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Sappi's Cloquet mill completes Higg FEM assessment

03 Nov '23

2 min read

Pic: Sappi

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Sappi Limited, a leading dissolving pulp producer, has achieved a 91.5 per cent score in the Higg FEM verification audit at its Cloquet mill, demonstrating strong environmental practices.
The Higg FEM, developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, measures and scores environmental performance in areas like water use, carbon emissions, waste management.

Sappi Limited, a leading producer of dissolving pulp sold under the brand name Verve, continues to reach new milestones by completing the Higg Facility Environmental Management (FEM) verification audit at its Cloquet mill. Based in Northern Minnesota, US, the mill is one of the leading dissolving pulp facilities to complete this external verification process. A final score of 91.5 per cent was achieved which reinforces and demonstrates the sound environmental practices employed by the mill.

Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Higg FEM is part of a suite of tools that enables manufacturing facilities of all sizes to measure and score their environmental performance against a standard set of criteria, allowing for meaningful and credible performance benchmarking in the apparel and textile sector. Across topics such as water use, carbon emissions and waste management, the Higg Index can be used by consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, governments, NGOs and consumers to inform their individual sustainability strategies and drive collective industry transformation, the company said in a press release.

“As a global leader in dissolving pulp manufacturing, we are excited that our commitment to the sustainable manufacture of our Sappi Verve product is confirmed by the SAC Higg FEM results,” said Tom Radovich, managing director of Sappi North America’s Cloquet mill. “We have an increased focus on chemicals management practices as we move towards a more circular economy, addressing changing needs while managing our environmental footprint. The Cloquet mill has always been a key part of our environmental stewardship and sustainability initiatives and we will continue to deliver relevant solutions and in the process, look for innovative ways to strengthen our position.”

“The Cloquet Higg FEM audit results, once again, confirms our vision to providing a sustainable fibre of choice in our Verve dissolving pulp. This aligns with our ethos of a commitment to people, planet and prosperity,” Mohamed Mansoor, executive vice president Sappi Pulp, said.

Cloquet received a verified score of 100 per cent across energy, water as well as wastewater management highlighting the mill as a pocket of excellence in terms of resource efficiency and emission control. Through structured focus, the facility plans on increasing scoring in the area of chemicals management in upcoming assessments. Performance in this industry benchmarking program provides additional assurance to our customers and value chain that Verve is indeed a fibre of choice.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)