Newsletter Stories


Friday, 01 October 2004
North America’s Largest Printer, RR Donnelley, Receives FSC Certification

Operations At Printing Plants in Spartanburg, S.C., and Lancaster, P.A. receive COC Certification


RR Donnelley & Sons Company facilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) “Chain-of-Custody” certification (SCS-COC-00648). Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) conducted the certification.

RR Donnelley customers who use FSC-certified paper can now use the FSC-trademarked logo in their magazines, catalogs and other printed materials as a means to demonstrate their commitment to the environment. “RR Donnelley has a long history of pursuing practices that help us and our customers in our respective sustainability efforts,” said John Paloian, President, RR Donnelley Group Publishing and Retail Services. “We were able quickly and easily to obtain the FSC certification due to the strength of our supply chain management practices—especially those related to paper procurement and to paper and product tracking capabilities in our plants. A chain-of-custody certification, like FSC’s, is an expansion of those efforts. To continue meeting our customers’ needs, we intend to leverage our manufacturing and environmental expertise and pursue other sustainable forestry management certifications around the globe. We seek to provide our customers with the industry’s best products and services, and to work with them to protect and improve the environment.”

The use of paper from sustainably managed forests is important to many of their customers. Some customers, such as Norm Thompson Outfitters (www.normthompson.com), a Portland, Oregon, retailer that markets to consumers through its Norm Thompson, Solutions® and Sahalie catalogs, also wants RR Donnelley to independently verify this information so they can display a certification mark on the catalogs produced for them. “We are extremely pleased that RR Donnelley has received FSC certification,” said John Emrick, President & CEO of Norm Thompson Outfitters. “Our goal is to demonstrate to our customers the commitment we have to the highest standard of sustainable forestry. This goal can now be fulfilled thanks to the strong steps taken by our valued supply chain partner, RR Donnelley.”

Roger Dower, FSC-US President, said, “RR Donnelley is committed to managing its operations in an environmentally friendly manner, and FSC chain-of-custody certification is an expansion of that commitment. We hope that other printers will follow RR Donnelley’s leadership on sustainable forest management and seek certification, and that their clients will ask to print their publications on FSC-certified paper.”

Wolfram Pinker, Ph.D., SCS Director of Chain of Custody Services, said, “We believe certification is the right choice for companies seeking to strengthen existing market share and access new markets. This move demonstrates a commitment by RR Donnelley to its customers’ needs.”

RR Donnelley (NYSE:RRD) is the world’s premier full-service global print provider and the largest printing company in North America, serving customers in the publishing, healthcare, advertising, retail, technology, financial services, and many other industries. Founded 140 years ago, the company provides solutions in commercial printing, forms and labels, direct mail, financial printing, print fulfillment, business communication outsourcing, logistics, online services, digital photography, and content and database management. The largest companies in the world and others rely on RR Donnelley’s scale, scope and insight through a comprehensive range of online tools, variable printing services, and market-specific solutions.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.rrdonnelley.com