With the celebration of Earth Day on April 22, Sappi Fine Paper North America on April 21 announced that it will continue supporting Living Lands & Waters in 2009 and reaffirmed its commitment to operating sustainably.
As part of Sappi Fine Paper North America's corporate sponsorships, since 2007, the company has supported Living Lands & Waters, a non-profit, environmental organization focused on the protection, preservation and restoration of America's major rivers and their watersheds. Last year, Sappi and Living Lands & Waters co-organized and participated in river cleanups in Louisville, Ky., and this year, Sappi will invite employees and customers to participate in future cleanups to be held in the Midwest, which is where the organization is based. With Sappi's support in 2008, Living Lands & Waters' activities included removing 250 tons of garbage from America's rivers; reaching over 2,500 educators and students through educational workshops and in-school presentations; and cultivating over 338,000 viable acorns in their nursery as part of their MillionTrees Project.
"Sappi Fine Paper North America is pleased to continue its corporate sponsorship of Living Lands & Waters, for it is an environmental organization that is truly remarkable in its mission and its grassroots approach to cleaning up our nation's rivers and watersheds. Our support for Living Lands & Waters is just one of the many ways that Sappi is demonstrating our ongoing commitment to sustainability," said Jennifer Miller, executive vice president of marketing and communications, Sappi Fine Paper North America.
Sustainability is fundamental to Sappi Fine Paper North America's corporate strategy and below are highlights of some of its sustainability initiatives:
Triple chain of custody certification: As of February 2008, each of Sappi's coated fine paper mills in North America – Somerset Mill, Muskegon Mill and Cloquet Mill – have triple chain of custody certifications to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) programs, and renewed certification to the 2005-2009 SFI Standard, which was first achieved in 2004. In addition, the Cloquet and Somerset Mills are also certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiatives' Fiber Sourcing program. All certifications were achieved through independent third-party audits managed by Bureau Veritas.
Offering products with post-consumer waste fiber: Sappi Fine Paper North America's coated fine paper mills use recycled fiber derived from post-consumer waste (PCW) to make Sappi papers available with 10 to 30 percent PCW.
Limiting contribution to greenhouse gases: Sappi Fine Paper North America is committed to reducing energy consumption and the use of fossil fuels in order to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases. More than 75 percent of all energy used in Sappi's North American mills comes from renewable resources including hydroelectric power, and the burning of biomass and black liquor. Sappi's environmental initiatives at its mills have resulted in a 30 percent decrease per ton in CO2 emissions across all Sappi Fine Paper North America manufacturing sites from 2004 to 2008. The Cloquet Mill is certified by the Center for Resource Solutions as a Green-e provider. One-hundred percent of the electricity used in the manufacturing of McCoy, Opus sheets with 30 percent post-consumer waste (PCW), Opus web with 30 percent PCW and LOE, is certified renewable energy that is generated onsite by Sappi.
Commitment to the communities where the company work: Sappi Fine Paper North America's sites build strong community relationships and donate and/or volunteer at local non-profit organizations, which include supporting programs in education, youth at risk and AIDS prevention.
Achieving ISO 14001:2004 certification: The environmental management systems at Sappi's coated fine paper mills in North America are certified to the ISO 14001:2004 standard – the internationally accepted standard used to demonstrate an organization's commitment to the environment.
About Sappi Fine Paper North America
Sappi Fine Paper North America (SFPNA) is a leading North American producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Boston, Sappi Fine Paper North America is known for innovation and quality. Its brand names, including McCoy, LOE, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are some of the industry's most widely recognized and specified. SFPNA is a division of Sappi Limited, a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in nine countries, sales offices in 50 countries, and customers in more than 100 countries around the world.
