This is the third article in our three-part series introducing Domtar’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy and its pillars: Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities, and Responsible Business.
Domtar is committed to operating with honesty, integrity and transparency. Our 2030 Sustainability Strategy focuses our efforts toward that goal. Guided by 12 objectives across our operations, products and value chain, as well as our communities and partnerships, our integrated approach reflects our commitment as a leading manufacturer of diversified forest products under the ownership of investor Jackson Wijaya.
This article concludes our three-part series on Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy. In the first installment, we explored our work in Environmental Stewardship. Next, we highlighted the social pillar of our strategy: Our People and Communities. Here, we’ll share our dedication to Responsible Business practices — the foundation for how we engage customers, business partners and other stakeholders ethically, transparently and sustainably.
“Companies are being held to ever-higher standards in terms of the ethics of their conduct and their capacity for innovation and collaboration,” explains Steve Henry, president of Domtar’s Paper and Packaging business unit and member of the Domtar Management Board. “These practices aren’t merely compliance check boxes or ‘nice to haves.’ They represent both the right thing to do and smart business decisions, as they enhance our long-term resilience.”
He continues, “Responsible Business is an opportunity to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace and strengthen our business foundation. Our executive team firmly believes that ethical business practices and innovation directly contribute to our resilience and long-term success. This belief is embedded in how we make decisions at every level of the organization.”
Within our Responsible Business pillar are four key objectives.
Ethical and Sustainable Leadership
We’re proud of our track record when it comes to ethics and sustainability. Our legacy companies have built robust internal mechanisms to ensure compliance with our own Global Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Global Sustainability Policy, as well as with third-party certification standards and regulatory and legislative requirements.
Moving forward, we aim to go above and beyond these Responsible Business practices to ensure that we also uphold internationally recognized sustainability reporting standards.
By 2030, we will:
- Fully comply with international sustainability standards across Domtar and sister companies under Domtar’s control.
- Complete a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report covering all global operations under Domtar’s control.
Innovation
Innovation is essential to Domtar’s sustainable growth. Within this Responsible Business objective, we will drive sustainability through product, process and value chain innovation. This will enable us to deliver measurable environmental and business value while advancing circular solutions that minimize waste.
- By 2026, we will integrate sustainability as a formal criterion in research and development and capital investment decisions.
- By 2030, we will ensure a significant and growing share of innovation-related investments support sustainability objectives compared to 2025.
Learn more about why innovation is an important part of sustainability.
Human Rights
Domtar has a longstanding commitment to human rights. However, we recognize the need to expand our focus beyond our operations to elevate performance throughout our value chain.
Building on our existing due diligence practices — such as periodic supplier assessments — we are reinforcing our safeguards to protect labor and human rights, safe work conditions and absence of abuse, including child and forced labor across our supply network.
Our targets include:
- By 2026, we will establish a global human rights policy aligned with international standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- By 2030, we will conduct comprehensive human rights risk assessments across our value chain and implement measures to mitigate identified risks.
Partnerships and Accountability
Meeting our Responsible Business goals requires strong partnerships — especially with organizations that challenge us, support us and help us continuously improve.
We’re proud to collaborate with organizations such as the American Forest Foundation, where we support biodiversity efforts and small forest landowners, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, whose research helps guide conservation decisions.
Through this objective, we aim to build shared value, strengthen resilience and foster mutual trust in collaboration with customers, academia, NGOs and other partners. We commit to:
- Increasing stakeholder trust levels compared to 2025 benchmarks.
- Achieving our 2030 sustainability targets while maintaining a high level of ambition, even in the face of obstacles.
Responsible Business Powers Our Sustainability Ambitions
The three pillars of our Sustainability Strategy — Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities, and Responsible Business — are more than corporate goals. They represent our shared responsibility to improve outcomes related to ethics, sustainable leadership, innovation, human rights, partnerships and accountability in order to protect our people, our business and our planet.
“This strategy is essential to our success going forward,” says John D. Williams, Non-Executive Chairman of Domtar’s Management Board. “We live in uncertain times — from climate change to geopolitical shifts. What this moment requires of companies, communities and individuals is resilience.”
He continues, “We are absolutely committed to the goals we’ve set. But we are also committed to learning and adapting as we grow, to course correct as we may need to, and to refine our strategy over time. And the systematic stakeholder engagement that this strategy was built on will be maintained so that as stakeholders’ needs and priorities evolve, our strategy will evolve with them.”
Learn more:
- Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy
- Domtar Sustainability Strategy Overview Video
- Our Sustainability Strategy: A Commitment to Environmental Stewardship
- Our Sustainability Strategy: Our People and Communities
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