The Sappi Cloquet Mill in Northern Minnesota, USA, has completed an external environmental-management verification process, making it one of the first dissolving pulp factories to do so.

The mill, which makes Verve dissolving pulp, received a final score of more than 80% on the Higg Facility Environmental Management (FEM) verification audit, indicating that its environmental procedures are sound.

Tom Radovich, managing director of Sappi North America’s Cloquet mill, said that they’re excited about the SAC Higg FEM findings for their Verve product as a global leader in dissolving pulp manufacturing. The Cloquet mill has always been an important element of their environmental stewardship and sustainability efforts, and they'll keep looking for ways to improve their position.

Cloquet also achieved a perfect score in energy, water, and wastewater management, indicating that the mill is a model of resource efficiency and emissions control.

Sappi's Ngodwana and Saiccor Mills in South Africa have completed a self-assessment of the Higg Facility Social and Labour Module (FSLM), with positive results.

Verve dissolving pulp is produced primarily for the textile and absorbent hygiene product (AHP) sectors at the mills.

The Higg FSLM is one of a suite of tools developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAP) that allows manufacturing facilities in the textile value chain to assess themselves against a set of standards in areas such as recruitment and hiring, working hours, wages, and benefits, worker treatment, worker involvement, health and safety, termination, and management systems.

Mohamed Mansoor, Sappi Pulp executive vice president said that Verve is taking decisive steps to increase the transparency and traceability of the supply chain that they serve. Creating a common language through industry benchmarking, such as the Higg FSLM, is critical for identifying priority focus areas and ensuring accountability. He is encouraged by the findings of the self-assessment, which continue to highlight Verve as a preferred fiber, and is looking forward to their operations participating in the verification audit next year.

Sappi Limited is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and employs over 12,000 people across three continents, with 10 manufacturing locations in Europe, four in North America, and five in South Africa. It has customers in more than 150 countries, and its dissolving pulp products are utilized by converters all over the world to make viscose fiber, pharmaceuticals, and a variety of other household and consumer goods.