Toronto, ON May 15, 2013 -On the eve of Resolute Forest Products’ (Resolute, TSX/NYSE: RFP) 2013 Annual General Meeting in Thunder Bay, a new Greenpeace report concludes the company’s sustainability claims cannot be trusted and unveils to customers the false promises these claims contain.
As one of the largest logging companies in Canada’s Boreal Forest, Resolute markets itself as “sustainable” to meet strong customer demand for responsible forest products. However, behind these claims, as revealed in “Resolute’s False Promises: the [un]sustainability report 2013,” are unsustainable forest practices, regulatory infractions, failure to protect endangered species, disregard for Indigenous rights and communities, and “green” products that don’t warrant the name.
“Resolute’s sustainability claims simply do not stand up under scrutiny,” said Greenpeace forest campaigner Shane Moffatt. “Customers looking for controversy-free, sustainable forest products are not going to find them with Resolute.”
To produce the report, Greenpeace compared Resolute’s marketing claims with publically available information, best available science and third party statements. Highlights include:
· Destructive logging operations in Canada’s “Endangered Forests”, contrasting starkly with Resolute’s promise to manufacture sustainable products;
· Active logging in critical caribou habitat, conflicting with the company’s emphasis on protecting forest biodiversity and endangered species;
· Disregard for First Nations’ rights and logging in culturally valuable forests without their consent, contradicting Resolute’s Aboriginal policies; and
· Underfunded workers’ pensions, shirked tax burdens and abandoned local communities, undermining Resolute’s self promotion as a responsible community partner.
“Simply put, Resolute is not the good corporate citizen it pretends to be,” according to Moffatt. “This is not a company that large forest products customers want to be associated with.”
Greenpeace‘s number one priority is a healthy Boreal Forest that supports viable economies and communities. To guarantee long term biodiversity and ecological functions, Greenpeace calls on Resolute to invest in meaningful conservation instead of “green” marketing.
Around the world, Greenpeace has a proven track record for successful collaboration with companies that delivers results and that respects Indigenous people’s rights and title
Download “Resolute’s False Promises: the [un]sustainability report 2013 at: www.greenpeace.ca/resolutefalsepromises
For more information:
Holly Postlethwaite, Media and Public Relations Officer, (416) 524-8496