Atlanta— Georgia-Pacific’s consistent collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency has led to two facilities becoming the first Energy Star certified mills of their type in the United States, and seven others achieving industry-leading energy reductions.

The most recent mill to be recognized is the Port Hudson paper mill in Zachary, Louisiana. It earned Energy Star Challenge Achiever for Industry, a global call-to-action for industrial sites to reduce their energy intensity by 10 percent within five years. By decreasing water, electricity, and compressed air usage and installing a more efficient natural gas boiler, Port Hudson went above that mark in just two years – reducing its energy intensity by 18.5 percent.

Port Hudson joins other GP locations in earning Energy Star Challenge Achiever status, including operations at Palatka, Florida; Muskogee, Oklahoma; Brewton, Alabama, Camas, Washington, Green Bay (Broadway), Wisconsin, and Green Bay (Day Street), Wisconsin.

In 2021, the EPA announced that the GP mill in Brewton also was the first integrated pulp and paper mill in the United States to achieve Energy Star certification. The Leaf River cellulose mill in New Augusta, Mississippi, was the first pulp mill in the country to attain such status.

“This work is about more than just earning an award – it demonstrates the mutual benefit that can be achieved when the private industry works collaboratively with the EPA to meet very challenging criteria to improve the environment and the local community and better serve our customers,” said Traylor Champion, Georgia-Pacific’s senior vice president-environmental affairs.“

The continued cooperation between the EPA and GP demonstrates the company’s commitment to being good stewards, starting with how we govern ourselves, comply with laws and regulations, and work collaboratively and transparently with regulators.

“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s buildings is critical to protecting our environment,” said Cindy Jacobs, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. “From the boiler room to the board room, organizations like Georgia-Pacific and Koch Industries are leading the way by making their operations more efficient and earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.”

These accomplishments contributed to Georgia-Pacific’s parent organization, Koch Industries, receiving its second-consecutive designation as an EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year. For more information on Koch's stewardship work, visit https://www.kochind.com/stewardship.