How Sappi strengthens local economies in North America

While we strive to make the most of every tree, we also strive to enhance the broader health of the communities where our mills are located. In North America specifically, the economic benefit of our mills goes well beyond the direct jobs they provide. 

In 2019, Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute described ripple effects that spread to the rest of the labour market: “Each industry has backward linkages to economic sectors that provide the materials needed for the industry’s output and forward linkages to the economic sectors where the industry’s workers spend their income.” These ripple effects are much more pronounced in manufacturing-sector jobs than for those in other sectors. 

Josh calculates employment multipliers by industry and estimates that 100 jobs directly in pulp, paper, and paperboard mills support 468 indirect jobs in related industries (such as logging and transportation) and 218 in service industries (such as restaurants and shops) where the workers and supplier employees spend their income.

In the rural regions where we operate, these numbers have real meaning. The mills are an essential part of the economic health of a much larger community. Sandy Taft, Director Sustainability, explains:

"This idea, of being part of something much larger than a mill that employs 700 plus employees...that excites me and makes me think differently about how I approach my job everyday."