Unprecedented Environmental Action Spreads Throughout Publishing and Printing Industries Despite Difficult Year for Most Canadian Paper Mills, Says New Report

The forestry and paper industries are often deemed to lack innovation, but with green product demand rising as it is, there are a number of Canadian mills already benefiting from environmental innovation.

February 7, 2008, Montreal  A new report released today at Paper Week by environmental publishing organization Markets Initiative shows Canada's printing, newspaper, book and magazine sectors worth $19 billion a year made major environmental headway in 2007 despite difficult economic conditions for Canada's paper mills.

More than 520 Canadian book publishers, magazines, newspapers and printers now have Ancient Forest Friendly or eco-paper purchasing policies in place, up from 172 publishers, printers and magazines at the beginning of 2007, a 300% increase. Meeting this increased market, seventeen additional eco-papers were available to publishers in 2007. Whilst most paper producers faced record losses and mill closures in 2007, green paper mills fared well with increased sales and market access. One mill, Cascades Fine Paper, saw a 235% jump in the sales of their 100% recycled paper. Sales for Domtar Inc's FSC paper doubled from 2006 to 2007.

Also, new polling unveiled in the report shows these environmental initiatives including printing publications on recycled paper are greatly supported by Canadian consumers. Ninety five per cent of Canadians say an environmental policy and progress toward meeting its targets are important benchmarks of a publishing company's environmental integrity.

The only bright light for the paper industry this past year has been a green light, said Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Markets Initiative. The forestry and paper industries are often deemed to lack innovation, but with green product demand rising as it is, there are a number of Canadian mills already benefiting from environmental innovation. This is good news for the climate and Canada's Boreal Forest.

She added while environmental leadership has been strong, companies must make concrete environmental actions to gain consumer trust. The report found 78 per cent of Canadians believe companies are marketing themselves to be greener than they really are in practice. The report noted recent examples of companies overstating their environmental actions, including US magazines that have run green issues on 100% virgin paper, including Vanity Fair and Elle US, while Nippon Paper Group and Oji Paper Co., Japan's largest paper producers, have been caught in a green marketing scandal. As part of its recommendations, Markets Initiative cautions companies building green brands not to underestimate the ramifications of greenwashing to an increasingly informed and savvy consumer base.



For more information, please contact and to view the report and poll please visit www.marketsinitiative.org:

Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director of Markets Initiative, (778) 987-9099
Nessa Prendergast, Director, Media Relations for Transcontinental, (514) 954-2809
Normand LeCours, VP Marketing and Sales of Cascade Fine Papers, (514) 250-0137
Lewis Fix, Director of Business Development of Domtar, (630) 445-5674
Robert Hutton, Executive Vice-President Pollara Strategic Insights, Office: (416) 921-2233 x 2236, Cell: (416) 828-7301

Markets Initiative commissioned Pollara, a national opinion research firm to conduct an online survey focused on paper, corporate behavior and the environment to 2,271 Canadians aged 18 and over. The survey was conducted from November 9th to November 13th, 2007. Results are considered accurate to 2.1%, nineteen times out of twenty.

Markets Initiative works with Canadian publishing and printing companies to conserve ancient and endangered forests by shifting their demand and supply of paper products to environmentally sound options. Markets Initiative works through the entire supply chain, facilitating new product development as necessary.