The Greening of a Pulp and Paper Mill: International Paper's Androscoggin Mill, Jay, Maine

Abstract

SummaryInternational Paper (IP), the world's largest forest products company, owns the Androscoggin Mill, a large pulp and paper mill in Jay, Maine, in the northeastern United States. This case study describes the transformation of the Androscoggin Mill from an object of public opprobrium and conflict to a show‐case for environmental management. In the late 1980s, an 18‐month strike had embittered workers and townspeople and left the mill's reputation in tatters. In response to mill environ‐mental violations, some of which were considered crimes by state regulators, the town of Jay passed its own environmental ordinance to control mill emissions. Early in the 1990s, new management, including two former corporate‐level employ‐ees, sought to change the mill's business approach and turn the Androscoggin Mill into IP's best environmental performer. The initial emphasis on establishing and maintaining compliance was expanded to include aggressive pollution prevention efforts that led to cooperative projects with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and stakeholder groups. The mill's ap‐proach in the 1990s evolved further to essentially follow prin‐ciples of industrial ecology. New approaches focused on “clos‐ing the loop” by finding beneficial uses for previously landfilled wastes, replacements for most hazardous chemicals, and re‐ductions in solid and hazardous waste generation. The mill also pursued the establishment of symbiotic relationships with a facility that began using a mill by‐product on‐site and an on‐site natural gas burning facility that provided part of the mill's steam demand. IP also established a public advisory committee in 1992 to advise management on operational and “big‐picture” issues, which later included the application of sustain‐ability criteria to the mill. IP has since formed community advisory committees at each of their integrated pulp and paper mills.