Sustainability in Action

MEMPHIS, TN PLANT 

RETHINKING WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 

Raising the Bar on Recycling 

“KP’s Memphis, TN plant has recently embarked on a flagship waste reduction project that is reshaping how the site manages materials. With the support of the Green Team, the plant now recycles more than 80% of what once went to landfill – over 1,000 tonnes in 2025 alone – by capturing materials like baling wire, poly roll cores, damaged wood and packaging, adding metal recycling dumpsters, and eliminating compactors and large trash containers.” 

“What makes this achievement especially powerful is how deeply enhanced waste management practices are embedded in day-today operations. Memphis now uses dedicated collection points and simple processes to make it easy for employees to separate recyclable materials, so doing the right thing becomes the default, not the exception. A two-person on-site contractor team manages the flow of recyclables, ensuring that new streams, ranging from pulp baling wire to scrap wood and office waste, are collected, consolidated and sent to partners for processing.”

“Monthly Green Team meetings keep the focus on continuous improvement and help identify new opportunities to reduce waste, including the potential launch of composting in 2026. These efforts have dramatically reshaped the plant’s footprint and were recently recognized with Doxicom Consulting’s Landfill Initiative Award. The project is steadily changing the Memphis plant’s footprint and culture, demonstrating how a focused local initiative – supported by clear systems, engaged employees and strong recycling partnerships – can make a lasting difference in how a facility uses resources and manages waste.” 

SPONGETOWELS^® 

#1 CANADIAN MADE BRANDED PAPER TOWEL 

Bringing Recycled Content and FSC^® Certification to Every Spongetowels^® Pack

“Customers and consumers are increasingly clear about what they want: products that deliver great performance and support their environmental goals. KP’s decision to move the entire SpongeTowels^® portfolio to packaging with better environmental credentials came in response to this demand and to requests from our retail partners who are setting ambitious sustainability targets of their own. Today, all 12 SpongeTowels^® SKUs use packaging with 20% PCR content and FSC^® certification, providing credible proof of responsible fibre sourcing and packaging stewardship on the shelf.”

“While some products already held FSC^® certification, the team made a conscious decision to extend certification and PCR packaging across the entire line. The goal was to position SpongeTowels^® as a sustainability leader in its category, making it easy for retailers to stock a brand that visibly aligns with their environmental commitments and for consumers to choose a product that reflects their values.”

“Delivering this change required close collaboration across the business. Moving from fully virgin poly to PCR material brought technical challenges, from ensuring the film ran smoothly in the plants to preserving the same quality, print impact and feel of the packaging. Sustainability, product development and plant teams and poly suppliers worked together through multiple trials to achieve seamless integration, then clearly communicated the 20% PCR content and FSC^® certification to shoppers. Customer response has been strong, confirming that this work also helps our retail partners make progress towards their own goals.” 

SHERBROOKE, QC PLANT 

KRUGER SAFETY AWARD IN 2025 

Building A Strong Safety Culture Together 

“Our Sherbrooke, QC plant won the Kruger Safety Award in 2025, honouring years of disciplined work and strong employee engagement in health and safety. The site’s leaders attribute this performance to a highly skilled team, rigorous execution of safety processes and a mindset that treats health and safety as a shared value rather than a checklist.”

“A key ingredient in Sherbrooke’s success is how directly employees are involved in safety. Team members participate in audits, risk analyses, projects and training, and are encouraged to raise concerns and suggest improvements. These initiatives build trust and reinforce that safety is about protecting people. Leaders spend significant time on the floor, coaching employees and reinforcing expectations, even when performance is strong and it might be tempting to relax standards. A strong network with other KP sites also allows Sherbrooke to share best practices and rapidly implement corrective actions where they add value.”

“The team is clear that consistency and rigour in applying processes are non-negotiable, and that innovation – finding new ways to identify and mitigate risk – is essential to staying ahead. In early 2026, Sherbrooke also achieved an impressive milestone of 2 million hours without a recordable incident, a testament to the site’s sustained safety focus and day-to-day discipline.” 

NEW WESTMINSTER, BC PLANT

2025 OCEAN WISE SHORELINE CLEANUP 

Giving Back To A River We Rely On 

“For employees at KP’s New Westminster, BC plant, a shoreline cleanup along the Fraser River was a chance to give back to the environment on which their operations depend. In May 2025, over 20 volunteers from the plant participated in an Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup along the riverbank in Burnaby, close to Fraser River Shore Park. After a brief health and safety orientation, the group spent about two hours walking roughly 2 kilometres of shoreline, picking up and organizing litter with guidance from Ocean Wise facilitators.”

“The scale and type of debris surprised many participants. Rather than just small items like cigarette butts, volunteers removed an estimated 569 pounds of trash, including large industrial waste, a very old and extremely heavy cash register, big pieces of metal, multiple coconuts and a striking number of deflated balloons. Seeing so much material in and near the river made the impact of waste feel very real, especially given that this is the same river that supplies water for pulp and paper production at the plant.”

“The cleanup took place during work hours and concluded with a group gathering where Ocean Wise shared the final results, helping participants see the concrete outcome of their efforts. For many, the experience was both eye-opening and motivating – a reminder that everyone can contribute to make a bigger difference when acting together. The positive response has inspired plans to repeat the cleanup in 2026 and to continue exploring creative, hands-on ways for employees to support the health of their local community and environment.” 

Ashley Faccenda

Marketing Manager - Environmental Brands

Educating Canadians About Their Impact 

"Our 'Oh Crap! Rethinking Human Waste' exhibit at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa was a really fun way to connect with people of all ages on the impact of the products they use every day.

"It was a great place to build awareness of the environmental impact of our Bonterra® paper products, as well as our partnerships with organizations like 4ocean. Through the partnership, 4ocean removes 100,000 pounds of plastic – the equivalent of 4.5 million plastic water bottles – out of the ocean every year.

"Being able to work on a brand that is aligned with my personal values is very important, and it is exciting to be part of an initiative that shows people how the decisions they make can contribute towards a better future." 

Michelle Stobbart-Cornell  

Training Coordinator - Trenton, ON Plant

Celebrating Empowered Women

Supporting and encouraging the careers of women in manufacturing – which has been a traditionally male-dominated, highly technical environment – creates a sense of belonging.

"We launched the Women's Network in the manufacturing sites this year, including our Trenton, ON site. For International Women's Day, we designed and ordered T-shirts around the theme of 'Empowered Women.' We ended up having to order more because the men in the plant wanted to be involved and show their support as allies.

"The women then decided that they would nominate their male colleagues for things they did throughout the year to support them, such as making them feel valued or listening to their opinions and asking questions. Nominated men were awarded T-shirts; to this day I have people asking me how they can get one!

"It's really important to me that Kruger Products is putting so much time and effort into the Women's Network, and that we continue to recognize and celebrate the women in our manufacturing facilities." 

Brian Sookhai 

Director of Transportation and Logistics

Going on an Electric Journey

"While we primarily utilize third-party carriers, we now have an all-electric fleet, with eight EV trucks shipping our product between our manufacturing facilities and distribution centres. We're always looking for ways to reduce our GHG emissions, and using EV trucks really drives down our transportation footprint. Plus, the drivers really enjoy them because there's less noise and less vibration when being driven.

"A lot of the third-party carriers we work with are also making investments in EVs and using more fuel- efficient equipment, and that's factoring into the criteria we use for choosing our transportation partners.

"Electrifying our new fleet is exciting. We're lucky to be a healthy organization that can make these investments and it's great to be able to make a difference." 

Rita Hdaki 

HR Coordinator - Employee Experience

Volunteering to make our Parks Cleaner and Greener

"We have two Kommunity Days every year where employees volunteer as a team to make a difference in their communities. During the Spring Kommunity Day, our employees from the Mississauga head office partnered with Credit Valley Conservation to plant 200 native trees and remove over 443 square metres of invasive buckthorn. The new shrubs will help capture carbon, provide valuable habitat for local wildlife and increase local biodiversity.

"Environmental stewardship stood out to us as a volunteer activity because it's a big part of Reimagine 2030 under our Community Embrace pillar and because our people have a real appetite for it. We were actually over-subscribed for the activity, but luckily Credit Valley Conservation was able to accommodate us all.

"To be able to focus on something like this for a whole day shows how much KP is committed to actually doing what we say we're going to do. It's a great feeling being part of a company that truly cares about the community and about what's most important."