AbitibiBowater's chief executive has defended the company's decision to reward 50 executives with a combined $6 million in bonuses for their work on restructuring the newspaper giant, the Canadian Press reports.

Union leaders at the insolvent Montreal-based paper maker have reportedly been critical of the plan, which is slated to be reviewed by the company's new board even though the current board and the unsecured creditors committee have already given it the green light.

"Reinstated short- and long-term incentive compensation programs and success bonuses are consistent with a competitive marketplace and are necessary to attract and retain our management ranks," president and CEO David Paterson told a House of Commons committee on Sept. 10.

The $6 million is to be distributed among 50 senior managers and executives deemed critical to the profitability and reorganization of the company
.
The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology is reviewing AbitibiBowater's decision to permanently close paper mills in Gatineau and Dolbeau-Mistassini, Que. CP reports that the mills employed 570 workers before production first ceased in Dolbeau in June 2009, followed by Gatineau last April.

According to CP, Paterson told the committee that it will not reopen the Gatineau facility. The Dolbeau mill could reopen if a deal is reached with energy company Boralex, which provides power to the mill. However, Paterson noted that no negotiations are currently taking place.

Another Canadian facility, likely in Quebec, would have to close if Dolbeau were reopened, he added.

Paterson said all employees, including management, have made concessions to support the company, which has lost more than 400 management positions through resignations and retirements.

source: pulpandpapercanada

What promised to be a confrontational debate about forest certification between two global leaders of different schemes failed to materialise during an otherwise lively session at the forest industry development conference.

Described as something of a coup, the conference brought together William V. Street jnr, the global president of the PEFC and Corey Brinkeman, US president of FSC.

But it seems a long-held desire by many delegates for a single global certification scheme ain't going to happen any time soon. The key issue expanded by both leaders about certification was: how does industry best address intervention by those who are neither stakeholders nor shareholders in the process?

"We are one of the few industries that have to deal with the concepts of the social licence to operate," Mr Street said. We have the fortune, or misfortune, to be engaged in a rural-based extractive economic activity at a particular point of time when the majority of the world resides in urban population. And the political process and democratic society are dominated by those populations.

"As a result, we have an urban myth that is routinely accepted as truth while rural reality is dismissed as primitive, backward and self-serving. And industry has not responded to that very well. It has tended to accept this as the reality, lament on the adverse consequences it has on us and, for the most part, not engage in it."

Mr Street believes that domestically, the Australian industry is better situated that many would think. "You have a complex array of tenure arrangements, most of which appear to be viewed as legitimate by the national political process and across political parties – even the greens," he said.

He said disagreements surfaced over how the wealth was derived and who should share it and how much of it should be distributed. "But these disagreements seem manageable within the context of normal political discourse, which means you have the conflict resolution processes and they are moving forward. They may be moving forward at glacial speed but they are moving forward and this is something you should not take for granted."

Mr Street said there were many places around the world that were less fortunate. "Those who know your national system know it for a number of reasons – you have a proper separation between standards setting, accreditation of auditors and the certification system. Australia also places a prominent role on the use of professional foresters and although I agree that science alone rarely wins, it's difficult to win without any science, so having foresters in your certification scheme provides additional legitimacy."

Mr Street referred to Australia's second round of standards revision as a process that demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement. "Slowly, but surely, there is growing recognition within the certification system that the triple bottom line of social justice, economic viability and ecological soundness needs to be continuously integrated into your standard-setting process. We need to put far more resources into educating consumers and customers about who we are and what we have to offer."

Mr Street said the Australian standard was recognised and respected. "The problem is your brand is not widely known, and it needs to be," he said. "That is a problem that PEFC shares with you. And it is a problem for all of the 30 or so systems in the PEFC family. Our focus in the past has not been on branding, it has been on promoting sustainable forest management. Nationally, your system continues to mature and the industry too is growing in terms of chain of custody – and it has the ability to deliver a large volume of certified material to the international marketplace. I believe that in the not-too distant future we will see certification as mainstream, certainly here and in the European Union."

Mr Street added: "How we deal with our growth, in terms of new cultures, new national governing bodies, the rapid increase in global chain of custodies, the issues of climate change, indigenous peoples, and tropical forests will determine in large part how we will be judged 10 years from today.

"Lately, it seems as if too many of our conversations focus on what divides us, rather than what unites us. What divides us is real. As in any confederation, the pushes and pulls among NGOs and between NGOs and the PEFC secretariat are constant. Ignoring them, denying them, or attempting to hide them will only cause our problems to grow. We must confront our differences and learn from them, because as different and as divisive as some of the newer challenges that we face may be they still pale in comparison to what unites us."

UPM's Timber business will curtail its production in Finland during the fourth quarter of 2010. Demand for sawn timber has decreased and due to the seasonal changes demand is estimated to further slow down towards the end of the year. Also high wood price in Finland has weakened the business' cost competitiveness in the markets.

The production curtailments in Timber business and possible temporary lay-offs are to be carried out according to mill-specific plans. UPM Timber has curtailed its production also during the first half of 2010, and has closed down a sawmill in Heinola and a further processing mill in Parkano during the early 2010.

For further information please contact:
Mr Arto Halonen, Senior Vice President, UPM Timber, tel. +358 40 823 2877

UPM Timber manufactures green products for sustainable and advanced building applications. Our annual production capacity is 2.3 million cubic metres of sawn timber. UPM Timber's 12 production units are located in Finland, France, Austria and Russia. UPM Timber employs 1,200 people of which 800 in Finland.

On September 14, 2010 the Environmental Court of Appeal decided that Billerud, in accordance with the decision from the Environmental Court and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, is to pay a sanction of approximately SEK 19.5 million.

On 10 December 2007 the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency decided to impose a sanction on Billerud of approximately SEK 19.5 million for inaccurate reporting of emission rights for 2006. According to existing rules, Billerud performed an audit and a report of the correct number of emission rights for 2006. As the result of an administrative error, Billerud's emission rights for the facilities in Skärblacka and Karlsborg were assigned to the wrong account in the Swedish Emission Trading Registry (SUS). Billerud lodged an appeal against the decision to the Environmental Court, which ruled in September 2009 that Billerud should pay the fine in accordance with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's decision. Billerud then chose to appeal against the decision to the Environmental Court of Appeal which has now decided that Billerud should pay the sanction.

Since Billerud made a provision for this amount in 2009, today's judgement will have no impact on the company's earnings for 2010.

"We accept the decision of the Environmental Court of Appeal, but in our opinion a sanction of SEK 19.5 is not proportionate," says Billerud's President and CEO, Per Lindberg.

For further information, please contact: Per Lindberg, President & CEO Billerud AB, +46 8 553 335 01 or +46 702 48 15 17.

AbitibiBowater is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval for its plan of reorganization from unsecured creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada. The plan of reorganization received overwhelming support from its unsecured creditors both in dollar amount of claims and in number of claim holders who voted on the plan. Having obtained the requisite votes in each class, except with respect to Bowater Canada Finance Corporation (BCFC), a special purpose company subsidiary with no operating assets, AbitibiBowater will seek a sanction order in respect of its CCAA plan other than in respect of BCFC, which is excluded from the CCAA plan. The Company does not believe that the exclusion of BCFC will affect the timing of the Company's sanction hearing by the Canadian Court nor does the Company expect it will materially delay AbitibiBowater's emergence from creditor protection slated for this fall.

Voting tabulations on the plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code are expected on September 20, 2010. The Company will provide further information when the results become available.

"We appreciate the support given by the significant majority of our creditors under the CCAA process for our plan of reorganization," stated David J. Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are confident our restructuring efforts have created a stronger foundation for a more sustainable and competitive company. We look forward to completing the restructuring process and emerging from creditor protection this fall."

Details of the voting results including votes on a class-by-class basis will be available at www.abitibibowater.com

The sanction hearing under the CCAA process is scheduled to occur on September 20, 2010 in the Quebec Superior Court and the confirmation hearing under the Chapter 11 process is scheduled to start on September 24, 2010 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing and packaging papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 19 pulp and paper facilities and 24 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 70 countries, the Company is also among the world's largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. AbitibiBowater's shares trade over-the-counter on the Pink Sheets and on the OTC Bulletin Board under the stock symbol ABWTQ.

SOURCE: ABITIBIBOWATER INC. - ENGLISH

Investors: Duane Owens, Vice President, Finance, 864 282-9488; Media and Others: Seth
Kursman, Vice President, Public Affairs, Sustainability & Environment, 514
394-2398, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sonoco will increase prices in the United States and Canada for all uncoated recycled paperboard grades by $35 per ton effective with shipments on October 11, 2010, according to Jim Bowen, senior vice president, Primary Materials Group.

About Sonoco

Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a $3.6 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. For more information on the Company, visit our Web site at http://www.sonoco.com.

SOURCE: Sonoco

Sonoco
Robin Montgomery, 843-383-7509
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

International Paper has announced it is making a $650 million voluntary contribution to its U.S. pension fund. In July of 2010, International Paper made a voluntary contribution of $500 million to the fund, which brings the year-to-date contribution total to $1.15 billion. "These contributions to the U.S. pension fund help fulfill our long-term funding requirements and will reduce our future pension expense," said Robert Hunkeler, International Paper's vice president of investments.

International Paper is a global paper and packaging company with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include uncoated papers, industrial and consumer packaging and distribution. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs about 60,000 people in more than 20 countries and serves customers worldwide. 2009 net sales were more than $23 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

SOURCE International Paper

NewPage Corporation has announced the upload of a new "On Paper" sustainability series podcast featuring Anders Hildeman of IKEA.

As global forestry manager for IKEA, Hildeman discusses the importance of responsible forestry management and the role IKEA plays through numerous associations to preserve forestlands worldwide. To download this podcast and access more than 30 previous episodes on topics such as supply chain management, zero waste and green business strategies, visit www.OnPaperSeries.com.

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings company with more than 300 stores in 37 countries, sources wood from close to 50 different countries to supply materials for their range of home furnishings products. "Wood is the soul of IKEA products," Hildeman states.

In 1993, IKEA became a member of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC). Explaining the importance of FSC to IKEA, Hildeman shares, "The reason we've promoted and worked closely with the Forest Stewardship Council is that it allows stakeholder input to deciding the criteria for {forest} management. It's really not up to IKEA to decide how people should be managing their forests, but we would like to see major stakeholders agree on how they should be managed."

Today, IKEA, along with NewPage Corporation and ten other business and world leaders, is a founding member of the Forest Legality Alliance, an international initiative designed to reduce trade in illegally harvested forest products, increase transparency in forest product supply chains and support global supply chain efforts to deliver legal wood and paper. The Alliance is currently developing a risk assessment tool that will help companies evaluate the risk of purchasing illegally harvested forest products including paper and wood.

To learn more about responsible forestry management and how IKEA is fostering relationships to ensure the wood necessary for their products is responsibly managed, download this podcast from www.OnPaperSeries.com. For updates on the Forest Legality Alliance's activities, visit www.forestlegality.org.

About On Paper Podcast Series

The On Paper Podcast Series, presented by NewPage Corporation, is an ongoing solutions-based dialogue that provides a platform for professionals to share how their organizations implement sustainable practices. With dozens of episodes featuring representatives from the most innovative of corporate America, across a variety of industries, On Paper has garnered more than one million downloads. Visit www.OnPaperSeries.com to listen to individual episodes and subscribe to receive notices of new episode releases.

About NewPage Corporation

Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, based on production capacity, with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009. The company's product portfolio is the broadest in North America and includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered, newsprint and specialty papers. These papers are used for corporate collateral, commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising.

NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada. These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tons of paper, including approximately 3.2 million tons of coated paper, approximately 1.0 million tons of uncoated paper and approximately 200,000 tons of specialty paper. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com

Magali Depras has announced that she will resign from her position as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and member of the Executive Board of Brødrene Hartmann A/S to seek new challenges outside of the egg and packaging industry.

Magali Depras will continue in her present position during a transition period and will leave the company on a date to be agreed upon.

"I have spent 20 very good and exciting years with Hartmann and I have always valued the co-operation with our customers and with my colleagues in the entire group. Therefore, it has been a difficult decision to make, but I have now chosen to seek new challenges outside of the egg and packaging industry. I am fully confident that the new management will continue Hartmann's positive development, and I look forward to following the company's progress in the coming years," says Magali Depras.

The Board of Directors and the Executive Board would like to thank Magali Depras for her valuable and longstanding contribution to creating a strong Brødrene Hartmann and wish her the best of luck with her new challenges.

For further information, please contact CEO Peter Arndrup Poulsen on tel. +45 51 51 40 69.

Agnete Raaschou-Nielsen                  Peter Arndrup Poulsen
Chairman of the Board                       CEO

The Energietransitie Papierketen is an industry-wide innovation initiative. The goal is to achieve an energy saving of 50 percent throughout the supply chain by 2020. Van Houtum is a participant in a project that focuses on reducing dryer energy consumption. The results are promising: the new dryer hood reduces gas consumption substantially.

As a producer of hygienic paper, we acknowledge our responsibility for preserving the environment. Consequently, we strive to achieve optimum energy efficiency in all operational areas. Our production manager/energy coordinator, Ronald Kok, is enthusiastic about the innovation initiative that has been launched by  trade association Royal VNP  and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs: “The goal of this ambitious initiative is to halve the amount of energy consumed to produce each end product by 2020. This applies to the total paper supply chain: from forestry cultivation and the used paper sector up to and including the end-users.”

Five different research programmes have been set up in order to achieve this goal: energy management, energy-neutral paper, the paper supply chain of the future, biorefining and ‘waterless production’. “The first programme is the most relevant in our situation”, says Ronald. “Energy management focuses on achieving immediate and accelerated energy savings in the supply chain. The programme encourages you to view energy as an integral component of your operational management; so you analyse your processes and machines as part of a greater whole. Monitoring your energy consumption helps you to detect where energy savings can be made.”

For example, the results indicated that applying modern techniques to our tissue machine could improve its performance in terms of energy efficiency and capacity. Further research was required to determine the exact improvements. A project was set up for this in March 2008. An important aspect of the project was to exchange best practices on an industry-wide scale. Van Houtum teamed up with three other companies to identify the most energy-efficient solution. They were supported in their efforts by the VNP, a number of suppliers and a specialised consultant. “The project was primarily intended to gather knowledge in order to request quotations for a detailed design. We investigated a number of possible modifications using simulation models. Ultimately, the knowledge that we gained in this process led us to select the current dryer hood design.”

The new dryer hood was installed in mid-August. That was quite an event: the roof had to be partially dismantled before a crane could be used to remove the old hood and install the new one. “The team did a fantastic job”, says Ronald. “The project approach worked well and helped us come to the right decision. This was after all a substantial investment and not something that could be done on a ‘suck it and see’ basis.”