Xerox Partnership Brings $1 million to Forest Conservation Around the World

October 26, 2006

On October 26, The Nature Conservancy and Xerox Corporation will announce an innovative partnership to strengthen and advance practices used to conserve the world’s forests. The $1 million investment—the largest Xerox has ever made in an environmental partnership—will develop science-based tools, practices and systems that the paper industry can draw upon to better understand and manage ecologically important forest land.

The grant, along with the support of Xerox people and its industry partners, will be used to expand and enhance a forest data center for Canada’s boreal forest, the largest block of contiguous intact forest left in the world, and to strengthen third-party forest certification standards that Xerox relies on to ensure that its paper is derived from responsibly managed forests. The funding will also be used to identify best forest biodiversity management practices and to communicate them broadly with forest managers, paper suppliers and others. In addition to the Canadian boreal forest, the partnership will focus on the forests of the southern United States, Indonesia and Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. 

Developed by the Global Forest Partnership and Corporate Partnerships, this new relationship with Xerox  ties in with two of the Conservancy’s key strategies: creating financial incentives that improve forest management and promoting the independent certification of sound forest management practices. The agreement also reflects the efforts of both organizations to broaden the scope of global conservation by working with and supporting private-sector and nongovernmental organizations. 

“Advancing sustainable forest management practices among paper suppliers is an important part of Xerox’s longstanding commitment to valuing and protecting the environment,” said Anne Mulcahy, chairman and CEO of Xerox, which is the world’s largest distributor of cut-sheet paper. “We have pioneered two-sided copying, expanded our recycled paper, and developed solid ink printing technology and other innovations aimed at conservation. This partnership with The Nature Conservancy takes our commitment to a new level by focusing on the responsible management of forests that provide raw materials to make paper.”

“The partnership between Xerox and The Nature Conservancy is extremely important because through it, we have the ability to reach and influence the paper suppliers in Xerox’s supply chain,” said Steve McCormick. “Involving these suppliers and companies like Xerox are critical to our efforts to protect ecologically sensitive forests.”  

The Global Forest Partnership, one of the six global initiatives within the Conservation Strategies Group, will work with Conservancy forest projects in Canada, the southern United States, Indonesia and Brazil to implement the Xerox partnership. Learn more about the Global Forest Partnership.

For More Information:

• Where We Work: Forests
  

  If steps aren’t taken to protect them, rainforests around the world could disappear within 40 years.

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