Sappi Fine Paper North America Launches 2011 Sustainability Report

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Fine Paper North America today announced the launch of its 2011 Sustainability Report, the company's first ever regional report focusing on its environmental and social responsibility performance. The report illustrates how sustainability is fundamental to Sappi's business strategy and future success, underscoring its commitment to corporate transparency. Showcasing the company's strong sustainability performance in North America, the report demonstrates that Sappi is not only leading the industry in sustainability metrics but is also raising the bar on future sustainability goals to advance change in the marketplace. Among its most recent initiatives, Sappi has extended its participation in a pilot project in Maine with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®. It has also become a member of the Forest Stewardship Council™(FSC®) to support sustainable forestry through chain of custody certification.

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Sappi Fine Paper North America's 2011 Sustainability Report highlights the company's performance against its current five-year goals and outlines new five-year goals, which measure Sappi's impact on the environment; its social responsibility to employees, customers and constituents in the communities in which we operate; and its prosperity as a business. These goals were designed by Sappi to establish best practices across the company and produce results in key areas of public concern and operational impact.

"Four years ago, we laid out an ambitious set of sustainability goals and implemented a corporate governance structure and business strategy to achieve them," said Mark Gardner, president and CEO of Sappi Fine Paper North America. "Our performance over the past four years has been exceptional and I am confident that Sappi's new goals and strategy will lead to deeper improvements, enabling the continued investment in our people, assets and service."

The 2011 Sustainability Report also publishes Sappi Fine Paper North America's position and performance data on current environmental issues facing the pulp and paper industry, including sustainable forestry, energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and the responsible use of recycled paper.

New Five-Year Goals (2012-2016)

On track to meet or exceed all but one of its original 2008-2012 goals, Sappi Fine Paper North America has developed a new set of aggressive five-year goals for 2012-2016. Sappi's new goals span the areas of planet, people and prosperity, and consist of the following:

Planet

• Increase the amount of fiber (both purchased and Sappi produced pulp) sourced from certified forests to 65%
• Reduce the amount of total energy expended in making each ton of product by 10%
• Reduce fiber and papermaking raw material waste by 10%
  

People

• Target 30,000 hours of education and training for customers through the Sappi ETC. (Education, Training and Consulting) program
• Enhance job performance and managerial skills for all employees by offering training and education at an average rate of 75 hours per employee annually
  

Prosperity

• Achieve or exceed an annual 12% return on net assets for Sappi Fine Paper North America

"With sustainability incorporated into our overall business strategy, our sustainability performance has been remarkable and has enabled us to gain market position," said Jennifer Miller, executive vice president of coated business and chief sustainability officer. "Among our achievements is that more than 80% of the total energy used at our coated fine paper mills now comes from renewable energy sources resulting in the lowest carbon footprint among major domestic suppliers. Furthermore, we continue to demonstrate our leadership in sustainability by engaging our stakeholders in a fact-based dialogue around our sustainability initiatives— collaboration is critical to our success as a company."

Promoting Sustainable Forestry Through Chain of Custody Certification

In addition to the newly launched 2011 Sustainability Report, Sappi has recently expanded its efforts to support sustainable forestry through chain of custody certification.

As part of its commitment to increasing the amount of certified fiber from sustainably managed forests in the state of Maine, Sappi Fine Paper North America has extended its participation in a pilot project with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®). The pilot project is a collaboration between Time Inc., Hearst Enterprises, National Geographic Society, Verso Paper Corporation and Sappi, which makes certification to the SFI Standard more accessible to medium-sized landowners in Maine. Since the original launch of the project in 2010, over 1.4 million acres have been certified to the SFI Standard.

Sappi Fine Paper North America is also pleased to announce its recent acceptance as a member of the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC®)— an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests. Becoming a member is a voluntary action that will provide Sappi with the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with various stakeholders on strategic decisions regarding the future of FSC, specifically, the responsible stewardship of forest resources.

This FSC membership, coupled with Sappi's participation in the SFI forest certification pilot project, further demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to sustainable forestry.

For more information, please see Sappi Fine Paper North America's 2011 Sustainability Report.

About Sappi Fine Paper North America

Sappi Fine Paper North America, known for innovation and quality, is a preeminent North American producer of coated fine and release papers and market pulp headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Its coated fine papers, with highly recognized brand names such as McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are used in premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. The company is also the world's leading supplier of release papers for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries, including the globally recognized Ultracast brand. Sappi's release papers provide the surface aesthetics for synthetic fabrics used in footwear, clothing, upholstery and accessories, as well as the textures for decorative laminates found in kitchens, baths, flooring and other decorative surfaces. An integrated pulp and paper producer, with state-of-the-art pulp mills, Sappi is the third largest seller of hardwood pulp in North America.

Sappi Fine Paper North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited, a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in eight countries, sales offices in 35 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. For more information, visit: www.sappi.com/na.

For further information:
Amy Olson
Manager, Corporate Communications
Sappi Fine Paper North America
255 State Street
Boston MA 02109
Office:  617-423-5409
Fax:  617-368-6580
Mobile:  617-320-1646
[email protected]
www.sappi.com/na

SOURCE Sappi Fine Paper North America