RICHMOND, Virginia (April 22, 2008)—Global packaging leader MWV (NYSE: MWV) today announced it has received chain of custody certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) program and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) chain of custody standards. The certification provides third-party validation of MWV’s sustainable fiber sourcing practices, and helps assure our customers and consumers of the company's responsible environmental stewardship.
Chain of custody is the process of tracking and recording the possession and transfer of wood fiber from the forest of origin, through manufacture, production and processing stages and, ultimately, to its end use. MWV’s dual certification helps consumers identify those products that meet their environmental demands, and provides trusted third-party validation of the company’s sustainable business practices.
“MWV has an unwavering commitment to sustainability in all that we do, and our customers depend on us to help them fulfill their own sustainability promises,” said John A. Luke, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of MWV. “We are keenly aware of the importance of responsible sourcing, and these third-party certifications illustrate our dedication to being good stewards of the environment and a responsible partner to our customers.”
The dual certification covers the company’s four U.S.-based paperboard mills in Covington, Va.; Evadale, Texas; Mahrt, Ala.; and Charleston, S.C. The certifications also apply to the company’s sheeting and extruding facilities in Low Moor, Va.; Silsbee, Texas, and Venlo, Netherlands, and twelve of the company’s integrated package converting plants in North America, Europe and Asia.
Under the certification, MWV’s paperboard products will begin carrying the SFI certification label. Customers serviced from the company’s converting facilities that have obtained the dual chain of custody certification may label their products as well.
As a leader in sustainable business practices, MWV has certified its company-owned forest lands and fiber procurement processes to SFI standards since 2000.
MWV received its SFI and PEFC chain of custody certifications through Bureau Veritas (BV) Certification. BV is recognized by 30 accreditation bodies around the world and provides a full range of quality, environmental, health and safety, social and security-related auditing, verification and training services. MWV intends to use BV for additional chain-of-custody certifications as they continue during 2008.
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About SFI, Inc.
SFI, Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit organization and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. SFI, Inc. directs all elements of the SFI program included the SFI Standard, chain of custody certification, labeling and marketing. SFI, Inc. is overseen by a multi-stakeholder Board of Directors with representatives from environmental and conservation organizations, public officials, professional and academic groups, forest products industry, independent logging professionals and forest landowners. For more information about the SFI program, visit www.sfiprogram.org.
About PEFC
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) is a framework for the assessment and endorsement of national forest certification systems that have been developed based on internationally recognized requirements for sustainable forest management. Since its launch in 1999, PEFC has become the largest forest certification umbrella organization covering national systems from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tons of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from currently more than 194 million hectares of certified forests. This is an area which is larger than the combined forest area of all European Union member states. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organizations.
About MWV
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV) provides packaging solutions to many of the world’s most-admired brands in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, cosmetics and personal care, home and garden, and healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. The company has market-leading positions in its Consumer & Office Products and Specialty Chemicals businesses, and operates in more than 30 countries. MWV manages all of its forestlands in accordance with internationally recognized forest certification standards, and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please visit us at www.meadwestvaco.com.