Your recent editorial, “Hold Maine’s paper mills to higher standards,” gave an incomplete picture of Sappi’s environmental practices.

At our Somerset mill in Skowhegan, about 80% of our energy comes from renewable sources, mainly biomass and black liquor, both byproducts of the papermaking process. These fuels are considered carbon neutral by the U.S. EPA, Maine DEP and many international governments because they’re part of the natural carbon cycle. We don’t use coal, and tire-derived fuel is a small part of our energy mix that helps keep tires out of landfills, reducing mosquito breeding grounds.

We track and publicly report all emissions, including biogenic emissions that are not required to be reported under federal law, and we publish our emissions data in our annual sustainability report. The EIP report cited in your editorial focused only on total emissions, overlooking context.

As one of the largest integrated pulp and paper mills in North America, Somerset performs very well relative to its size. According to EPA FLIGHT data, we rank among the best in the industry in emissions intensity, which means emissions per ton of product. That’s a more meaningful way to measure environmental impact than relying solely on total emissions. We’ve also committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 41.5% by 2030, not because we have to, but because it’s the right thing to do.

We’re proud of our Somerset mill, and our environmental record. Mainers deserve the full story.

Sean Wallace
Vice President, Research, Development and Sustainability for Sappi, North America
Freeport