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Sustainability

Sustainability Timeline
Georgia-Pacific works to create products that improve people's lives, to use resources wisely, actively engage in our communities, and contribute to society by being a prosperous business. We call it being sustainable.

We start with the three dimensions of sustainability - social, environmental and economic performance - and strive to find the right balance among them to help create long-term value for our customers, for society and for our company.

Georgia-Pacific has a long history of practicing sustainability. Here are some examples of our key activities and accomplishments over time. Some activities represent more than one dimension of sustainability.
1930s  |  1940s  |  1950s  |  1960s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s  |  2000s  |  all

2000
Harmon Logo Harmon Associates expands its recovered fiber trading business into Europe. The company trades 2.7 million tons of recovered paper this year.
Recycled Paper Georgia-Pacific requires all its wood and fiber suppliers to use loggers trained in sustainable forestry practices.
Georgia-Pacific's sales exceed $20 billion for the first time.
The company marks its 10-year partnership with the St. Croix International Waterway Commission with the release of 750 adult Atlantic salmon into Maine's St. Croix River.
Lumber Georgia-Pacific develops a quantification model (GPCARB©) to help estimate the amount of carbon sequestered in forest products in use. The model is accepted by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations.
GP announces a $3 million gift over three years to support The Nature Conservancy's conservation efforts in the United States as part of its Last Great Places program.
Food Cartons The company implements its Product Hazard Analysis and Control (PHAC™) management system to facilitate compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other product safety and environmental regulations as well as with customer and company requirements.
2002
Enmotion Dispenser Georgia-Pacific introduces the enMotion® ”touchless“ towel dispenser. By controlling the amount of towels dispensed, it reduces waste at the source as well as improves hygiene for consumers.
clouds GP develops a protocol for compiling greenhouse gas inventories for the company’s manufacturing facilities and subsequently completes its first inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from company facilities for the year 2000; the inventory will be conducted every other year.
Harmon Associates begins to trade recovered fiber in Mexico and Latin America.
Easy Nap Newly launched EasyNap® dispenser napkins reduce usage and waste by 30 percent compared with other standard products.
2003
Innovation Institute GP’s packaging group opens the Innovation Institute, a package design and innovation lab that helps customers identify and reduce supply chain costs, optimize package designs, and measure sustainability factors.
Lite Logging Georgia-Pacific’s wood and fiber procurement group introduces Low Impact Thinning and Logging (LITE) for its timber suppliers. This enables them to log in the winter while minimizing the environmental effects of harvesting in wet weather.
2004
Nitamin Logo The company introduces Nitamin® fertilizers. The Steady Delivery® nitrogen release helps achieve higher crop yields and grows strong turf while applying less nitrogen than commonly used quick-release fertilizers. This reduces nitrogen loss that can impact streams and rivers.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Georgia-Pacific as the first company in its new Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Corporate Pilot. The VPP Corporate Pilot was designed to streamline the VPP application and onsite evaluation processes for corporations that have made a commitment to VPP.
Quilted Northern Ultra GP‘s Quilted Northern® bath tissue brand becomes a national sponsor of the Komen Race for the Cure® Series and a partner with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, which helps fund research to find a cure for breast cancer.
Russellville Facility The Russellville, S.C., chemical facility becomes the first GP facility to be accepted into the U.S. EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track program. Performance Track is a voluntary program that recognizes and rewards businesses and public facilities that demonstrate a strong commitment to environmental performance.
Rebuilding Together GP employees help repair dozens of homes for low-income elderly and disabled people through a partnership with Rebuilding Together and the PGA Grand Champions Tour.
2005
The company joins the Green Power Market Development Group, a collaboration of leading corporations and the World Resources Institute dedicated to building corporate markets for green power.
Pine Trees Georgia-Pacific‘s wood and fiber procurement group enters a partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to field test FSC standards and programs on private family forest lands in the South.
Three GP chemical facilities - Albany, Ore.; Columbus, Ohio; and Vienna, Ga. - are accepted into the U.S. EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track program.
Catalyst Award GP receives the prestigious Catalyst Award for its recruitment, development and advancement of women.
2006
Trucks GP develops a system that enables it to maximize truckload weights for its shipments of gypsum and wood products. The trucks still meet weight limits but can carry 5 to 10 percent more product per truckload, reducing vehicle miles traveled and the resulting environmental impact.
Impact Awards The Georgia-Pacific Impact Awards are created to recognize employee volunteers across the country for their leadership, initiative, innovation and impact in their communities.
Georgia-Pacific‘s Conway, N.C., chemical facility is accepted into the U.S. EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program, the fifth GP chemical facility in the program.
Thermostat Radiant Barrier The company introduces Thermostat® Radiant Barrier Sheathings, plywood and oriented strand board panels with a layer of highly reflective aluminum foil that reflects up to 97 percent of radiant heat. The panels are Energy Star® qualified.
Bucket Bridage The Georgia-Pacific Bucket Brigade is launched. The program awards grants to fire departments in GP communities to help provide the materials firefighters need to protect their communities and educate the public. Hundreds of GP employees are volunteer firefighters in their communities.
Selected GP fiberglass mat gypsum wallboard products are certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute as low-emitting building materials, making them products of choice for helping improve indoor air quality in homes, schools, healthcare facilities and offices.
YEATL logo The company establishes Youth Entrepreneurs of Atlanta® in two of the city's high schools. The program provides high school students with business and entrepreneurial education and hands-on experiences that will help them succeed in the marketplace and in life.
Tree Planting GP and the National Wild Turkey Federation are awarded a grant to work on a longleaf pine restoration project on a total of 7,000 acres of land in the Southeast over three years.
2007
Harmon Plastic Recycling Harmon Associates expands into recycling plastic and metal for its customers. In addition, the company expands its presence to serve the growing recycling market in India.
Green by Design Georgia-Pacific Professional begins showcasing the environmental benefits of its products using its Green by Design™ designation. These products support the U.S. EPA‘s strategy of reduce, reuse and recycle.
Georgia-Pacific names its first chief sustainability officer, recognizing the increasing importance of sustainability to the success of the company and to customer relationships.
Smile Logo The company‘s European business launches the “Smile” initiative in the United Kingdom and Ireland featuring tissue and towel products for the public sector that are made of 100 percent UK and Ireland sourced waste and recovered fiber. As part of the initiative, the business pledges to eliminate any net contribution to local landfills by recycling the same tonnage of waste fiber that it supplies to the public sector as washroom paper products.
2008
Truck on Highway Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products joins the SmartWay Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing air pollution.
SDSI logo GP’s consumer products group is recognized by the U.S. EPA as a Champion in its Design for the Environment Program’s Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI). The program recognizes environmental leaders who voluntarily commit to the use of safer surfactants that break down quickly to non-polluting compounds and help protect aquatic life in both fresh and salt water. Champion is the highest level of recognition offered under SDSI.
GP’s Angel Soft® brand bath tissue becomes the company’s first “billion-dollar brand,” with retail sales of more than $1 billion in one 52-week period.
VPP logo With six more facilities accepted into OSHA‘s VPP during the year, GP now has more than 80 in the program, which recognizes the efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.
Georgia-Pacific's consumer products retail business is named Supplier of the Year by Walmart, its top customer, in recognition of GP's level of service and business growth with the retailer. Walmart recognized the group's performance in its Consumables Division as well as in Department 4, which includes products representing thousands of brand name and private label suppliers.
2009
SFI awards Georgia-Pacific receives the Sustainable Forestry Initiative's® (SFI®) 2009 President's Award for its efforts to increase understanding of SFI's fiber sourcing program and how it supports family forest owners across the United States.
SmartWay award The U.S. EPA names Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products a SmartWaySM Excellence Award winner, recognizing the company for its leadership in promoting sustainable transportation practices through the SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Leaf Logo Georgia-Pacific Chemicals launches a new line of low-emission adhesives called LEAF™ adhesives. These products are designed to help in complying with a variety of green building standards. The first products in this line are designed for particleboard and medium density fiberboard used in furniture paneling, cabinetry and other products with composite wood parts.