Life cycle assessment

Life Cycle Assessment

Environment / Life Cycle Assessment

Taking count of our impact

Cascades’ small footprint is impressive. But don’t take our word for it. We are proud to share the results.

Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA, is a scientific method that assesses the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. During each product life stage, energy and resources are expended and emissions are generated that negatively impact the environment. An LCA seeks to quantify these impacts.

Science speaks out

  • ROLLAND ENVIRO100 has the lowest environmental footprint when compared to Rolland Opaque50 and to North American Virgin and Recycled papers
  • ROLLAND OPAQUE50 has a lower environmental impact than the North American industry average for Virgin and Recycled papers

The energy type used during paper
manufacturing, electric as well as
thermal, has a significant effect on
Human Health. Coal and other fossil
fuels affect Climate Change and emit
fine particles that affect the respiratory
system.

Cascades Rolland mill uses biogas,
a local and renewable energy that
fulfills 93% of thermal energy needs.
Resulting from waste decomposition
in landfills, the methane generated
by the waste is collected and
transported by pipeline to the mill.

Virgin pulp manufacturing requires
wood extraction, which directly
impacts forest ecosystems. Forests
are home to a large variety of animal
and plant species and their
ecosystem suffer greatly from the
extraction of wood, even within
forests awarded a certification for
good forest management practices.

The use of chlorine and its derivatives
during the bleaching process
permanently impacts our
ecosystems. Green alternatives
such as hydrogen peroxide are
available to address these issues
and Cascades is proud to produce
chlorine-free papers.

Damage to natural resources results
mainly from the depletion of non-
renewable fossil fuels and minerals,
which cannot be produced, grown,
generated, or are consumed much
faster than nature can create them.
In contrast, resources such as trees
are renewable as they will grow
back when harvested sustainably.

For Cascades, energy is supplied by
biogas and hydroelectricity, neither
of which requires the use of Non-
Renewable Resources as they are
sourced from waste and water.

Energy type is the main influence for
Climate Change, both for pulp and for
paper manufacturing. Biogas and
hydroelectricity, the primary energy
used in the Rolland mill, produce
little-to-no carbon emissions as they
are sourced from waste and water.

But, we are not carbon neutral…
as it’s impossible! All manufacturing
generates carbon, but what’s important
is to minimize these emissions as
much as possible. Fine papers made
by Cascades have one of the lowest
carbon emission levels in the industry,
an all without the need to purchase
offsets to balance our carbon footprint.