Environment, Health & Safety -
Forest Products

To demonstrate their commitment to superior environmental, health and safety performance, Georgia-Pacific, LLC and it subsidiaries are committed to:

Continuing to improve EH&S compliance and performance through the ongoing implementation of EH&S management systems
Continuing to integrate EH&S concerns into all business and operational planning and decision-making
Providing a safe work environment and training for all employees
Achieving, sustaining, and continually improving superior performance in all key EH&S metrics for the industries in which they operate
Requiring the same level of commitment and performance for contractors that work in their facilities as they do from their employees
Utilizing materials, natural resources, and energy efficiently to produce products and services that support sustainable growth
Responding in a timely and appropriate manner if an incident resulting from operations does occur
Working proactively with legislators, regulators, concerned groups, and industry peers to develop and advance effective approaches to human health and safety and environmental protection
Communicating regularly on EH&S issues and performance with employees, contractors, customers, regulators, the communities in which they operate, and the general public
Auditing assets and operating practices regularly, and taking the appropriate corrective actions.

These companies have many programs that support the company’s commitment to environmental excellence.

External Programs

Packaging Systems Optimization Program (PSO)
Georgia-Pacific's PSO program helps customers reduce packaging costs and improve their supply chain efficiency, which in turn delivers environmental benefits. This program provides an assessment of the customer's supply chain that often results in a new packaging design that reduces the overall amount of material used. Lighter weight containers, and streamlined processing and distribution decrease energy consumption and emissions.

Recycling
GP Harmon Recycling, a division of Georgia-Pacific, is one of the top suppliers of recovered paper in the world. In 2008, Harmon managed nearly 7 million tons of recovered paper worldwide. Approximately 3.4 million tons were used in Georgia-Pacific facilities in 2008 while the rest was sold to other users of recovered paper. GP Harmon Recycling also manages other recyclable materials, including aluminum and plastic.

Internal Programs

Environmental Excellence Awards
Georgia-Pacific recognizes superior environmental performance through the Georgia-Pacific Environmental Excellence Awards program. Every year, awards are presented to a large and small facility. In addition to the recognition, winners may be given funds to be used for a community outreach project that benefits the environment. Recent winners include:

Monticello, Miss., containerboard mill, which improved its methanol collection processes, and
Philomath, Ore., wood and fiber procurement organization, which developed an innovative forest management and harvesting plan that yielded timber for a company sawmill and also improved habitat for various endangered or threatened species.

The Environmental Audit Program
Georgia-Pacific assesses its facilities' environmental programs and compliance with environmental regulations through an audit program that involves both Georgia-Pacific and third-party auditors. The audit program includes team visits, self-assessments and detailed environmental process reviews. If corrective actions are needed, a timeline is established to address them as quickly as possible.

Safety Excellence Awards
Georgia-Pacific recognizes superior safety performance at its facilities through a number of awards programs including:

Georgia-Pacific CEO’s Safety Excellence Award – The company’s top safety award recognizes manufacturing facilities that complete 1,000,000 work hours or 24 consecutive months without a lost workday injury while maintaining an OSHA total case incidence rate (TCIR) of 0.5 or less for the award period.
Business Unit Safety Awards – A number of Georgia-Pacific business units recognize safety achievements for facilities at levels below (i.e. fewer hours, etc.) the CEO Safety Excellence Awards.

Training Programs
Annually, employees at all levels of the company receive environmental training through environmental meetings, internal and external training sessions, Web-based programs, workshops, conferences and college/state courses. Topics addressed include general information on environmental regulations as well as specialized courses on air quality, solid waste and many other areas.

Compliance, Ethics and EHS Program
Georgia-Pacific’s EHS efforts are an integral part of the company’s much broader compliance, ethics and EHS focus. Compliance with the law, ethical behavior and superior EHS performance are fundamental expectations of Georgia-Pacific and all employees, and are reflected in our Georgia-Pacific compliance, ethics and EHS Vision: Create long-term value by striving for excellence in all areas of compliance, ethics and EHS.

Georgia-Pacific believes excellence in these areas:

is a prerequisite for value creation and mandatory for our long-term success;
is in the mutual best interest of our employees, our company, our customers, government agencies and the communities which we serve;
is an important enabler to drive a sustainable future for our company – economically, environmentally and socially; and
is consistent with our belief that nothing is so important that we cannot do it in a safe, environmentally sound, compliant and ethical manner.

To aid in meeting this Vision, Georgia-Pacific has designed a Compliance, Ethics and EHS Program to:

Guide employees in their efforts to conduct all business affairs in an ethical and high integrity manner;
Ensure risks are proactively identified and managed through the implementation of a compliance, ethics and EHS risk management system that includes of controls designed to prevent incidents and assure excellence;
Enable employees to be in full compliance with legal, regulatory and company requirements.;
Prevent and detect misconduct, noncompliance and fraud;
Assure employees continuously improve performance over time; and
Demonstrate and communicate the company’s full commitment to compliance, ethics and EHS excellence through action and appropriate documentation;

In turn, the company’s Compliance, Ethics and EHS Excellence Risk Management System (CE/EHS RMS) is an integral part of the overall program and focuses on identifying and mitigating compliance, ethics and EHS risks. The system provides a framework that is actionable by all employees. It is composed of seven key elements and facilitates continuous improvement to achieve the goal of superior performance.

Click here to learn more about sustainability at Georgia-Pacific.