Resolute Unveils Align™ Family of Environmentally Responsible Papers

MONTREAL, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: ABH) (TSX: ABH) today unveiled its Align™ family of high brightness, environmentally responsible papers that can be used as alternatives to chemical pulp coated and uncoated freesheet in most commercial printing applications.

Typical freesheet papers are designed for brightness and use more trees and chemicals than are needed for most print applications. Align papers are made with up to 50% less wood fiber and have a smaller environmental footprint than traditional offset papers, including some containing recycled content. By delivering higher opacity and bulk at a lower basis weight than traditional freesheet, Align also helps reduce paper, postage and transportation costs.

"For several years, Resolute has seen growing demand for high-quality, eco-conscious papers that can reduce print costs," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With our Align papers, customers can reduce fiber consumption and save money without sacrificing quality in their printed products. Align makes sense for their budgets and the environment."

Align papers deliver three key advantages over freesheet paper:

Environmentally Responsible: Because Align grades use significantly less wood than freesheet, fewer trees are required for their production. Furthermore, when one compares the overall product life cycle, Align grades have less environmental impact than traditional offset papers. For instance, the comparative life cycle assessment commissioned by Resolute found that Align grades have a carbon footprint that is from 35% to 85% smaller than the average freesheet grade. For more details, visit resolutefp.com/LCA. Align helps customers make the right decision for the environment.

Budget Friendly: Thanks to its higher bulk and opacity at a lower basis weight, customers get all the printability they expect, but at a lower cost. Based on their needs, they can either pay less for paper, pay less for postage, or print and mail more at the same cost.

High Opacity and Bulk: Traditional offset papers are designed to deliver both brightness and longevity - but at a premium price. With Align, value-conscious customers can choose from a range of bright, opaque, high-bulk papers that are designed to meet their specific needs.

Align papers also help Resolute deliver on one of the commitments the Company made in joining the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) global Climate Savers program.

"When Resolute joined Climate Savers, it agreed to achieve a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from company operations by 2015, compared to 2000 levels," said Gerald Butts, President and Chief Executive Officer of WWF. "To support this effort, Resolute committed to market and sell products that would help its customers reduce their emissions."

To learn more about Resolute's Align papers or to order samples, please visit alignpaper.com.

About 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 18 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in close to 90 countries, Resolute Forest Products has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products, formerly doing business as AbitibiBowater, trade under the stock symbol ABH on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Resolute Forest Products 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 the three pillars of sustainability linked to human activities:  environmental, social and economic. Resolute Forest Products 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

Image with caption: "Resolute Forest Products' Align Papers Logo (CNW Group/RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120203_C9157_PHOTO_EN_9607.jpg