Verso Paper, a supplier of coated mechanical paper, has received the Large Company Award by the American Forest & Paper Association.

The award recognizes companies that have “significantly contributed” to advances in the “practical application of new and improved environmental and energy technology,” according to the association. Verso was honored for its “Bucksport Environmental Innovative Partnership” project in Bucksport, Maine.

“By creating new partnerships and developing new methods to improve air quality, Verso’s Bucksport projects slashed emissions, considerably exceeding EPA’s benchmark, and at the same time cut the mill’s water usage and waste output, shrinking its environmental footprint,” AF&PA president and CEO Donna Harman said in a statement.

The project began when Verso’s mill in Bucksport reached an agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency to identify and implement a series of plant-wide emissions reduction initiatives as a substitute for previously mandated air emissions control equipment for a gas turbine on the property. Verso says the initiatives, including improvements made to the facility’s paper machines, reduced nitrogen oxide emissions by 30 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions by 54 percent and water usage by 8 percent.

The project cost $4.3 million, but Verso expects the improvements to save the company $1.3 million annually.