Certified Fibre Chain of Custody

For those customers to whom environmental sustainability is a key concern, we offer some paper products that contain certified fibre as coming from either sustainability managed forests (under recognized management standards) or from verified post consumer waste sources. We can make these claims because we track our fibre supply through independently verified Chain of Custody systems.

We have implemented chain of custody systems at all of our mills either under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standard. Both of these programs help identify the pedigree of fibre used in our paper products.

Our Canadian operations use both the PEFC standard and FSC standard that ensure fibre comes from well managed forests under SFI/CSA or FSC forestry standards respectively. Our Snowflake recycled mill in Arizona uses the FSC standard that ensure that the majority of the paper fibre is sourced from verified post consumer waste.

Our Chain of Custody systems for fibre sourcing are important to us for the following key reasons:

• As a strong proponent of forest management certification, we are committed to sourcing certified fibre for our products.
• We place a high value on the conservation of sensitive forest ecosystems.
• Independent certification helps link our values with those of our customers and environmental partners, such as the World Wildlife Fund.
• Independent certification provides us with a valuable tool to assure customers that our paper contains wood fibre derived from well-managed forests.
• These chain of custody systems complement other efforts, including annual declarations from fibre suppliers, which ensure our fibre purchases promote forest stewardship.

Our customers often place importance on being able to broadcast the pedigree of the paper they use for their finished products. These systems allow on product labeling using the PEFC, SFI or FSC label standards.