Clean Production Initiative

The Clean Production Initiative arose out of Catalyst’s long-standing partnership with World Wildlife Canada, and was developed with input from communities where Catalyst operates mills. It involves developing a better understanding of mill emissions to land, air and water, and prioritizing efforts to further reduce them.

WWF used a methodology that involves a weighted assessment of volumes, and the behaviour and impacts of specific emissions once released, to determine relative significance. Measurement of actual mill emissions replaced the use of industry-based emission factors for a greater number of substances, and the origin of emissions in major raw materials and supplies was assessed.

All mills now use the WWF methodology to develop an annually updated list of 20 priority emissions and related actions. In 2009 actions focused on metals emissions including from wood chips and biomass supply.

Going forward, the CPI will help inform the development of reduction targets for emissions, the migration toward more benign substances and more efficient overall resource use at mills.

Improved Insight

Below are lists of the 10 largest-volume substances reported by the Crofton mill to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (2009 data), and the 10 most significant substances as determined by the WWF methodology. Only two substances appear on both lists, which highlights the value of better guidance and prioritization resulting from the CPI.