Happy Global Biotech Week! Biotechnology is helping our operations improve their environmental footprint and efficiency.  

At Lake Utopia Paper in St. George, a $28.8 million investment in innovative New Brunswick biotechnology has helped to reduce greenhouse gases by 25%.  The new facility turns organic wastewater into clean renewable biogas.  In addition, the mill has worked to reduce solid waste by 28% (2017-2018).

Having looked at several international suppliers, the best technology, solution was homegrown in New Brunswick from ADI Group, based in Fredericton. "When it came time to replace our previous environmental treatment facility, we looked at several different technologies before landing on ADI. It has been virtually a one-button start and a dream to operate." says Mark Mosher, Vice President of Irving Pulp and Paper Division. "This technology hit all the key criteria we were looking for around energy conservation, climate change, long-term environmental improvements and reducing our carbon footprint."

“This is a brand-new state of the art facility, that will serve Lake Utopia Paper for the long term,” said Rick Wasson, Manager of Technical Operations. “It will provide stability to the environmental system to ensure we are always meeting and exceeding our compliance obligations.”

The team at Lake Utopia Paper completed this project on time and on budget while achieving a world class safety record and production record for 2017. In January of 2019, Lake Utopia Paper earned Natural Resources magazine's 2019 Industry Excellence Award in Environmental Stewardship.   The mill employs a team of over 140 in the production of corrugated medium, which is used to make boxes.

 Since 2004, JDI has been composting 100% of organic residuals from our Irving Pulp & Paper site. The recycled materials are used by farmers on their fields. By using Lime and Ash residuals, farmers have saved more than $17 Million!

"This is a great ’Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ story," said Renée Morais, JDI Environmental Coordinator. “What was once considered a waste destined for the landfills is now reused as a beneficial supplement for agricultural soil enhancement."

The Irving biomass ash is a registered agricultural product, under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulations. The ash is the by-product of green energy biomass boilers at three New Brunswick JDI locations: Irving Pulp & Paper in Saint John, and our sawmills - Grand Lake Timber in Chipman and Scierie Grande Rivière in Saint Leonard.

Since the program began, more than 130,000 tonnes have been diverted from landfills and recycled in soil for beneficial use.

"Science is such a diverse and ever changing field. It challenges the way you think about the world around you and every day provides a chance to learn something new," Pamela Nicks, Propagation Specialist. Pamela Nicks is a Propagation Specialist for Maritime Innovation Limited in Sussex, New Brunswick. She is involved with many of the programs currently running at the lab, including potato plantlet propagation, the somatic embryogenesis program and the endophytic fungi production which aims to improve tree tolerance to insect and disease. 

At our world class Maritime Innovation Limited lab in Sussex, NB,  we are pioneers in  the research, technology and science of growing trees, always focused on making sure we have the strongest, healthiest trees for generations to come.  Through a process called somatic embryogenesis, we can select the best and healthiest naturally growing trees across our region based on a wide range of genetic diversity and produce large numbers of them to be planted in our long standing tree planting program.  We are committed to getting it right, and making sure we are using the best available science to properly regenerate our forest after harvest.   We are also working on science to make sure our trees remain strong and healthy throughout their lifetime by giving them natural protection from devastating insects such as spruce budworm.  

Through long term collaborative science with Carleton University , we have discovered a naturally occurring fungus called an endophytic fungi which helps our spruce trees fend off attacks from spruce budworm.  While the seedlings are growing up in the nursery, we inoculate them with the fungus, giving them a strong start in life.  This discovery has been patented in several countries and is hoped to reduce the use of pesticides into the future.  

Cavendish Farms recently announced the construction of new potato research and plant breeding centre in New Annan, Prince Edward Island. The $6 million investment will feature a state-of-the-art greenhouse and laboratory, which will support the sustainability of the Island’s potato industry.

The facility’s research will be focused on developing high yielding potatoes that can withstand hot dry summers and disease pressures.