AbitibiBowater Achieves 100% Forest Certification - Continues Broad-ranging Efforts in Sustainability
ABH (NYSE, TSX)
MONTREAL, Feb. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - AbitibiBowater announced today that
approximately 258,800 hectares of woodlands near Maniwaki, Quebec, have
received certification under the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Standard
of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), based on a third-party audit
conducted by the Quality Management Institute (QMI) late last year.
This development represents the fulfillment of the Company's commitment
to certify the sustainability of 100% of its managed woodlands operations to
independent, internationally recognized standards. AbitibiBowater has an
inclusive certification policy that recognizes the predominant forest
certification systems in use in North America: the CSA, the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree
Farm System (ATFS) standards. The Company continues to advance in the process
of certifying three operations to FSC in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
"Achieving certification for 100% of our managed woodlands is a major
milestone for AbitibiBowater, which underlines our commitment to implementing
sustainable business practices throughout our operations," said David J.
Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Certification under an SFM standard demonstrates a commitment to
continuous improvement in forest management performance. The certification
process requires independent experts to audit a company's performance against
a set of objective standards and procedures for sustainability. Currently,
only 10% of the world's forests are certified to an SFM standard.
In 2008, AbitibiBowater made significant achievements in improving the
sustainability of its practices and enhancing environmental performance. In
addition to achieving full sustainable forestry certification, the Company:- Made headway towards operating as a carbon-neutral enterprise. In 2008,
versus a 2000 baseline, AbitibiBowater reduced global greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions by 53% (absolute) and 32% on a per-ton basis
(intensity). This significant reduction was supported by using less
fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency and expanding the use of
green biomass energy.
- Launched new products, such as its breakthrough 90 brightness
ECOPAQUE ™ offset and laser paper, which is manufactured using 50%
fewer trees, and significantly less water and energy than traditional
offset papers.These 2008 achievements will be put into global perspective in the
Company's first sustainability report, due later this year.
"Today's announcement is one of many important steps on the way as we
strive to operate as a sustainable forest products company and be the wise
choice for environmentally sensitive customers," added David Paterson.
AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing
papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly
traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or
operates 25 pulp and paper facilities and 30 wood products facilities located
in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Marketing
its products in more than 90 countries, the Company is also among the world's
largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has third-party
certified 100% of its woodlands to sustainable forest management standards.
AbitibiBowater's shares trade under the stock symbol ABH on both the New York
Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
