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Printing Giant RR Donnelley Leading Way with Sustainable Paper Purchasing Policy

Environmental not-for-profit Canopy is today heralding North American printing giant RR Donnelley for unveiling its paper purchasing sustainability practices on its corporate website.Canopy, which has been working with the printing sector for 10 years, says the public unveiling of RR Donnelley’s sustainable purchasing principles provides further transparency into the company’s ongoing efforts to support its customers’ initiatives to eliminate unwanted or contentious fibers from its supply chain.

By Jennifer Elks | Published 10 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Environmental not-for-profit Canopy is today heralding North American printing giant RR Donnelley for unveiling its paper purchasing sustainability practices on its corporate website.

Canopy, which has been working with the printing sector for 10 years, says the public unveiling of RR Donnelley’s sustainable purchasing principles provides further transparency into the company’s ongoing efforts to support its customers’ initiatives to eliminate unwanted or contentious fibers from its supply chain.

“This latest development from RR Donnelley signals a course change for the entire North American printing sector and augers well for the future of our threatened forests,” Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s Executive Director, says.

“RR Donnelley’s support for customers who choose papers that are free of unwanted sources and the sharing of their paper purchasing sustainability principles is an exciting step in a constructive and ongoing collaboration,” said Neva Murtha, Canopy’s corporate campaigner who led the NGO’s engagement with RR Donnelley. “We look forward to continuing to work with RR Donnelley and the print industry as they develop and implement their forest conservation efforts over the coming years.”

RR Donnelley is a leader in the print industry with US$10.4 billion in revenue in 2013 (more than double the sales of their closest competitor) and more than 300 printing facilities worldwide. Canopy says the prominent placement of its purchasing principles on its website, which outlines the company’s commitment to sustainable practices — highlighted by the triple certification (by the Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) of materials throughout the majority of its print operations — may well herald a sea change in the printing sector globally. As the print sector advances the implementation of forest-conservation initiatives, such programs will significantly reduce pressure on the world’s remaining endangered forests and climate.

“Over the course of the last few years, significant momentum has been building within the print industry, with companies such as TC Transcontinental and Standard Register integrating sustainable purchasing practices into their core business operations in collaboration with Canopy,” Rycroft said.

Canopy works to protect the world’s forests, species and climate by supporting publishers, printers, clothing brands and paper producers in adopting sustainable practices. The NGO says given printers' role in the supply chain, forest conservation-oriented purchasing procedures not only support their customers in meeting their own corporate responsibility goals, they also send a clear message to the forest industry that responsible sourcing practices are increasingly a business imperative.

The 2014 edition of Canopy’s Green Print Leadership Report, a key resource for the organization’s 700+ business partners when seeking printers that support their internal CSR objectives, is underway.