Time Inc. and Hearst Launch Pilot Project to Increase Forest Certification in Maine

NEW YORK, Sept 28, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- VRS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Time Inc. and Hearst Enterprises, a division of Hearst Corporation, will work with small- and medium-sized landowners in Maine to help them achieve third-party forest certification and provide an important increase in the amount of certified fiber available in the state. The joint announcement was made today by Guy Gleysteen, senior vice president of production at Time Inc., and David Schirmer, vice president and general manager of Hearst Enterprises.

Working in conjunction with Verso Paper, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) Inc. (SFI(R)), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), NewPage Corporation and Sappi Fine Papers, Time Inc. and Hearst will help small landowners coordinate their third-party certification audits to either the SFI(R) program or the ATFS program -- creating cost efficiencies and encouraging more participation. The pilot program is designed to demonstrate a cost-effective approach to forest certification and will add approximately one million acres to Maine's certified forests.

"The SFI(R) and ATFS programs both use the same accredited certification bodies, so we have designed an approach for the required audits that is more cost effective," Gleysteen said. "This is the first time certification to both the SFI(R) and ATFS standards has taken this coordinated approach."

"As the demand for certified fiber is increasing, we need to find ways to increase the supply so we can meet our commitment to source from third-party certified sources," Schirmer said. "In addition to the expected one million acres of newly certified land in Maine, this initiative will act as a model for future cost-effective certification programs."

"In Maine, we value all independent forest certification standards, including SFI(R) and ATFS," said Maine Governor John Baldacci. "We welcome this pilot, at Time Inc. and Hearst's initiative, which will help to improve our state's strong certification record."

Time Inc. and Hearst, among the largest publishers in the U.S., both have made commitments to working with their suppliers to increase the supply of certified fiber. A recent report from the United Nations reported that certification globally has stalled, with only eight percent of the world's forests certified.

Although Maine has the highest percentage of certified lands of any state, there are still close to 10 million acres of forest that are not certified. In 2008, Gov. Baldacci signed an executive order (www.maine.gov/purchase/policies/Exec_Order_Paper_Procurement_6182008.pdf) that directed state officials to buy wood or paper products from forests certified to a third-party certification standard.

Sixty percent of the fiber in forest products manufactured in the U.S. comes from 10 million family forests, and most are not certified mainly due to economic feasibility and lack of resources to certify small areas of land. Through the pilot project, each landowner must still have an accredited certification body complete an on-site audit to verify that operations meet the ATFS standard. These audits will be coordinated with the SFI(R) audit sites as well so they can be managed more efficiently, lowering costs and expenses. The SFI(R) audits will be conducted to the new SFI(R) 2010-2014 Standard and will help increase understanding of certification across medium-sized land holdings. The results of the pilot will be shared with other states and companies so they can introduce similar projects. The project will begin in October and is expected to run through the end of 2010.

The SFI(R) program is one of the largest third-party forest certification programs in the world, with more than 175 million acres certified across North America and has more than 245 program participants, most of whom represent medium to large forest companies. ATFS has certified 24 million acres of privately owned forestland in 46 states representing more than 90,000 family forest owners. SFI recognizes ATFS fiber and the two organizations have a history of collaboration, including SFI implementation committees which engage in family forest owner outreach and work with Project Learning Tree. Both Project Learning Tree and ATFS are programs of the American Forest Foundation.

About Time Inc.

Time Inc., a Time Warner company, is a world class branded content company, investing in the future and engaging more than 123 million consumers monthly; whenever, however, and wherever they are. With 22 magazines and 26 web sites in the U.S., it is the country's largest consumer publisher. Each month, one out of every two American adults reads a Time Inc. magazine, and nearly one out of every seven, who are online, visits a company web site (more than 27 million monthly unique visitors). Time Inc.'s popular brands and successful franchises extend to online, television, cable VOD, satellite radio, mobile devices, events and branded products.

About Hearst Enterprises

Hearst Enterprises, a division of Hearst Corporation, is responsible for paper procurement for Hearst Magazines, Hearst Newspapers and other Hearst-owned publications. For more information about Hearst Enterprises purchasing environmentally responsible paper please refer to the Being Green section on Hearst's corporate Web site (www.hearst.com/beinggreen). Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified media companies, engaged in a broad range of publishing, broadcasting, cable networking and diversified communications activities.

SOURCE Time Inc.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index