Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Get Clipping! Boise Adds Box Tops For Education Labels To X-9 Multipurpose Ream Wraps

A pretty cool announcement was made back in May that slipped right past without the fanfare it deserved.....one of our suppliers, Boise®, joined up with Box Tops for Education!



Such a great idea.

Quite by accident one afternoon I noticed that the current copy machine paper we were using here at CMP (we switch them around a lot) Boise® X-9 20# had actual box tops you can clip and save on the ream wraps. Interestingly enough there is also a QR Code included that takes you to a website explaining how and why they partnered up with Box Tops for Education).



Here's more info on this great program which includes Boise Fireworx and HD:P branded papers as well : http://scr.bi/nXQuRr.

We think it is such a great idea that CMP would like to take it one step further....if your company would like to save the Box Tops off the reams of the X-9 you use for your copier, CMP will collect them and turn them into a local school for you.

If you are already into clipping and collecting them, and would like to turn them in yourself, by all means go for it! But if you 'd like some help following through with actually turning them in, we volunteer for the job.

I am personally one of those people who cannot throw away any kind of package that has the Box Tops label on it without clipping it, but then I throw it in a drawer and forget to turn them all in. Well, until that drawer gets cleaned, that is. (Which at my house, isn't very often).

CMP would like to make sure the clipped box tops off the reams of X-9 actually make it to a school where they can make a difference for students. 

So, if you save them, we'll collect them. We'll also save ours here and turn them all into a school in need (hopefully in one large batch where the collective contribution will make an impact).

If you would like, we will happily pass along your company name to the school chosen to give you credit for your efforts, and will give you a "shout out" on our CMP Facebook and Twitter pages.
We might even be able to give some CMP swag (slang for CMP promotional items) for your Box Top saving efforts.

If you are interested in helping a local school out by saving the Boise® Box Tops for Education labels, contact Terri Spaulding via email at terris@cmpaper.com or call 616-676-9203 x 242. We appreciate your purchasing Boise® X-9 Multipurpose Paper from CMP, and for doing your part for education!

Additional links of interest:

http://www.boiseinc.com/products/imaging/BoxTops4Education.html
https://www.facebook.com/BoxTopsForEducation#!/BoxTopsForEducation
http://www.boisex9.com/

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cascades Paper: The Mill That Walks The Talk

Terri Spaulding recently visited the Cascades Paper Mill located just outside of Montreal. This is her personal wrap up of the event. Warning: it is photo heavy!

The specification seminar attendees.
We called ourselves the paper dolls!

I visited the Cascades Paper Mill in St. Jerome, Quebec a few weeks ago for their first ever Specification Seminar. Cascades has long been one of my favorite mills, because they have a fantastic environmental story, but I found out during my visit just how fantastic the mill and its people really are.

The local landfill

We started our visit by stopping at the local landfill where methane gas (normally burned off and released into the atmosphere), is now delivered by pipeline to the paper mill. It powers 95% of their manufacturing! Talk about reducing your carbon footprint.  

Our guide.

I learned something about landfills...they don't stink if managed properly. In fact, as we exited the van we caught a whiff of a stinky smell, which we all assumed came from the landfill. However, our guide was quick to point out that the smell was not coming from the landfill itself, it was coming from a customer's container for their garbage. Ick--it was stinky!

The pipeline from the landfill that delivers
the methane to the paper mill.

Lovely landfill attire. That's CMP's Cascades
mill rep, Dave Beebe, second from the left.

When properly managed, a landfill does not stink. If the methane were allowed to just build up and and the gas were to release on its own, then it would. However, when a system is in place to capture the gas, it can be piped to where it will be used, or in the case of excess amounts produced, burned off. Burning off methane does not smell either, who knew? The pipeline system to the Cascades Mill is in my opinion, genius.

View of the Cascades Paper mill from
the guesthouse. Peaceful and quaint.

Our next stop was the Cascades guest house, right on the grounds of the mill, where the seven of us attending the seminar were staying for the two nights. It is a lovely old house, complete with seven bedrooms and is located across the river from the mill. It used to be the Rolland Family home (original owners of the mill), before it was converted into a guest house. Charming. I wish we would have had more time to just chill in it, but they kept us pretty busy.

The guesthouse.

After several inspiring presentations from key employees of the mill, we began to get a sense of how special this mill really is. Did you know the Lemaire brothers who bought the Rolland Paper mill and started Cascades Paper in 1964, began in the recycling business? As children they learned to salvage to survive, and from there it evolved into a business. This entrepreneurial and environmental spirit has grown Cascades Paper into a 4 billion dollar company that employs 12,500 people. Awesome!

Me in my lovely mill touring attire.

What other paper mill do you know who is powered by landfill gas, who limits their distribution area to reduce effects on the environment from diesel emissions, who founded their own deinking facility back in 1995 to ensure quality pulp for their recycled paper, who's trucks collect curbside paper waste from areas in New York, Maine and Canada, and who's employees are always looking for ways to take their sustainability to the next level? None, that I can think of. Which is what makes Cascades Paper so unique!

The headbox of Cascades small paper machine.

Fun fact: Sophie, who manages the Cascades Sample Department, recycles the pieces of plastic wrap she collects when unwrapping the printed pieces she receives and personally takes that box of plastic to a recycler. It makes me want to be better at recycling even more than I already do at work and at home. 

Piles of recycled paper scraps that go into
making 100% recycled paper!

Hooray for Cascades Paper, a mill that produces an awesome group of products, at awesome prices....while striving to ensure they leave as small a mark as possible on the environment. Personally it made me rethink my own sustainability efforts (why can no one else in my house unplug devices not in use?) Grrrrr.

I want to walk the talk like Cascades Paper.


For more information, visit the Cascades website  http://www.cascades.com/papers/.
Be sure to check out their updated environmental calculator!