Woodchip Export From
New Zealand Plantation Begins

Southland Plantation Forest Company of New Zealand Limited (SPFL), located in Invercargill, New Zealand, was established by Oji Paper Co., Ltd. (Oji Paper) and ITOCHU Corp. (ITOCHU) in 1992, and then joined by Fuji Xerox and Fuji Xerox Office Supply Co., Ltd. in 1996. The company attained Forest Management Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an organization based in Germany that provides accreditation services for companies interested in responsible forestry, in February 2003. This year, its 13^th in business, marks the first time for a shipment of FSC-certified hardwood chips to be exported from New Zealand.

SPFL has planted approximately 10,000 hectares of eucalyptus trees since its inception in 1992, and began harvesting in August 2004. South Wood Export Limited (SWEL), a New Zealand logging company wholly owned by ITOCHU, has been contracted to process and export the woodchips to Oji's pulp and paper factory as FSC-certified woodchips.

Once the woodchips are mixed with other materials at the factory, Fuji Xerox Office Supply can begin manufacturing FSC-certified copy machine and printer paper for commercial sale.

A ceremony to mark the woodchip shipment will be held on site in New Zealand on March 10, with the presidents of the stakeholder companies, as well as national and local government members and the Japanese ambassador to New Zealand, expected to attend.

[Oji Paper Co., Ltd.]
Oji Paper currently has nearly 140,000 hectares of overseas forest plantation and aims to quickly expand this to 300,000 hectares. It requests all overseas plantation subsidiaries to acquire FSC accreditation based on the timing of their first harvest. Japanese capital investment in overseas plantations is now closely observed as the problem of global warming becomes of greater global concern. As a paper manufacturer, Oji Paper would like to play a positive role in continuing to bring this issue to the fore.

[ITOCHU Corporation]
ITOCHU has initiated a number of plantation projects with the aims of expanding its pulp and paper business through the development of recoverable forest resources based on eco-conscious concepts and helping to prevent global warming. In terms of FSC accreditation, ITOCHU acquired Chain of Custody (CoC) certification and was the first Japanese company to begin importing FSC-certified woodchips. It continues to positively promote the handling of certified products.

[Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd./Fuji Xerox Office Supply Co., Ltd.]
Fuji Xerox and its affiliates recognize that promoting forest conservation is the corporate responsibility of companies that produce consumables from natural resources, and has reinforced this by putting its affiliated company, Fuji Xerox Office Supply, at the core. One of its key companywide programs is the "Eco-Conscious Pulp Plan." By maintaining a high ratio of used pulp as well as plantation pulp and certified pulp as recoverable resources, it aims to reduce material consumption, which greatly benefits the environment. Fuji Xerox joined SPFL with a view to promoting "self-sufficiency."

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