Results
Environmental Training Equals Performance
We believe that with thorough training, employees gain the knowledge needed to handle situations and activities that protect our environment every day. That’s why we established a goal in 2005 to provide each non-environmental employee with at least three hours of environmental training per year.
Emissions Tracking
Our North American operations are required to report emissions released to the environment through the EPA program titled the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and the Canadian program called the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). These programs have set a reporting threshold for certain listed chemicals released through air, water and waste activities.
The following graphs show that while some of LP’s overall reductions from 2004 through 2008 were a result of plant closures and divestitures, we also continued to reduce our overall emissions at ongoing operations. We achieved these reductions even as several chemicals were added to the list and some reporting threshold levels were reduced.
From 2004-2008, LP reduced TRI reportable emissions in the U.S. by 19%. From 2004-2008, NPRI reportable emissions for ongoing operations in Canada were reduced by 71%.
Waste Minimization and Recycling
Company-wide implementation of "Lean Six Sigma" Lean Six Sigma in 2007 changed our thinking about waste. Because LSS considers waste a sign of an inefficient process, waste management has become more integrated into our operational processes instead of being a separate “activity” managed by the environmental department.
For example, in the past a typical waste stream contained things like off-spec board that could not be recycled or sold, oily debris and biomass combustion ash. LSS projects have reduced our disposal to landfill to just two percent of LP’s overall waste and recycling activities. This is a significant reduction from 2004, when LP’s disposal to landfill activities comprised five percent of the overall waste and recycling total.
From 2007 to 2008, we increased the percentage of waste recovered for onsite energy, due to the investment in barkburners installed at two mills The bark that was previously being sold (recycled) now is used as fuel for onsite energy.
The graph below shows our waste management progress since2004 . Since then, much of our progress in waste management is due to installation and improved maintenance of pollution control equipment across the company. Before 2005, it was common practice to remove solids built up in Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs) by using large amounts of water to flush them out. This water, along with the solids, became a waste that required disposal through a third-party vendor. With the installation of Wet Electrostatic Precipitators (WESPs) at two facilities in 2004, and a focus on proper operation and maintenance of the units, the overall disposal footprint of those facilities has been greatly reduced.
Recently, LSS and Performance Track projects have identified additional waste reduction opportunities and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Reducing Hazardous or Regulated Waste
Our focus on waste reduction and disposal has also helped reduce the hazardous or regulated wastes that require special handling and consideration during disposal. That includes small things that add up, like mobile equipment anti-freeze or aerosol paint can residue.
Many LP facilities have replaced lubricants and cleaners in aerosol cans with bulk containers which can be metered into manually activated spray bottles. This is not only more economical, it eliminates the need to capture the aerosol can remnants, which must then be handled as a regulated waste.
From 2004 to 2008, hazardous/regulated waste was reduced by 29%. In 2008. hazardous/regulated waste were again at about 2005 levels This increase was due to our Clarke County OSB mill coming online and shortly thereafter experiencing a fire. Several tons of regulated waste from this fire had to be disposed of.
Protecting Water Quality
From a water-use standpoint, the majority of LP manufacturing facilities do not have water-intensive processes. Because of this, we have focused our performance metrics on other areas such as reduction of air emission and waste elimination.
Preventing water pollution is one of the key components of our Environmental Management System (EMS). Facilities must develop and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), spill prevention and response plans, and stormwater pollution prevention plans. Employees receive regular training about water pollution prevention in order to raise their awareness of how their activities effect the surrounding water quality.
By thoroughly defining activities in this way, following best management practices and providing training, our facilities greatly reduce their impact on water quality.
Many sites also participate in community roadside, beach and stream trash removal activities. These annual events focus on removal of trash and other debris that can effect the water quality of the community and detract from the natural beauty of the great outdoors.
For almost a decade, employees and their families in Portland, Oregon, have gone out rain or shine each year to collect trash from coastal beaches with Oregon SOLV.
LP Stories
In memory of a co-worker, the LP Maniwaki management team introduced an annual prize to be awarded to an employee in recognition of his or her involvement in improving the mill’s operations.
Maniwaki LSS Project Is Lean
and Green
We’ve adopted Lean Six Sigma, which combines waste reduction with process improvements, to make our company more efficient and reduce waste. One of the first projects was at our mill in Maniwaki, Quebec. That project found a way to recycle wood chips in the oriented strand board manufacturing process, burning them as energy.
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