Climate Change   

MWV’s commitment to sustainability extends from our corporate offices to our global manufacturing operations. We are meeting our responsibility by developing innovative new processes that make our operations more efficient and reduce our carbon footprint.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint measures the total impact of a company’s operations on the climate. It consists of the greenhouse gases, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e), that are released into the atmosphere through the combustion of fossil fuels, chiefly coal, oil and natural gas. Carbon emissions enter the atmosphere either directly from the burning of fossil fuels, or indirectly from the generation of electricity.             

How is a carbon footprint calculated?

A carbon footprint is typically expressed as metric tons (tonnes) of CO₂e, or tonnes of carbon emitted, usually on an annual basis. Customers also look for information on the carbon footprint of specific products and solutions. MWV currently measures its direct and indirect CO₂ emissions of its significant manufacturing facilities, and is evaluating different methodologies to identify the measuring system that best meets the needs of our customers.

Our commitment to lowering emissions

We are fulfilling our responsibility to lower emissions through our voluntary, legally binding commitment to reduce direct carbon dioxide equivalents by 6 percent from a 1998-2001 baseline by the end of 2010 through our participation in the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Further, MWV is committed to do its part toward our trade association American Forest & Paper Association's Climate VISION commitment to a 12 percent reduction in relative CO₂ emissions ("intensity") between 2000 and the end of 2012 for major production facilities. We share with investors our progress through such organizations as SAM for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, and the Carbon Disclosure Project, where we have publicly participated since the S&P 500 were invited to CDP4.

MWV is working on many levels to reduce greenhouse gases. We use carbon neutral, renewable biomass based by-products for 67 percent of all energy requirements at our significant U.S. manufacturing facilities. We self- or co-generate 72 percent of the total electricity required by our U.S. integrated paper mills, of which 73 percent is derived from renewable sources.

Actively reducing carbon dioxide emissions allows us to lessen our use of fossil fuels.  We evaluate our new capital projects to ensure that we will meet our CO₂ reduction goals, and fund projects to reduce energy costs and CO₂ emissions.  We also develop and use products that reduce carbon dioxide emissions, including the wood-based carbon products from our Specialty Chemicals business.

Read our carbon dioxide emissions metrics

To learn more about MWV's carbon dioxide emissions, read our 2010 carbon dioxide emissions metrics report  (PDF).