Resolute Forest Products Now World’s Largest Manager of Forest Stewardship Council(R) Certified Forests
TORONTO and MONTREAL, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Resolute Forest
Products (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are
pleased to announce that Resolute has become the largest manager of
Forest Stewardship Council(®) (FSC(®)) certified forests in the world.
The Company recently certified 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres)
of forestlands in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec to the FSC Boreal
Standard. This certification raises the total area of Resolute-managed
FSC-certified forests in North America to 10.3 million hectares (25.6
million acres), an area twice the size of Nova Scotia and larger than
Portugal, Hungary or South Korea.
“Becoming the world’s largest FSC holder is a major milestone in our
efforts to become a positive force for sustainability within the forest
products industry,” stated Richard Garneau, Resolute’s President and
Chief Executive Officer. “Resolute’s growing commitment to FSC
complements other key sustainability initiatives, including the
Company’s membership in WWF’s Climate Savers Program, which helps
companies set and achieve ambitious emission reduction targets, as well
as membership in the landmark Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.”
FSC is an international certification and labelling system dedicated to
promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. Co-founded in
Canada by WWF in 1993, FSC works to promote environmentally
appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of
the world’s forests. FSC is an important example of how environmental
organizations and businesses can work together to conserve important
regions and wildlife while ensuring long-term success for industry.
“WWF congratulates Resolute for their FSC-certification achievement,”
said Gerald Butts, President and Chief Executive Officer, WWF-Canada.
“This success, coupled with their commitment to the Climate Savers
program, shows the value and importance of making conservation a
business priority, and the critical role that corporations can and must
play in addressing the major environmental challenges we are facing
today.”
Under the WWF Climate Savers Program, Resolute has pledged to reduce its
absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent below 2000 levels by
2015. Resolute also made a series of other commitments as part of its
Climate Savers membership, including increasing its FSC certification
to 80 percent by 2015. With the latest certification, Resolute has
passed the halfway point in delivering on its 80 percent commitment.
“Resolute Forest Products has long played an important role in the
Ontario forest products industry. Certainly this is a tremendous
milestone for Resolute and we are proud of their ongoing commitment to
sustainable forest management practices,” stated Michael Gravelle,
Ontario Minister of Natural Resources. “I want to personally
congratulate all the employees of Resolute on this accomplishment, and
I look forward to continuing our close working relationship with the
Company as we strengthen the sector together.”
Resolute will continue working to protect the forests entrusted to its
care and to improve its overall sustainability performance, enhancing
its reputation as an environmental supplier of choice. Resolute is
committed to the three pillars of sustainability – environmental,
social and economic.
Resolute Forest Products previously operated as AbitibiBowater.
Information about the certifications can be found at www.info.fsc.org under the name AbiBow. The most recent certification is under license
code FSC(®) C108950.
WWF
WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges
facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive (www.wwf.ca). WWF Climate Savers was founded in 1999 to engage businesses in
establishing ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets and voluntarily
and creatively working to reduce emissions. Leading corporations have
established ambitious targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
voluntarily. By increasing efficiency, Climate Savers companies are
saving hundreds of millions of dollars, proving that protecting the
environment is sound business practice (www.wwf.ca/about_us/business/climate_savers).
Resolute Forest Products
Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products
industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint,
commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company
owns or operates 21 pulp and paper mills and 22 wood products
facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its
products in more than 90 countries, Resolute has third-party certified
100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management
standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock
symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange.
Resolute and other member companies of the Forest Products Association
of Canada, as well as a number of environmental organizations, are
partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The group works to
identify solutions to conservation issues that meet the goal of
balancing equally the three pillars of sustainability linked to human
activities: environmental, social and economic. Resolute is also a
member of the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program, in which
businesses establish ambitious targets to voluntarily reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and work aggressively toward achieving them.
SOURCE RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS INC.
