In Canada, Domtar, a leading pulp and paper manufacturing company, is expanding its products from wood pulp and remnants into other biomaterials. Shabnam Sanaei, project manager in Domtar’s biomaterials division, told Sustainable Brands that Domtar has identified hundreds of possible new product offerings and the toughest part is deciding what to pursue. In order to make it easier, Domtar uses a customized decision-making tool that Sanaei developed to rank all the opportunities for sustainability and commercial appeal.
Sanaei told Sustainable Brands “Domtar’s leaders care a lot about sustainability and developing a robust, sustainable future with an eye toward biomaterials. But some in the forestry industry are risk averse and that will be a challenge for them. While we are dealing with emerging technologies and there is risk involved, we also understand that those who take the risk tend to eventually reap the rewards.”