NEW YORK, NY — The Rainforest Alliance applauds the publication of the first Bible to be printed on paper from forestlands certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the global standard-setter for responsible forest management. This achievement resulted from a collaboration between Canada-based paper giant Domtar, Bible publisher Thomas Nelson, Inc. and environmental nonprofit Green Press Initiative.

The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible is printed on paper that includes recycled content and comes from forestlands certified by the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program, the leading certifier of forestlands to FSC standards.

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"Kudos to Thomas Nelson, Domtar and Green Press Initiative for working together to achieve this important first in the publishing industry," said Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. "This is further evidence of the growing trend among publishers to improve their sourcing strategies and lessen their environmental impact by seeking out environmentally preferable papers."

Since 2003, the Rainforest Alliance has been working with Domtar - the largest maker and marketer of office and printing paper in North America - on responsible paper production and fiber sourcing. We are helping the company reach its FSC certification goals; building supply chains; and educating employees, suppliers, distributors and businesses about the benefits of FSC-certified products.

"Thomas Nelson’s commitment demonstrates that sourcing responsible paper is becoming easier every day," said Lewis Fix, senior director of EarthChoice Business Development at Domtar.

Paper production has a large environmental footprint - it uses about 40 percent of the wood harvested for industrial uses globally. Choosing FSC-certified paper supports responsible forest management: certified forests must meet a range of environmental, economic and social criteria related to monitoring forest conditions, protecting high conservation value forests, conserving biodiversity and supporting local communities.

"Our team is excited to be taking important steps forward in protecting the resources God has given us," said Michael S. Hyatt, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson, Inc. "Beyond offering eco-friendly products, we are striving to use environmentally friendly practices in our daily activities and have created an internal environmental task force to see this through."

Tyson Miller, director of Green Press Initiative, which works with publishers on reducing their carbon footprint, said that "a ripple effect" has been created, as several other publishers of religious texts have also made commitments to use environmentally preferable papers. In addition, more than 50 US religious scholars, churches and religious advocacy organizations have signed a statement supporting the use of such papers in religious publications, Miller said.

Scores of publishers have created environmental policies that include goals for increasing their use of environmentally preferable papers. One of the latest examples is Simon & Schuster, Inc., which earlier this month announced the development of a new paper policy that will require at least 10 percent of the paper the company buys to originate from FSC-certified forests by 2012. The policy also commits to increase the percentage of recycled fiber in the paper used for books that are printed and bound in the US from 10 percent to 25 percent by 2012.

The area of FSC-certified forestlands has nearly doubled in the past three years to a total of more than 224 million acres (more than 90 million hectares) and has opened up an increasing supply of certified wood products. Several hundred pulp providers, mills, merchants and printers have earned FSC Chain-of-Custody certification.

For more information on Green Press Initiative, visit www.greenpressinitiative.org.

The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.

Contact Info: Gretchen Ruethling
Tel : 646-452-1939
E-mail : gruethling@ra.org

Website : the Rainforest Alliance