Domtar Corporation is one of the largest and most innovative
paper companies in the world. Our company, PrintEco, is a two-year-old software
startup with a mission to help save paper and ink and protect the environment.
So when we announced our partnership with Domtar at SB ’13 in June, a lot of
our friends were like, “Congratulations! Wait ... a paper company?” Admittedly,
we’re a bit of an odd couple — but working with Domtar has taught us a lot
about branding and about sustainable business in general. Here’s what we’ve
learned: Domtar brands itself “The
sustainable paper company.” Sounds nice, but isn’t that an oxymoron? Turns out,
not in Domtar’s case. The company
commits more resources to sustainability initiatives than you can imagine,
including: Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC®) certification at 100% of its
facilities, over a decade of collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance, Contribution
of over $1 million to World Wildlife Fund’s global conservation work over the
past three years, donation of a year’s supply of Domtar EarthChoice® Office
Paper to Recyclebank’s Green Schools Program. These programs provide a solid
operational backbone for Domtar’s sustainability messaging and give the brand
team plenty of specific achievements to share with its audience. Between
environmental issues and advances in paperless technology, the future of the
pulp and paper industry is fraught with uncertainty. If people stop printing
they won’t need PrintEco software, so the future of paper is important to us,
and a topic that we were glad to borrow Domtar’s expertise in considering. Such
a dynamic industry environment creates an opportunity for brands such as Domtar
to be proactive in guiding the evolution of their industry, rather than being
reactive. Domtar launched its Paper
Because campaign to educate people about the responsible use of paper. The
campaign website tells you, “Paper has value. It’s sustainable, personal and
purposeful — and the more we know about it, the more we can understand how to
make smart choices about when and how to use it.” Sound like some cheesy
marketing fluff? That’s what I thought, until I read some of the articles and
actually learned a lot about paper — while taking intermittent breaks to laugh
at some of their hilarious paper videos. ‘Ok,’ I thought, ‘responsible paper
use. I’m onboard.’ But I’m willing to say that the decision by Domtar
leadership to partner with PrintEco is a game-changer. People who use PrintEco
software will buy less paper, and that’s the bottom line. To me, the
partnership is Domtar’s way of saying, ‘We’re committed to sustainability, and
we’re willing to stake today’s profits on it for the sake of tomorrow’s
customers and our brand.’
