Cascades ranks among World's Top 100 sustainable companies

Toronto-based Corporate Knights, renowned for its contribution to promoting "clean capitalism," has just released its annual list of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. The list, which follows an in-depth analysis of over 7,000 international organizations with revenues exceeding $1 billion, has ranked Quebec-based Cascades in the top 50. 

In keeping with tradition, the announcement was made on the sidelines of World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Cascades, the Kingsey Falls, Quebec-based sustainable packaging and tissue products producer,  is pleased to announce that it has ranked as number 49 among this select group of companies that are committed to best practices in the environmental, social and governance arenas. Adding to this recognition is the fact that Cascades is the only containers and packaging company on the list and is one of 12 Canadian businesses.

"Cascades has always been proactive in communicating its results in a transparent manner. As early as 1996, we were disclosing our environmental and social data in our annual report. With our stakeholders in mind, we have been increasing the number of ESG projects over the years, and our results have been steadily improving. We are pleased that our efforts are paying off, and that they are also earning recognition from various third parties and through acknowledgments such as the Global 100 list. We are very proud of this achievement," said Mario Plourde, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades. Besides winning a number of social responsibility and sustainable development awards, Cascades has consistently ranked among Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada since 2007.

According to Toby Heaps, CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights, "companies that put social responsibility and sustainable development at the core of their business model and their thinking endure over time and do better than their competitors. These are the conclusions that can be drawn from the description of companies found on the Global 100 list since 2005."

Delighted with this news, Alain Lemaire, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and co-founder of Cascades, said, "I am very pleased with the things we achieve every day and the positive contribution we have made to the industry over the past 55 years. We work upstream to ensure quality input materials from suppliers who share the same values as us. Our dedicated teams are continually improving our processes, and our products are developed with the aim of reducing their environmental footprint to ensure that our customers are satisfied. For us, acting and behaving responsibly is always the right thing to do."

What makes this nomination remarkable 

A variety of governance elements make it possible for Cascades to stand out: diversity on its board of directors, a high percentage of clean revenues from the sale of eco-friendly products, the CEO-to-employee pay ratio, and the inclusion of sustainable development objectives in performance evaluation.