Billerud NA

SUSTAINABILITY IS IN OUR FIBER.

Sustainability goes far beyond making a product from trees, one of the earth’s few truly renewable resources. It’s our responsibility to use all our resources—trees from responsibly managed forests, energy, water and chemicals—as efficiently as possible and to assure we don’t harm the environment along the way. That’s the core of our sustainability philosophy—making the products our customers want and need while leaving the smallest footprint possible behind.

Good product stewardship demands a commitment to environmental excellence throughout the paper life cycle – from the forest to final disposition. This life cycle begins with the use of wood fiber harvested only from trees in responsibly managed forests. This fiber is not only renewable, but also is recyclable and biodegradable. We design our products with an eye toward environmental benefit as well as economic value, and manufacture them using environmentally responsible processes. By doing so, we help our customers meet their own sustainability objectives and their customers’ demand for environmentally preferable products.

We are committed to operating in an ethical manner.

Conducting Business Responsibly

We implemented the Verso Code of Conduct, which provides our directors, officers and other employees with clear, concise and firm guidelines for ethical business conduct and is supported and reinforced at all levels of the company.

Ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity

We provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified individuals, regardless of their age, gender, marital status, national origin, race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law. All employment decisions are based on job-related requirements. This policy pertains to recruiting, hiring, training and development, promotions, compensation, benefits, transfers, education, company activities and all other aspects of employment. Our leadership team is responsible for bringing this policy to the attention of all employees, for implementing it through diversity awareness at all company operations within their areas of responsibility and for ensuring that all personnel actions are administered in a manner consistent with this policy.

Providing a Great Work Environment

Attracting and retaining top talent is a key focus. To accomplish this, we offer competitive compensation, health and welfare benefits and opportunities for advancement and training. Our compensation program is based on competitive market analysis, job responsibilities and individual performance. In addition, to enhance our employees’ well-being, we offer a 401(k) retirement savings plan with an attractive matching company contribution along with a defined contribution retirement plan. We also pride ourselves on our people development program which promotes continual dialogue on learning and growth opportunities between supervisors and employees. To complement this important program, we continue to develop training programs and offer a competitive education assistance program.

Promoting a Culture of Compliance

All of our people are expected to comply in all respects with the laws, rules and regulations that apply to us and our business. This requirement applies to both the letter and the spirit of the law.

Participating in the Collective Bargaining Process

A percentage of our employees are represented by labor unions, including United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (UAJ), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Office and Professional Employees International Labor Union (OPEIU), and United Steelworkers of America (USW). We participate in the collective bargaining process with these employees to establish wages, benefits and other workplace requirements.

Preserving Our Natural Resources

Sustainability – the ability to manage the economic, social and environmental aspects of the business in a sustainable manner without adversely impacting future generations – is at the core of our business philosophy. Our commitment to sustainability reaches into virtually every area of our business, from fiber procurement to manufacturing to product stewardship. Because we manufacture products from trees, one of the few truly renewable resources on earth, we go to great lengths to ensure that the wood fiber we use in our products comes from forests that are managed to remain healthy, productive and biologically diverse for generations to come.

Supporting Our Local Communities

We know that running a sustainable business requires more than just making and selling paper. To be truly sustainable, we must be an active participant in the communities where our employees live, work and play. Ultimately, we depend on the health and vitality of these communities for our social license to operate. We count good citizenship among our core values, and it takes many forms here. At the most basic level, we provide economic support to our communities by employing people across the United States, primarily in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. As a leading employer, we pay competitive wages in the communities where we operate and in our mill communities we contribute a significant percentage of the local tax revenue. 

The Heart of the Company: Our Employee Volunteers

Our community participation is driven by our employees who contribute thousands of hours each year in various company-sponsored and individual volunteer efforts to enhance the quality of life in our communities. In 2019, the company and our employees made financial and in-kind contributions totaling approximately $290,000 to a wide variety of community organizations with a focus on education, sustainability, and local health and human services. United Way is the centerpiece of our contribution efforts because of its focus on identifying specific local needs, and because all contributions remain in our local communities to help our neighbors.