Resolute Forest Products, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Corporate Social Responsibility at Resolute

Written answers to the questions

Total 200 words used.

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products and papers, which are marketed in over 60 countries. Resolute owns or operates some 40 facilities, as well as power generation assets, in the United States and Canada. We have third-party certified 100% of our managed woodlands to internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards. Resolute’s business and sustainability strategies have been expressly developed to align our efforts in environmental stewardship and social responsibility with our business objectives. This approach reinforces our vision that profitability and sustainability drive our future. Our sustainability strategy is based on a balanced approach to environmental, social and economic performance. It is designed to enhance our competitive position, ensure the responsible management of resources in our care, and generate positive socio-economic impacts. Aligned with the principles of the circular economy, our strategy aims to position Resolute as an attractive employer, a strong contributor to the prosperity of our operating communities, and an environmental supplier of choice. As an industry leader, we are committed to maintaining effective sustainability oversight, governance and management practices, with a strong commitment to transparency and annual sustainability reporting. 

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Resolute is committed to creating positive social impact and bringing value to our operating communities through our community involvement and inclusive hiring practices. We are focused on building solid, mutually beneficial business relationships, grassroots support, and positive government and overall community relations through transparency and information-sharing, as well as through active involvement in local organizations and projects. Resolute has developed various programs to encourage and help employees volunteer and donate to their communities, such as our Board of Directors Safety Award and our COVID-19 vaccination incentive program. Across the company in 2021, 100% of our operations reported their outreach activities, and we made $1.3 million in community, charitable and academic contributions across the company. We strive to be a trusted partner to our host communities and to nearly 40 Indigenous communities. In 2021, Resolute adopted a board of directors-level diversity policy, and earlier this year we committed to striving toward 30% representation of each gender (ie. male and female) on the board by 2024. Our executive leadership level diversity policy acknowledges diversity as a key factor in the company’s talent management strategy. As we have done for several years, we continue to train 100% of new employees on workplace respect and civility, and we set up a diversity, equity and inclusion steering committee earlier this year.

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Each of our operations has an annual local donation and sponsorships budget based on their production. Employees are encouraged to select local organizations where they would like to donate or provide sponsorships. This type of engagement helps foster the relationships our operations are developing in their communities.
Our unique Board of Directors Safety Award program provides a supplementary incentive for Resolute employees and operations to improve their safety performance, by directing community donations to organizations chosen by the company’s employees when they achieve major safety milestones. Operations earn up to $5,000 to donate on behalf of employees when achieving 250,000 consecutive hours without a single recordable injury. The award increases to $10,000 at the 500,000-hour mark, and to $15,000 when employees reach 1 million hours. This innovative approach ties safety performance directly to stakeholder impact. Resolute builds and maintains strong relationships with community leaders in our operating locations. In particular, we have numerous partnerships with members of Indigenous communities. We have awarded multi-year contracts in excess of C$50 million annually resulting from Resolute’s investments in Northwestern Ontario.  Our inclusive hiring practices have maintained our position as the employer of choice within the North American forest products sector. We continue to implement new leadership and human resources practices to create an inclusive workplace that attracts, retains and engages a diverse and gender-balanced workforce. In 2021, the percentage of women by level of management was: 25% board of directors; 22% senior management; 19% middlemanagement; 14% across our workforce.

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In 2021, in response to stakeholder feedback, we developed a suite of leaflets that improve access to and the availability of our CSR and ESG reporting. Resolute’s leaflets are available for download in the Sustainability section of our website:

• Our ESG-at-Resolute leaflet is a thorough, high-level synopsis of Resolute’s sustainability strategy and ESG performance, highlighting our leadership and key achievements. Designed to be an inviting and easy-to-read briefing document, it is broadly targeted to all of Resolute’s key stakeholders, including employees, the communities we serve and our business partners, in addition to the financial and investment community.
• Our ESG by the Numbers leaflet is a comprehensive data-driven summary of our ESG performance based on the Value Reporting Foundation’s Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) for forestry management and pulp & paper products as well as select global ESG rating systems. It allows the investment and financial community to track and publicly rate our ESG performance against our industry peers, and to better understand the financial impacts of sustainability on Resolute’s overall business performance.
• Our Public Commitments leaflet provides a detailed look at our commitment to continuous improvement and transparency, highlighting our 2022 to 2026 sustainability targets and 2021 performance.