138 | Business World Magazine |
Aug/Sep 2013
Some five years ago, the town of Grand Falls-
Windsor endured the closing of a pulp and
paper mill which not only served as a critical
resource in the supply of local products, but
also representedone of the community’s lead-
ing suppliers of jobs. The economic impact
was exacerbated by the great recession which
followed, and while situations like this have
decimated communities throughout North
America, in Grand Falls-Windsor, the chal-
lenge was viewed as an opportunity to revi-
talize. The implementation of that strategy
has not only allowed Grand Falls-Windsor
to weather the storm, but standout as a true
success story on sustainability.
“The mill closing was not unexpected, but
the businesses that supplied the mill felt it,”
says Director of Engineering and Works, Jeff
Saunders. “What’s interesting is we lose a
major employer, but things rebound as op-
posed to implode.”
From an action standpoint, Grand Falls-
Windsor focused their sustainability efforts
towards the creation of new industries. A
consistent local industry of mining, a com-
munity driven salmon project spearheaded,
