A Leadership Challenge
Several weeks ago, I posted a blog titled “The Kraft Lignin Market No Longer Presents a ‘Chicken or Egg’ Paradox.” I suspect that article may have offended some people working in product development. If my words came across more harshly than I intended, I apologize. But I also make no apology for raising the issue. I call things as I see them. In this week's blog, I want to offer another unique, perhaps unconventional, perspective on the challenges we face in the forest products and biomaterials industry.
I was recently contacted by a senior-level executive in the R&D sector who made a comment along these lines:
“Biomaterials such as lignin would not be possible without pulp and paper mills, and as such, pulp and paper processing needs to take priority over biomaterials.”
I listened politely. There is, of course, some truth in the statement. Kraft lignin is produced by the kraft pulping process. Without kraft pulp mills, there is no kraft lignin. But the more I thought about the comment, the more it bothered me, not because he was technically correct about it, but because of the assumption behind it. It struck me as the kind of thinking that can easily become arrogance.
“The pulp and paper industry can no longer afford arrogance.”
Over the past two decades, hundreds of pulp and paper mills across North America and Europe have closed. History continues to demonstrate, time and again, that no industry is granted the right to remain economically relevant forever. For this reason, I applaud pulp and paper executives who are willing to seriously investigate biomaterials – the leaders who recognize something important: the mill of the future may need to derive substantially more value from a tree than what is produced through pulp and paper sales.
Yes, the biomaterials industry needs pulp mills. But the continuing closure of mills tells us something else: pulp mills need new sources of value. I have spent most of my career around the pulp and paper industry, and I have tremendous respect for the people who operate the mills. But respect for the past should never become complacency about the future. To quote Bob Dylan, “The times they are a changin'.”
Mills still derive the overwhelming majority of their revenue from pulp and paper production, and the continuing closure of mills demonstrates the weaknesses of that traditional model. Biomaterials such as lignin, meanwhile, have been slow to make a meaningful impact on a mill's bottom line. Shareholders continue to press CEOs for returns. Capital is limited. Markets are uncertain. The challenges seem endless.
So what's the answer?
I assert that, as an industry, we simply do not know the formula that will solve the major problems the pulp, paper, and biomaterial industry faces. This isn’t a concession; perhaps it is humility – a quality we all need. Isn’t it interesting that we routinely find ourselves in exactly the same position in our personal lives? We encounter job loss, financial problems, health issues, broken relationships, addiction, and countless other circumstances in which we simply don't know what to do. For many of us, there comes a point when we turn to the Lord for help. (because nothing else seems to work) Why, then, shouldn’t we do the same thing with our work when the answers and challenges are seemingly insurmountable?
Perhaps our industry leadership challenge isn’t to discover the next lignin-based product or technology. Perhaps the challenge lies with leaders who demonstrate humility, admit they don’t have all the answers, and that they need our prayers.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” — Philippians 4:6
