Resolute was pleased to join the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) delegation during COP 15 in Montreal where a historic framework was signed to safeguard biodiversity. Several members of our team attended workshops, panels and keynotes, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s event on conservation, to continue building relationships, promote the value and role of sustainable forest management, and understand different stakeholders’ concerns and perspectives.

Also known as the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP 15 is the fifteenth meeting of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, bringing together countries to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.

At Resolute, we recognize it is possible to harvest trees carefully while maintaining biodiversity. Our forest management and chain of custody certifications ensure the woodlands we manage provide protection for forest biodiversity and habitat – and that our fiber is obtained from responsible sources. In fact, standards require third-party audits aimed at safeguarding biodiversity, water quality, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value.To learn more about conservation and biodiversity at Resolute, we invite you to visit our webpage.

Resolute is partnering with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to help support turtle populations. Our donation of C$60,000 over the next four years will support NCC’s Carapace Project to educate the public about reducing risks to turtles.

Each spring, Quebec’s turtles travel several kilometers seeking ideal spots to lay their eggs – a journey that exposes them to injury or death on busy roads. Each turtle casualty is a concern, given their lengthy reproductive cycles. Carapace Project is building awareness among motorists and inviting the public to register turtle sightings on a dedicated platform. These submissions help NCC put strategic measures in place to protect turtles in specific locations. Since April 1, 2022, Carapace Project has received 1,330 reports of turtle sightings.

To learn how you can help support turtle conservation, watch these short Carapace Project videos:

• Why should you help to protect turtles?

• What to do if you see a turtle on the road

• How to report a turtle observation 

Visit the Carapace Project website for more information.

Resolute shares the United Nations’ (UN) vision for a more inclusive, peaceful and prosperous future. We recognize the importance of protecting human rights as recognized principles set out in the International Bill of Human Rights as well as the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Our commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) positions us to be a more efficient and competitive company, a better employer, a stronger business partner, and even more deeply engaged in the communities in which we live and work.

Our Human Rights Policy reinforces these foundational principles and complements our existing policies related to ethics standards and reporting, and human resources. In practice, our commitment to human rights begins with the expectation that all employees adhere strictly to our Code of Business Conduct.

The policy describes the principles that guide our activities in four key areas:

• Employees, who have fundamental rights to freedom, dignity and a safe working environment free of discrimination, harassment and violence.

• Communities, where we strive to be a trusted partner while recognizing the cultural and social significance of the forests, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• Products and operations, as we strive to manufacture sustainable products and optimize the performance of our operations.

• Supply chain, through which we recognize the critical importance of sound supply and value chain management in achieving our commitment to human rights and sustainable development.

Resolute’s Human Rights Policy is one more tool toward generating long-term value for the company while driving sustainable economic activity in the communities where we operate.

The new policy, along with our other governance charters, is available on the Corporate Governance page of our website.

Resolute earned a gold award at MerComm’s 2022 iNova Awards, an international competition that honors excellence and innovation for corporate websites. We received recognition in the Video: Health & Safety category for our animated capsule on safety, which is part of our new six-part series that brings Resolute’s sustainability performance to life. We also received a bronze award in the Specialty Reports category for our Resolute at a Glance company leaflet.

Proactive safety practices are embedded in every part of Resolute’s business. We foster continuous improvement by establishing world-class safety and health standards at each operation and by continually measuring safety performance.

For all the details on Resolute’s commitment to safety, watch our animated capsule here.

You can also click these links to view capsules on Resolute’s Action on Climate, Chain of Custody, Forest Management Certification, Governance at Resolute, and Indigenous Peoples and Resolute.

In 2018, the human resources team at our Forest Products Mauricie sawmill in La Tuque (Quebec) launched its first successful initiative to recruit international workers, and since that time, 19 other Resolute operations in Quebec have launched global recruitment programs.

Thanks to that experience, by 2023, our Quebec operations will have hired 138 new employees from France, Mauritius, Morocco, the Philippines and Ukraine. Of this number, 84 have already arrived in the province, and 54 will arrive shortly. Another 107 new employees are expected to arrive in 2023. They’ll take on a variety of jobs: electricians, wood processing technicians, mechanics and more. Resolute also supports education for international students completing degrees that will prepare them for positions at the company.

“Resolute has set a goal to transform our workplace into one that is more equitable, diverse and inclusive,” says Daniel Ouellet, senior vice president, Human Resources. “We recognize the talent and contributions of each of our new employees, and we commit to fostering a dynamic environment where each individual feels respected and valued in their work. We’re counting on our team to embrace different perspectives, which are essential to achieving our objectives.”

Earlier this year, Resolute joined others in the business community in securing employment opportunities for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. By the end of 2022, our Ontario operations will have hired 40 workers from Ukraine.

The process of hiring talent from across the globe takes a good deal of time. Resolute collaborates with several partners to build recruitment campaigns, select candidates and facilitate the immigration process and applications for visas and work permits. When the newcomers arrive, in addition to providing on-the-job training, we help them settle into life in their host province, securing lodging and organizing activities to connect them with their communities. Further down the road, we continue to support our new employees in getting established permanently.

We applaud the efforts of our teams welcoming people from around the world, connecting them with rewarding careers in the forest products industry.

The latest drones in Resolute’s Ontario woodland operations will help the company reduce its carbon footprint, and could even lead to faster forest regeneration after harvesting.

Those are just some of the strengths remote piloting systems, or drones, are bringing to work that is traditionally undertaken by planes and helicopters. “Both of which have a large carbon footprint, and both are expensive,” says Tom Ratz, Resolute’s planning manager in Ontario.

Drones are not new to forestry, or to Ratz, whose team of foresters have been using them for several years to do quick aerial inspections or fly them further afield to decide if they need to walk into an area with no road access, for example.

The newest models in the arsenal are bigger, faster, and more sophisticated than any of the other dozen drones the team currently uses. In fact, given their size, weight, and speed, these drones are operated by a specially trained and licensed pilot, whose work includes mapping flight plans and processing the images the drone cameras capture.

The seeding drone, a Hylio AG-166, is a heavy-duty multicopter. Built in Texas and designed as an aerial sprayer, the drone’s sprayer arms were removed and fitted with a seed spreader. Loaded with jack pine seeds, the drone flies like a helicopter and can get to work right after an area has been harvested, allowing seeds to germinate along with other species.

This fall the Hylio drone is finishing a few more weeks of production testing to gather enough information so that it can be used to seed this spring. While relatively new in Ontario reforestation, seeding drones have been used with success in Canada and the U.S. in areas affected by wildfires.

High-resolution, current forest imagery

Before seeding can begin, the team needs an accurate, detailed, and current picture of the area. Enter the WingtraOne, a drone that flies like a plane (at 35 mph – 57 kilometers per hour – it is eight times faster than a multicopter) and can takeoff and land vertically.

The Swiss-made WingtraOne was purchased from the Thunder Bay-based Four Rivers Group, the first Indigenous Wingtra dealer. In fact, both drone purchases benefited from partial funding by CRIBE – the Centre for Research & Innovation in the Bio-Economy, in part for how drones help reduce carbon emissions and because this initiative brings innovative technology into the forest products industry.

Equipped with a high-resolution camera and a four-foot (125 cm) wingspan, the WingtraOne can fly in a series of parallel tracks that are then stitched together to form a detailed photograph.

“You can literally count the logs in this image,” Ratz explains of a cut block displayed on his monitor. “I can tell what’s pine, what’s birch. I can see if there are any missed pieces.”

Satellite images are often used for this purpose, but you would not get the resolution these provide, says Ratz. And while planes provide higher resolution images, the cost of using one has increased by 20% in the last year.

Beyond depletion mapping, the drones are also used to help pulp and paper mills inventory their wood chip stores. Ratz also hopes to combine the drone’s high-res image capture technology with specialized software that could recognize and count tree species so that Resolute can continually update its forest inventory information.

Finding hot spots with thermal imaging

The WingtraOne’s high-end compact Sony camera can be switched for a thermal imaging camera that can check pulp mill wood chip stores for hot spots. As piles of chips and biomasss compress, they can generate enough heat to lead to combustion, making the drone an important part of a mill’s safety system.

The thermal camera can also check on areas where a controlled burn was used to reduce debris at roadside. The drone can easily recheck the same area to make sure there is no lasting fire.

Each new application seems to generate new ideas on how to use these new tools.

Throughout the month of September, Resolute hosted multiple supplier events in Quebec, where some 120 suppliers and other business partners helped raise over C$300,000 for community and charitable organizations located in the company’s Canadian operating regions.

On October 24, Resolute proudly presented $170,000 to two hospital foundations in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec: the Fondation du Centre Maria-Chapdelaine and the Fondation du Domaine-du-Roy, which support the Dolbeau-Mistassini and Roberval hospitals, respectively. Resolute’s president and chief executive officer, Remi G. Lalonde, chaired the check presentation ceremony and thanked the company’s business partners for their generosity and the hospital foundations for their dedication to helping ensure quality health care in their communities.

Additional donations will be made in the upcoming weeks to a number of worthy non-profits located in Resolute operating regions.

Resolute strives to be a good corporate citizen that supports the needs and interests of the communities where we operate. In 2021, our donations and sponsorships – at both the local and corporate levels – totaled over US$1.3 million.

The world is moving toward a circular economy. At Resolute, we are continuously seeking opportunities to divert residues from our operations toward beneficial uses.

Over 70% of our residues are repurposed 

Resolute’s approach to resource optimization is multi-pronged, and includes recycling, energy recovery and identifying beneficial-use alternatives. This approach aims to divert production residues away from landfills. In 2021, 36% of our residues were repurposed for beneficial uses such as agricultural land spreading, 18% recycled, and 17% recovered for use in energy production. Wherever possible, we also compost cardboard, clean wood waste and pallets. In all, 71% of our pulp, paper and tissue mill residues were diverted from landfill last year.

Creating value in agriculture

Sludge is an organic by-product of the pulp and paper manufacturing process, and it’s rich in nitrogen and phosphorous – essential nutrients that support plant growth. Sludge can be dehydrated and pressed, then provided to farmers to spread over their fields. Wood and bark ash from pulp and paper mill boilers can also be repurposed for land spreading. Our operations across Quebec and Ontario, as well as our Menominee (Michigan) recycled pulp mill and Grenada (Mississippi) newsprint mill, participate in land spreading projects. Check out our blogpost to learn more!

Recovering energy

Black liquor is a by-product of the kraft pulping and biosolids are residues from the water treatment process. These materials, along with bark, can be burned to generate energy for powering our operations. By channeling these materials away from landfills and into our biomass boilers, we’re not just optimizing resources – we’re reducing our fossil fuel consumption and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their use.

We produce 45% of our electricity needs internally, in part through cogeneration, which burns biomass; and 75% of our fuel energy usage (14,019 GWh) is derived from biomass.

Continually improving

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Resolute has set annual and long-term targets related to waste reduction and fiber efficiency:

• In 2022, we are aiming to record fiber losses (that is, residues) of no more than 39 kg per metric ton of production at all our pulp, paper and tissue mills.

• By 2026, we intend to reduce the volume of materials sent to landfill by 15% at all our pulp, paper and tissue mills compared to 2018.

• By 2026, we are also striving to optimize the long-term carbon capture of our wood products by improving roundwood consumption at our wood products facilities by 0.125 m³/mfbm compared to 2021.

Our efforts to optimize resources, minimize waste and create value don’t just generate cost savings – they’re helping to reduce the environmental impact of our operations, while contributing to the growing circular economy.

To learn more, visit the Key Performance Indicators page of Resolute’s corporate website.

In addition to optimizing renewable energy sources and stewarding sustainable, fossil-free resources, Resolute’s approach to climate action focuses on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. This brief animated capsule highlights the carbon reduction milestones we’ve reached so far, from achieving industry-leading emission reductions and adopting world-class standards for public disclosure to setting ambitious new science-based targets.

Watch the capsule here.
We also invite you to view our capsules on safety, forest management certification, governance, our partnerships with Indigenous communities and chain-of-custody certification.

Public commitments drive our sustainability performance. Our sustainability strategy combines ambitious long-term objectives, annually revised targets and aspirational goals, carefully measured in the spirit of continuous improvement. In this blog series, Performance and New Targets, we’re recapping our achievements, sharing highlights of our progress, and affirming our targets for 2022 and beyond.

How we create shared prosperity 

Resolute values the constructive and mutually beneficial relationships we have with close to 40 Indigenous communities and organizations in our operating regions. In 2021, we pursued our ongoing commitment to provide equitable access to commercial opportunities and promote Indigenous participation in the forest products sector, and we will continue to build on this foundation in 2022 and beyond, in line with our Indigenous Peoples Policy.

How did we do in 2021? 

• Alongside Fort William First Nation, we celebrated our 20-year partnership in the Thunder Bay (Ontario) sawmill with an announcement of C$17 million in investment. The facility was Canada’s first to operate under the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act. Approximately 20% of the sawmill’s workforce are Anishinabek.

• Alongside the Band Council of Obedjiwan, we marked 22 years of partnership in the Opitciwan (Quebec) sawmill. The Council has a 55% interest in the joint venture, while Resolute owns 45%. The facility employs 50 workers, more than 80% of whom are Atikamekw.

• President and Chief Executive Officer Remi G. Lalonde met with several First Nations chiefs in Northwestern Ontario to discuss opportunities for shared socio-economic  prosperity. Our procurement contracts with Indigenous-led companies and communities in the region are worth more than C$50 million annually.

• We worked with local and regional partners on developing a model for the professional integration of Indigenous workers at our Côte-Nord (Quebec) woodlands operations.

• We contributed C$25,000 to Lac des Mille Lacs Education Centre (Ontario), an innovative Indigenous-led school, to support experiential learning, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) language instruction and a hockey program.

• We donated C$3,000 to the economic development corporation of Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan First Nation (Quebec) to support the development of female entrepreneurship.

Learn more about our collaborations with Indigenous peoples on our website.

Resolute’s progress in diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is directly linked to the dedication and drive of the members of its Advisory Committee established eight months ago. Karen Roach, who was recently promoted to general manager of our Grenada (Mississippi) newsprint mill, serves as chair of the committee, which brings together experienced members from various regions, locations, disciplines and communities. They are:

These talented, energetic members have a mandate to guide the company’s efforts to provide all employees with a healthy, equitable and inclusive work environment free from any form of discrimination.

Drawing on their expertise and experience, they create, improve and promote practices that foster justice, equity and inclusion at our workplaces.

We were honored to present the inaugural Resolute Forest Products 2023 Clean50 Award to Bell Canada as GHG (greenhouse gas) Reductions Champion.

Clean50 recognizes leaders from across Canada who have done the most to advance climate action and develop climate solutions. Bell won the Resolute-sponsored award for achieving meaningful GHG emissions intensity reductions at its operations. In 2021, Bell surpassed its GHG target by 15%, with its GHG emissions per network usage showing a 55% improvement compared with its 2019 baseline.

At Resolute, actions to reduce GHG emissions and combat climate change are cornerstones of our sustainability strategy, and we are proud participants and supporters of the annual Clean50 Summit, which brings together progressive business, political and environmental leaders who are tackling climate change from every sector.

This year’s winners were selected from over 1,000 nominations collected nation-wide.

Public commitments drive our sustainability performance. Our sustainability strategy combines ambitious long-term objectives, annually revised targets and aspirational goals, carefully measured in the spirit of continuous improvement. In this blog series, Performance and New Targets, we’re recapping our annual achievements, sharing highlights of our progress, and affirming our targets for 2022 and beyond.

A collaborative, inclusive culture

Resolute is building a strong corporate culture that strives to attract, retain and engage a diverse workforce and allows natural leaders to grow. That’s why we’re fostering constructive labor management practices, and implementing leadership and human resources practices that contribute to a collaborative, inclusive culture.

How did we do in 2021? 

Renewal and retention 

• In 2021, we continued to build upon our leadership and human resources programs by:

  • Implementing our international recruitment strategy;

  • Developing our Emerging Talent Program; and

  • Promoting our Employee Referral Program.

• We hired 1,490 new and permanent employees, recorded an involuntary turnover rate of 13.9% and completed 210 internal employee movements.

• We signed seven collective agreements covering 540 employees at our wood products facilities in Canada. In 2022, we anticipate renewing 20 collective agreements covering 1,160 employees at pulp and paper operations and 860 employees at wood products facilities.

Diversity, equity, inclusion (DE&I) and human rights

• In 2021, in keeping with our ongoing commitment to create an inclusive and diverse workplace, we fulfilled our commitment to train 100% of new employees on workplace respect and civility.

• Earlier this year, we established a DE&I steering committee and announced an initiative to increase women representation on our board of directors to 30% from 25% by 2024.

• In 2022, we are also committed to adopting a new human rights policy in accordance with international best practices and feedback from our stakeholders. The policy will complement our existing policies related to human rights.

Learn more about our workforce renewal and retention commitments, progress, 2022 targets and more on our website.

This blogpost may contain forward-looking statements. See section on “Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information” in our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as in our reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed thereafter.

Resolute received an honor at MerComm’s 2022 Galaxy Awards, an international competition that celebrates excellence in marketing communications. The company was recognized in the Annual Reports – Print (Sustainability Report) category for its ESG at Resolute leaflet. Resolute’s ESG leaflets were created to improve access to and the availability of our ESG reporting, and ESG at Resolute highlights the company’s leadership on sustainability.

MerComm, Inc. is the world’s only independent awards organization dedicated to defining the standards of excellence in the communications fields and to recognize the individuals whose work has made an outstanding contribution to their organization, corporation or client. Its International Galaxy Awards competition honors outstanding achievement in product and service marketing. Judging is carried out by peers in the profession, based not on budget, but on the values of creativity, clarity, effectiveness, and innovation.

To learn more about the Galaxy Awards and this year’s winners, visit the program’s awards page. To learn more about Resolute’s ESG leaflets, visit the Sustainability section of our website.

Some of the best young minds in Quebec were recognized at the annual Forces AVENIR awards gala celebrating student achievements that balance academic excellence with a commitment to socially conscious, active and responsible citizenship.

For over 10 years, Resolute has been partnering with Forces AVENIR to support two of its programs: The Élève Persévérant for students of the Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean and Côte-Nord regions at the secondary level, and the Personality – Graduates program for Quebec students at the masters and doctoral level.

Ilrick Duhamel, a PhD industrial engineering student at Polytechnique Montréal won this year’s Graduate award having ably balanced success in his studies with personal and social achievements, as well as by showing leadership in his field of study.

During his undergrad, Ilrick saw the importance of the human factor in engineering and later studied the role of social sciences in engineering for his masters. A strong communicator, his work was repeatedly recognized by several academic distinctions, led to an internship at Le Soleil newspaper in Québec City and helped him start a podcast that served as a platform for engineering professors and researchers to discuss the importance of learning from other disciplines such as humanities.

His work sends a message to the next generation of engineers to get involved in their community and to develop the social competencies that will have a positive impact on society.

A gifted athlete, Ilrick represented Canada at the multisport world championships in Spain where he earned a bronze in the duathlon (running and cycling). He is currently ranked 30th in the world for winter triathlon (snow running, speed skating and cross-country skiing).

Ilrick has brought his love of sport to his studies by developing and racing on a bike whose frame is constructed of laminated ash wood. He’s been racing on that frame for three years now.

Resolute’s director of forestry Étienne Vézina was on hand to present the award. Ilrick told the gala audience that he was inspired by the evening and to see all the different ways students have distinguished themselves. More than just a word, he remarked, “excellence is an objective all of us can aspire to.”

It’s a sentiment that underlies the importance of the Forces AVENIR award programs themselves.

“By recognizing and rewarding commitment and perseverance in our students,” explains the organization’s president and CEO, François Grégoire, “these awards encourage good citizenship and promote a culture of collective engagement that will benefit future generations.”

Currently, 17 universities and more than 120 high schools in Quebec participate in the Forces AVENIR award programs. Resolute is proud to support the strong commitment and academic excellence of all the students who took part in these programs and to congratulate this year’s winners.

Resolute is working with Florida Senator Rick Scott to send four truckloads of lumber and three truckloads of bath tissue and paper towels to Florida communities devastated by Hurricane Ian. The lumber, which will be shipped from our Cross City (Florida) sawmill, can provide framing for ten single-family homes. Each truckload of tissue is stocked with products manufactured at our Hialeah (Florida) and Calhoun (Tennessee) tissue mills. The first truck left Calhoun on October 7, carrying 60 pallets (nearly 15,000 rolls) of paper towel. Operation Compassion and other relief and community organizations are receiving and distributing the donated items where they are most needed.

Resolute has three facilities in Florida, employing a total of 480 people. Our Cross City sawmill and Hialeah tissue mill were spared from the impact of the hurricane, while our Sanford tissue mill was shut down temporarily due to high winds and flooding.

Given our strong presence in the state, we believe we have an important role to play in assisting Florida families affected by the disaster. Resolute encourages other local manufacturers to join us in mobilizing quickly to support these communities. Our collective efforts can have a tremendous impact. We are grateful to Senator Rick Scott’s office for helping to coordinate the logistics.

Public commitments drive our sustainability performance. Our sustainability strategy combines ambitious long-term objectives, annually revised targets and aspirational goals, carefully measured in the spirit of continuous improvement. In this blog series, Performance and New Targets, we’re recapping our achievements, sharing highlights of our progress, and affirming our targets for 2022 and beyond.

How we manage emissions

Actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, optimize renewable energy and combat climate change are cornerstones of our sustainability strategy. Together, our carbon-reduction initiatives over the past two decades have reduced emissions by more than 8.6 million metric tons of CO 2  equivalents per year, comparable to taking close to two million cars off the road. And we continue to raise the bar, increasing expectations of our own performance.

How did we measure our success?

Reducing emissions

We achieved our 2025 goal – well ahead of schedule – to reduce the company’s absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% compared to 2015 levels. By the end of 2021, we had achieved a 32% reduction in absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions across company operations.

• Continuing to increase expectations of our own performance, we committed to achieving a 41.5% reduction in absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2026 from a 2015 base year, as well as a 16.5% reduction in scope 3 emissions within the same timeframe. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated that these targets conform to the SBTi Criteria and Recommendations (version 4.2), and that our scope 1 and 2 target ambition is in line with a well-below 2°C trajectory.

• Since 2000, we have reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions at our pulp, paper and tissue mills by 85%.

Disclosing our performance

• Each year, we disclose our environmental performance to CDP, a globally-recognized, non-profit framework that has long championed environmental disclosure as standard business practice. Resolute has reported our carbon footprint to CDP since 2006, beginning with scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, and adding scope 3 (supply chain) emissions in 2013.

• Since 2010, we have prepared reports in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines for sustainability reporting, and since 2018, in accordance with the GRI Standards.

• Our sustainability strategy also aligns with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In 2021, we integrated eight of the 17 SDGs into our sustainability reporting. Our UN SDGs page outlines how we are aligning our sustainability performance with the relevant SDG targets, including the targets under Goal 13: Climate Action.

For more information on our emissions reducing projects, please visit our Carbon Footprint page.

Chain of custody (CoC) certification is a crucial element of the manufacturing process at Resolute. It’s how we demonstrate we have the necessary systems and controls in place to track the source of the fiber in our products.

All of our pulp and paper mills as well as wood products facilities have fiber tracking systems, and 100% of these are third-party certified according to one or more of the following internationally recognized CoC standards:

• Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®)

• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)

• Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC^®)

Watch our animated capsule on CoC certification here.

You can also click these links to view capsules on safety, forest management certification, governance and our partnerships with Indigenous communities.

Resolute has launched a brand new Careers website designed specifically to reach potential job applicants and showcase our company and culture.

The new site features a clean, streamlined look and easy-to-browse job listings, searchable by region, and is available in English, French and Spanish. We’ve also simplified the application process. Visitors can consult useful information on compensation and benefits, workplace safety and sustainability, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. A blog series, linked from The Resolute Blog, features selected employees and illustrates life at Resolute.

Our employees – past, present and future – are vital to our success. By investing in recruiting new talent as well as engaging and motivating our existing workforce, we’re strengthening the foundation of our business.

We invite you to check out our new Careers website and share it throughout your networks!

Resolute’s Marie-Noëlle Watts, general manager of the Dolbeau (Quebec) paper mill, was recognized at the 2022 Globee^® Women World Awards. She earned bronze in the Female Achiever – Leader of the Year category. The Women World Awards program annually celebrates outstanding achievements of female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run.

“This award symbolizes how women are increasingly gaining influence in an industry that has long been dominated by men,” said Marie-Noëlle. “I am grateful to Resolute, my employer for over 13 years, for believing in me and encouraging my professional development.”

Marie-Noëlle was featured in two publications earlier this year, highlighting her professionalism and capability.

Congratulations to Marie-Noëlle. She is an outstanding example of leadership for women in the forest products industry and in the workplace in general.

Resolute is focused on building mutually beneficial relationships in the communities in which we live and work. We demonstrate this commitment through transparency, information-sharing and active involvement in community life. Here are some highlights from the second quarter of 2022.

Getting involved in our operating communities 

Resolute employees gave time and energy to support a range of causes this quarter. A team of 24 Thunder Bay (Ontario) pulp and paper mill employees participated in a roadside cleanup event, and employees at the Atikokan (Ontario) sawmill worked with a local snowmobile club to build emergency shelters. A group from the Saint-Félicien (Quebec) sawmill took part in three pizza sales to benefit a number of local causes; Grenada (Mississippi) newsprint mill employees helped pack and distribute donations to food banks; and employees from the Saint-Prime (Quebec) engineered wood facility volunteered on the boards of several community organizations. 

Raising funds – actively! 

Fundraising is more fun when it’s active! Employees from our Mistassini (Quebec) woodland operations joined a cycling marathon to support research into hereditary diseases, and employees from our Grenada mill took part in a golf tournament to fund programs benefiting African-American youth. Supporting critically ill children and their families, a team from our Alma (Quebec) paper mill participated in a dragon boat race, while a delegation from several operations in Quebec’s Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region raised $40,796 through the Leucan Ultramarathon.

Engaging with community partners 

In Dolbeau-Mistassini (Quebec), sawmill employees held meetings with leadership from the municipality as well as the eco-center and chamber of commerce. Employees from our Ontario woodland operations collaborated with the City of Thunder Bay to develop a strategy for providing housing to refugees arriving from Ukraine, and collaborated with an adult learning center on an initiative promoting recruitment; Thunder Bay sawmill employees participated in Fort William First Nation’s sunrise ceremony and annual pow-wow; and our Girardville (Quebec) sawmill welcomed a group of elementary students for a tour of the facility. 

Bringing value through in-kind donations 

Donations can take many forms! The Outardes (Quebec) sawmill provided 1,500 pieces of lumber for the construction of the Boreal Forest Research and Innovation Pavillion at Cégep de Baie-Comeau, the Outaouais (Quebec) woodland operations gave $2,500 worth of lumber to a fundraising event supporting youth in crisis, the Senneterre (Quebec) sawmill donated wood valued at $1,150 to an event organized by a childcare center and the Glenwood (Arkansas) sawmill donated lumber and time toward a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity. The Côte-Nord (Quebec) woodland operations donated 60 pairs of crampons to home support services workers, and the Sanford (Florida) tissue mill gave tissue products to various groups including a veterans’ organization, a shelter for people experiencing homelessness and two groups distributing food to those in need. 

Paying it forward 

Scholarships are an important means of supporting youth in our operating communities. The Coosa Pines (Alabama) pulp mill and Comtois (Quebec) and Cross City (Florida) sawmills collectively presented $7,400 in scholarships during this quarter. Meanwhile, our Sanford mill, Alma mill, Coosa Pines mill, La Doré (Quebec) operations and Clermont (Quebec) newsprint mill donated a total of $21,610 in support of a wide range of causes including youth learning programs, cultural events and a suicide prevention program. 

To learn about Resolute’s commitment to our operating communities, check out The Resolute Blog as well as the Community Involvement section of the corporate website. 

Thank you to our employees for recognizing the value of community support and engagement!  

The Green Dream program has been very exciting to be a part of and there’s so much to say about what’s going on in the industry that I will have to use this final post to introduce myself, summarize my placement, and provide my final takeaways – all at once.

Some information about me:

I am going into my fourth and final year of Lakehead University’s Chemical Engineering program. Before I enrolled at Lakehead, a professor explained Chemical Engineering to me as all of the fun and interesting parts of chemistry, thermodynamics and physics made immediately applicable to real life phenomena. In short: science in real life, and science to help promote healthy industries, communities and economies. I am passionate about my program, excited for next year’s graduation and looking forward to a career filled with problem solving and applicable science.

My placement with Resolute:

I cannot overstate how impressed I have been with my experience at Resolute Forest Products in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I spent the first month of my placement in awe at the size of the equipment and the ease with which so many moving parts operate together. I remember being intimidated by the vastness of the mill and worried that I’d eventually be expected to know my way around. After the first month, I could confidently find my way through most parts of the kraft mill and had retained enough about the process chemistry I was able to give tours to visiting personnel. At the same time, I had also started working on improvement projects for many different team members – lots of which I was able to start from scratch and see to an end. I’ve learned to troubleshoot, analyze, adjust and innovate for a variety of different situations. In terms of work environment, the Utilities team members have been pivotal in making me feel able, intelligent and capable in all aspects of my responsibilities. I have learned as much from their life advice as I have from their technical experience. Throughout it all, I have been continually impressed by the commitment to safety and welcoming attitudes of all employees at the mill. Resolute: thank you so much for having me.

Some highlights:

The mill was actually connected to my neighborhood with enough separated bike lane that I sometimes opted to ride my bike to work. The whole route is about 12 km from the University and I would typically run into various wildlife along the way. (Note the deer saying Good Morning!)

This photo was taken on my first day! The mill is located beside the beautiful Kaministiquia River and Mount McKay. The views are particularly amazing in the morning or when it is raining.

Resolute also has its own Fitness Centre! Great for a lunchtime workout or a little midday yoga.

I definitely can’t emphasize this one enough but the biggest highlight was all of the equipment. These are the condensers – they are essentially a giant waterfall. They are absolutely my favourite piece of equipment! Take a look at my video on mill highlights to see some more really cool equipment and phenomena.

The Green Dream program:

The Green Dream program has turned out to be everything I could have hoped for and more. My passion for science revolves around applicability to real life (which is why I’ve taken such an interest to the kraft process chemistry), but also in making science accessible. My first piece of content for this program was a rough outline of the process chemistry involved with making pulp. Before I started working at Resolute I didn’t know anything about making pulp. The process is large and can seem intimidating at first, but (like anything) becomes much easier to understand when it is broken down into smaller pieces. Science and Industry as a whole can seem intimidating at first, but this program does a great job of showcasing the industry broken down into smaller pieces. Each of the Green Dream interns showcasing their unique experience gives the general public a vague idea of what the industry is actually like – making it seem more relatable and more easily accessible. Thank you to the FPAC for allowing me to share my perspective and showing that (even as a student at the bottom) the industry isn’t scary and intimidating… it’s a dream.

Our Northwestern Ontario operations have an innovative recruitment strategy – hire workers fleeing the war in Ukraine. In March 2022, Resolute joined others in the Canadian business community in securing employment opportunities for new arrivals from Ukraine. At our Atikokan (Ontario) sawmill, the human resources team set a goal: hire 20 individuals from Ukraine by the end of the year.

To meet this objective, sawmill personnel turned to partners at Atikokan Employment Centre, Atikokan Economic Development Corporation, Atikokan Adult Learning Centre and the Newcomer Centre of Peel. These agencies provide services such as housing, language training and guidance for obtaining work permits, health insurance and even bank accounts.

Thanks to this collaboration, 17 individuals from Ukraine have started in their new roles at the Atikokan sawmill so far, with an additional seven already hired and on their way to Canada. In September, the facility revised its goal, now aiming to hire 25 new employees from Ukraine by the end of 2022. Resolute also expects to recruit six employees from Ukraine at the Ignace sawmill and 10 at the Thunder Bay sawmill, both also located in Ontario. These 40 newcomers to Canada will help alleviate the ongoing work shortage.

The Newcomer Centre, working with the Community Economic Development Commission Thunder Bay office, produced a ten-minute video showcasing Resolute’s innovative recruitment initiatives and the benefits of living and working in the Atikokan area. Commenting in the video, Scott Manford, HR superintendent at the Atikokan sawmill says, “I want families to be happy, and have a good income, and want to stay in our town.”

Kudos to our team in Northwestern Ontario on finding local solutions and thinking big!