10.26.2006 - 08:08am ET

(CSRwire) ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2006--Aiming to ensure that today's forest lands are there for tomorrow's generations, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) has invested $1 million in an innovative partnership with The Nature Conservancy to strengthen and advance practices used to conserve the world's forests. The investment - the largest Xerox has ever made in an environmental partnership - will develop science-based tools, practices and systems that the paper industry can draw upon to better understand and manage ecologically important forest land.

The grant, along with the support of Xerox people and its industry partners, will be used to enhance a forest data center for Canada's boreal forest, the largest block of contiguous intact forest left in the world; to strengthen third-party forest certification standards that Xerox relies on to ensure that its paper is derived from responsibly managed forests; to identify best forest biodiversity management practices; and to communicate them broadly with forest managers, paper suppliers and others. In addition to the Canadian boreal forest, the partnership will focus on the forests of the southern United States, Indonesia and Brazil's Atlantic Forest.

The agreement reflects the efforts of both organizations to broaden the scope of global conservation by working with and supporting private-sector and nongovernmental organizations.

"The partnership between Xerox and The Nature Conservancy is extremely important because through it, we have the ability to reach and influence the paper suppliers in Xerox's supply chain," said Steve McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. "Involving these suppliers and companies like Xerox are critical to our efforts to protect ecologically sensitive forests. We applaud Xerox's vision and are grateful for its support. This is a tremendous example of what can be achieved through effective partnerships between the private sector and conservation groups."

"Advancing sustainable forest management practices among paper suppliers is an important part of Xerox's longstanding commitment to valuing and protecting the environment," said Anne Mulcahy, chairman and CEO of Xerox, which is the world's largest distributor of cut-sheet paper. "We have pioneered two-sided copying, expanded our recycled paper, and developed solid ink printing technology and other innovations aimed at conservation. This partnership with The Nature Conservancy takes our commitment to a new level by focusing on the responsible management of forests that provide raw materials to make paper."

Details about the partnership

The partnership will further the paper industry's collaborative efforts at four key sites across the globe: Canada's boreal forest, the southern forests of the United States, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and the forests of Indonesia.

-- In Canada, the partnership will help catalyze a science-based data center providing information on ecologically important areas of the boreal forest, which stretches from the coast of Newfoundland west across Canada. An online interactive database will be available to Xerox's paper suppliers as they conduct planning and timber harvesting operations. The 1.6 billion-acre boreal forest represents one-quarter of the intact, original forests remaining in the world today. Its sheltering trees and clear lakes host grizzly bears, migratory birds, caribou, and gray wolves.

-- In the southern United States, the partnership will focus on improving forest certification standards that ensure forests are managed sustainably. Forest certification is a valuable conservation tool for The Nature Conservancy and others. Xerox's support will help the Conservancy develop a pilot project with the company's top U.S. paper suppliers to test new directions and strengthen the ecological components of international forestry standards. Improvements will meet economic, social and environmental goals. The forests and waterways of the South are among the most biologically diverse in the country. However, these forests are facing significant development pressure from rapid growth, threatening the health and integrity of wildlife habitat, public opportunities for outdoor recreation, and natural resource-related jobs.

-- In Brazil and Indonesia, the partnership will support efforts to identify areas of ecological and cultural significance on industry lands and concessions, and ensure the exclusion of timber harvesting from these important forested areas, unless the lands have met internationally recognized standards. These forests are among the most biologically diverse - and endangered - forests in the world, providing habitat for a number of rare and endangered species found nowhere else on Earth.

With a vision of healthy forest ecosystems that sustain the needs of people and nature, The Nature Conservancy works to advance responsible forest management practices that protect, restore and manage the world's forests. The partnership with Xerox, in particular, ties in squarely with two of the Conservancy's key strategies: creating financial incentives that improve forest management, and promoting the independent certification of sound forest management practices.

Meantime, Xerox continues to develop high-quality recycled-paper products with up to 100 percent recycled content, to provide automatic two-sided printing features in its equipment to help conserve paper, and to invest in workflow and digital imaging tools aimed at helping customers improve productivity and reduce dependency on paper. Since 2003, Xerox also has asked its paper suppliers to meet strict paper-sourcing policies aimed at ensuring that all Xerox paper is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

"The Conservancy and Xerox share a common belief that sustainable development is not only possible but essential," said Joseph Cahalan, vice president, The Xerox Foundation, which will provide the $1 million grant over three years. "This partnership is yet another tangible way that Xerox is putting this belief into practice."

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. For more information, visit www.nature.org.

Xerox Corporation is a nearly $16 billion global enterprise that helps businesses find better ways to work through innovative technology integrated with document-management services. Over the past 40 years, Xerox has demonstrated leadership in sustainability and citizenship by designing "waste-free" products built in "waste-free" plants, investing in innovation that delivers measurable benefits to the environment, supporting educational and community projects around the world, and many other integrated initiatives. For more information, visit www.xerox.com/citizenship.



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