Business News
Putting Customers First, Quebecor World Leads the Way by Triple Certifying Its North American Printing Plants
Wednesday 09. January 2008 - Quebecor World Inc. (TSX: IQW, NYSE: IQW) announced today that it has achieved Chain of Custody Certification for the world's three leading forest management programs. These are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). This milestone sets Quebecor World first, among the top North American printers, to offer these three progressive chain of custody certification programs.
“These chain of custody certifications will be of particular value to our customers who can now publicly signify that their products are produced from well-managed forests. At Quebecor World, we recognize we have a duty to all of our stakeholders to combine economic growth with sustainable development in our daily activities. We are proud to be the first major printer to receive all three certifications at all of our North American facilities,” said Jacques Mallette President and CEO, Quebecor World.
“Our customers have been seeking a full service printing partner that combines excellence in asset management, prepress, printing, distribution, and solid environmental practices. With this certification in place Quebecor World successively establishes a link between partnership opportunity and industry best practices,” said Peter Wilson, VP North American Paper Procurement & Supply Chain.
Forest certification is a way to promote responsible and verifiable forestry practices and provide independent third-party assurance that a forestry operation meets standards set by a certification program. Chain of custody is the path by which products are tracked from the forest to the consumer, including all manufacturing, transportation, and distribution links. Chain of custody certification assures customers the certified goods they buy are the products of a well-managed forest.
“Quebecor World has been engaged with the Rainforest Alliance and FSC certification since 2005, when we first certified several of its operations,” said Wolfram Pinker, managing director of the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. “The growth of its FSC certification from 15 sites to now a total of 54 sites demonstrates the company’s increasing commitment to sustainability and gives them one of the largest FSC Chain-of-Custody certifications in North America.”
“Demand for forest products from legal and sustainable forests are increasing worldwide and with today’s announcement Quebecor World joins a growing number of companies that are certifying to SFI as a means to meet environmental commitments and market demand,” said SFI CEO and President Kathy Abusow. “By certifying its operations to multiple standards such as SFI and PEFC, Quebecor World is able to increase its global reach and provide its customers with a steady supply of products of SFI certified products.”
“Quebecor World’s commitment to chain-of-custody certification through PEFC places it at the forefront of environmental procurement and gives it access to a global supply chain,” said Ben Gunneberg, general secretary of PEFC, which is a globally recognized organization that endorses national and regional certification programs, including SFI.
The three chain of custody certifications were awarded to all fifty-four (54) of Quebecor World’s US and Canadian printing locations following a stringent systematic 3rd party audit of the company’s procurement practices and control systems by both the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Program and PriceWaterhouseCoopers Chain of Custody Certification Program.