Effective
effluent management
For sustainability to be meaningful
it has to be all-inclusive. That's why Tolko's policy includes
its The Pas Kraft paper mill. The mill produces sack Kraft
paper; 'stuff' used to manufacture paper bags and other similar
products. As a starter, Tolko's paper products are made from
unbleached kraft pulp; this reduces the amount of chemicals
used that could eventually get into the environment.
To further reduce plant effluent,
Tolko closely monitors its manufacturing process and recycles
wherever practical. Specifically, chemicals and water that
are used to break down the pulp are constantly recycled and
what little is left is treated before being disposed of in
compliance with stringent regulations.
To be absolutely sure that the
mill is non-polluting, Tolko conducts regular testing of its
environmental impacts on the soil, air and water. One such
test determines what impact the plant effluent has on fish.
Testing by independent agencies has found no evidence of significant
effects on either fish or fish habitat in the Saskatchewan
River.
Sustaining the forests
Tolko’s nine manufacturing
divisions and four marketing divisions employs about 2,300
people, 700 in the company’s two business units at The
Pas. Producing more than a billion board feet of wood products
and planting over 24 million trees last year isn't bad for
a company that started in the early 60s as a planer operation.
And this is a company that is committed to sustainable development.
Who says it can't be done?
A big part of sustainability is
balanced environmental performance. In 2001, for every tree
Tolko harvested two trees were planted. Reforestation is but
one part of sound forest management. A bigger part is protecting
the water table. This is accomplished by minimizing disturbance
of the forest floor while harvesting, fire prevention and
control, controlling drainage plus encouraging a healthy mix
of forest vegetation in the undergrowth. Tolko's plans to
have their woodlands ISO 14001 certified. This means they
will work continuously to improve their environmental performance.
Beyond slogans
Suggestions from staff and other
stakeholders on how to improve Tolko's environmental performance
are encouraged and the staff have made sustainability their
commitment. Tolko is making this happen by controlling and
treating chemicals prior to disposal and seeking non-chemical
substitute products wherever possible.
Environmental effects monitoring
studies were conducted in 1995 and 1999 and another one is
scheduled for 2003. They have concluded that there is no evidence
of significant adverse effects of Tolko's effluent on fish
or fish habitat. Nor did Tolko's operations show any significant
effect on the bug community on the Saskatchewan riverbed.
Tolko intends to register the environmental management system
of its Manitoba Kraft Papers operation under ISO 14001 standard
by the end of 2003. |
