Submitted: The Two Sides Team May 4, 2020

This month’s Member Spotlight features Rolland Enterprises Inc.  A leading North American producer of uncoated papers, Rolland manufactures papers with up to 100% post-consumer content.  With operations in Quebec and Wisconsin, the company’s operations include a paper mill and converting facility, as well as two state-of-the-art facilities that produce premium recycled pulp. Founded in 1882, Rolland’s enduring commitment to quality, innovation and sustainable manufacturing include sustainable sourcing, energy efficiency, water conservation, wastewater treatment technology, recycling of process byproducts and a continuing focus on further reducing its environmental footprint.

Rolland uses the life cycle assessment (LCA) process to guide its sustainability improvement objectives and makes the results of its LCAs public, confirming the company’s environmental stewardship to its many stakeholders.  For example, an LCA identified a gap in the company’s water consumption which enabled it to improve its water recycling systems. Today, Rolland’s paper mill has a closed-loop system that uses six times less water and recycles the water 30 times. One of the company’s most successful environmental innovations is the use of 93% renewable biogas energy to manufacture products at its paper mill —  the only mill in North America to use primarily biogas for energy.  An eight-mile-long pipeline feeds the mill with purified methane gas captured at a nearby landfill.  This reduces Rolland’s annual CO₂ footprint by 70,000 tons or the equivalent of taking 23,400 compact cars off the road for one year.

“At Rolland, we define success not only by the quality of our products and our ability to meet our customers’ needs, but also by the effect our products and processes have on the environment,” says Rolland Senior Marketing Director Michele Bartolini. “Paper has many attributes that make it a great environmental choice, but there remain a lot of misperceptions that need to be addressed.  Rolland is passionate about accurately telling paper’s sustainability story, and that’s why Two Sides North America is such an invaluable resource for us.”

Rolland leverages its Two Sides membership in multiple ways to bust myths and provide accurate, fact-based information on the sustainability of print and paper to its customers and other stakeholders. These include:

• Sharing Two Sides materials with sales representatives to help them more effectively communicate with customers on issues related to the sustainability of print and paper.
• Incorporating Two Sides Myths & Facts into the company’s Environmental Printing Papers Guide.
• Including Two Sides information during speaking engagements.
• Using Two Sides facts to create content for the company’s thought leadership materials which are posted on social media and shared as sponsored content in various media outlets.

Rolland also enthusiastically supports the ongoing Two Sides anti-greenwashing campaign. “Too many companies are misleading consumers with messaging that suggests using electronic communication is better for the environment than paper-based communication,” Bartolini adds. “Two Sides successful efforts to get these claims corrected or eliminated by more than 125 companies to date in North America, including many in the Fortune 500, is a testament to the positive influence of Two Sides North America and its members.  Working together, we’re countering these negative claims and helping the public understand the true, fact-based sustainability story of print and paper.”

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Two Sides is continually working to support our members and educate the public about the environmental sustainability of the print, paper and paper-based packaging industry.

If you would like to join Two Sides, please visit our Membership page, contact us by email at info@twosidesna.org or call us at 855-896-7433. Be sure to connect with us on social media for more!

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