of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency that year. The Georgia-Pacific mill in Brewton, Alabama, also earned the award in 2022.
EPA ENERGY STAR®
GP and KBX Logistics were awarded the EPA SmartWay Excellence Award four years in a row for their innovations in streamlined shipping efficiency. The two companies continue to collaborate on improving practices in intermodal shipping, load capacity, and backhauls.
EPA SmartWay
Georgia-Pacific was recognized by the American Forest & Paper Association with Sustainability Award winners: Energy Efficiency - Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong® saves 30% more water and uses 30% less energy by using efficient manufacturing technology to squeeze more water from tissue paper before drying. Innovation - Partnering with a major online retailer, Georgia-Pacific developed a paper-based mailer that is curbside recyclable. The company also introduced Dixie® EcoSmart® 100% Recycled Fiber Hot Cups – America’s first hot cup made from 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. GP is also working to increase paper cup recycling by investing in recycling infrastructure and working with municipalities to increase acceptance of paper cups to curbside recycling programs. Sustainability - In 2022, Georgia-Pacific was recognized with an Innovation in Sustainability award for Juno® Technology, GP’s breakthrough solution to waste diversion and resource recovery. Juno Technology can recover up to 90% of the materials it processes, diverting them from landfills and incinerators. Safety - In 2023, Georgia-Pacific was recognized with a Leadership in Sustainability award. Save My Life is a digital platform that was built by and for frontline employees. This system uses technology to provide a guided framework to ensure workers have the best information and control measures to prevent serious injuries and fatalities.
American Forest & Paper Association
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Honors
The energy performance of industrial facilities is compared nationally to similar operations. Only the top 25% become certified.
3 ENERGY STAR® CERTIFIED PLANTS
Business initiatives that demonstrate leadership and commitment to reducing emissions and meeting EPA energy design criteria are eligible for ENERGY STAR® recognition.
6 TOP PROJECTS
ENERGY STAR® Challenge for Industry is a global initiative for industrial sites to reduce their energy intensity by 10% within five years.
7 CHALLENGE AWARDS
FSC® Chain of Custody
SFI® Certified Sourcing
SFI® Chain of Custody
PEFC Chain of Custody
LEED
Wildlife Habitat Council
USDA BioPreferred Program
BPI Compostable
Green Seal
Juno
International Sustainability and Carbon Certification
Certified Recycled Content SCS Global Services
GreenGuard
UL Responsible Sourcing
Christian Fischer CEO
CLOSING THOUGHTS
© 2024 Georgia-Pacific LLC. All rights reserved.
JANUARY 2024 EDITION
We are convinced that we can only succeed long term by acting with the proper regard for the rights of others, and by conducting our business in a spirit of mutual benefit. Companies that do so are exemplars of responsibility.
Georgia-Pacific’s culture is built on recognizing and respecting the uniqueness of each individual. Each of us can discover and develop our innate abilities and apply them to contribute and succeed when empowered to do so. Our shared values allow us to create an environment where our many different perspectives, aptitudes, skills, knowledge, experiences, and backgrounds can come together to solve problems and create greater value for others.
Megan Sirna SVP, Human Resources
Georgia-Pacific products are part of everyday life. While they fill a diverse range of home, commercial, and industrial needs, they have one thing in common: They’re all made to high standards of quality and safety. Our 30,000 employees around the world are always looking for better ways of doing things.
Jeff Koeppel SVP, Operations
