Environment

Domtar helps create new model for responsible forest management with group FSC certification

Partnership approach will provide market with more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable paper options
Dec 10, 2012 3:00 PM ET
Campaign: Making a Difference in Environmental Responsibility
Left to right: John Cook, Group Manager for the FSTOA and Harvest Manager, Domtar, Ashdown Mill; Grimm Locke, Managing Partner, Lockwin LTD (FSTOA member); Stacey Locke (Operations Manager, Lockwin LTD); and Digger Pond, Woodyard and Fiber Procurement Manager, Domtar, Ashdown Mill

Ashdown, Ark., December 10, 2012 /3BL Media/ – Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today announced the culmination of a precedent-setting two-year partnership process that saw 55 landowners in the Texarkana area achieve Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC®) group certification.  With the Ashdown Mill’s strong support, the Four States Timberland Owners Association (FSTOA) was successful in receiving FSC Forest Management Certification on 70,000 acres of forestland.

Since Domtar’s first FSC certification of forestland in upper New York State in 2000 and the subsequent formalizing of a collaboration with Rainforest Alliance in 2005, the company has maintained an industry-leading position that now sees it offer North America`s broadest range of FSC certified paper through the EarthChoice® line of papers.  In addition, Domtar has set an ambitious goal of eventually procuring 100% of its fiber from sources that are certified to the FSC standard.

“Working together, we have achieved ‘gold standard’ certification from the ‘gold standard’ certifier, the Rainforest Alliance,” stated Bob Grygotis, General Manager of the Ashdown Mill.  “This is not the end but in fact the beginning for us in continuing to expand the availability of FSC wood for Ashdown and FSC certified paper for our customers.”

“We have raised the bar for private land certification in the south, and we look forward to seeing the model built in Ashdown being replicated and expanded on throughout our mill system,”  added Lewis Fix, Domtar’s Vice-President of Pulp Sales and until recently, the company’s Vice-President of Sustainable Business and Brand Management.  “This is a perfect example of how our longstanding collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance continues to help us deliver on our promise of socially and environmentally responsible paper manufacturing.”

“We applaud Domtar and the Four States Timberland Owners Association for their hard work over the past two years as they strove towards certification,” said Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. “This achievement reflects the Association’s true commitment to responsible forest management and we look forward to helping them expand on their efforts.”

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About Domtar

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and adult incontinence products. The foundation of its business is a network of world class wood fiber converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulps. The majority of its pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky® Opaque Offset, First Choice® and Domtar EarthChoice®. Domtar is also a leading marketer and producer of a complete line of incontinence care products marketed primarily under the Attends® brand name. Domtar owns and operates Ariva®, an extensive network of strategically located paper and printing supplies distribution facilities. In 2011, Domtar had sales of US$5.6 billion from nearly 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 9,300 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

About Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, businesses and consumers worldwide are involved in the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is growing steadily. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.

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