New Launch of Eco-Balanced Paper "FR"
Incorporating Woodchips
From
Own Plantation in New Zealand
--50 Percent Blend of Virgin Pulp
From Managed Plantations and Recycled
Newspaper Pulp
May 30, 2005
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
Fuji Xerox Office Supply Co., Ltd.
Oji Paper Co., Ltd.
| On June 1, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. and Fuji
Xerox Office Supply Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Oji Paper
Co., Ltd., will release a new product called "FRnote1,"
an eco-conscious copy/printer paper that was first developed
by blending woodchips from the companies' own plantation in
New Zealand. |
| "FR" is an eco-balanced paper
produced from a blend of 50 percent virgin pulp from managed
plantations, including FSC-certifiednote2 woodchips from the
companies' own plantation shipped to Japan from SPFLnote3
in New Zealand, and 50 percent recycled newspaper pulp. |
| The release of "FR" at this time
will further promote the plan to replace all existing pulp
materials used for paper production with eco-conscious pulp
note4, a plan that Fuji Xerox has been implementing based
on the "Environment, Health and Safety requirements for
paper procurement." The three companies will further
promote the design, development and sales of eco-conscious
paper, aiming at the sustainable use of forest resources. |
|
note1
|
"F" in "FR" represents
the first letter of "Forest," which stands for "forest
recycling," and "R" represents the first letter
of "Recycle," which stands for "paper recycling." |
|
note3
|
The Southland Plantation Forest Company of
New Zealand Limited is jointly owned by Oji Paper (51 percent),
Itochu Corporation (30 percent), Fuji Xerox (10 percent) and
Fuji Xerox Office Supply (9 percent). |
|
note4
|
Eco-conscious pulp comprises three categories:
(1) recycled paper pulp; (2) virgin pulp from managed plantations;
and (3) pulp from certified forests. |
| While it is known that global warming will
have a number of significant impacts on the natural environment,
forests are able to absorb and stabilize CO2,
which is thought to be a major cause of global warming. |
| Fuji Xerox and Fuji Xerox Office Supply,
which are responsible for the design, development and sales
of copy/printer paper, have recognized that the need to harmonize
environmental protection and resource procurement is a significant
challenge and have therefore promoted a "plan to blend
a more eco-conscious pulp," in which all the fresh pulp
is replaced with "virgin pulp from managed plantations"
and "pulp from certified forests" is blended with
at least 50 percent recycled pulp, so as to deliver copy/printer
paper to the customers in a sustainable manner. |
| As part of this project, we have since
1996, jointly owned shares in SPFL, a plantation forest company
located in Invercargill in the South Island of New Zealand,
and have implemented the planting and raising of eucalyptus
trees based on the philosophy of "self-sufficiency."
In March of this year, we also started the shipment of chip
materials to Oji Paper's Nichinan factory in Miyazaki, Japan. |
| SPFL acquired Forest Management (FM) certification
for this plantation from the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council),
whose head office is located in Germany, in 2004 and "FR,"
the eco-balanced paper now being launched, will be the first
copy/printer paper in Japan to be blended with pulp made with
woodchips from the companies' own plantation.
|
| Product name |
Size |
Product Quantity |
Suggested retail price
(tax excluded) |
Eco-balanced paper
"FR"
|
A4
|
500 sheets/packet
x 5 packets
|
5,250 yen/package
|
|
A3
|
500 sheets/packet
x 3 packets
|
6,300 yen/package
|
|
| |
|
"Eco-balanced" "FR",
blended with 50 percent "virgin pulp from managed plantations"
and 50 percent "recycled newspaper pulp," is the
first recycled copy/printer paper in Japan realizing "forest
and paper recycling"-aims suggested by Fuji Xerox-and
which it can recommend to most of its customers who have been
considering the introduction of eco-conscious paper in keeping
with CSR (Corporate Societal Responsibility).
|
| |
|
"Virgin pulp from managed plantations"
contains at least 17.5 percent "FSC-certified pulp",
including wood from the companies' own plantation in New Zealand. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
In spite of being blended with 50 percent
recycled newspaper pulp, this is the first paper in the country
reaching 80 percent of the whitening level of traditional
copy/printer paper, due to the use of Oji Paper's "high
level of whitening technology" on the recycled newspaper
pulp. As a result, the color achieved is much improved from
that of traditional recycled paper.
|
| |
Plantation forestry business in New Zealand
| SPFL, established in 1992, started by planting
eucalyptus on 520 hectares of land and has gradually extended
the eucalyptus plantation to over 10,000 hectares (more than
the area inside Tokyo's JR Yamanote line, which totals approximately
7,000 hectares). It is now possible to harvest the eucalyptus
trees planted in 1992. The harvest for this year is expected
to reach approximately 12,000 tons (excluding water) and more
than 600,000 tons per year are expected for the next 11 years,
to 2015. |
|
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|
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<Eucalyptus trees grown in the plantation>
|
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<Paper materials blending plan for
2010>
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<Landscape of the plantation in New Zealand>
|
|
| Provisions of standards for paper procurement
of Fuji Xerox |
|
Fuji Xerox has complied with all laws and regulations concerning
the paper that Fuji Xerox and affiliated companies will
procure and with all established "Regulations Governing
Requirements for Fuji Xerox Paper Suppliers" based
on six provisions regarding sustainable forest management,
which came into force on December 1, 2004. These rules provide
the standards for the procurement of copy paper sold by
all of Fuji Xerox's affiliates in Japan, South East Asia,
China and Oceania, so as to raise awareness about the depletion
of natural resources and the significant impacts on the
ecosystem and indigenous people's way of life brought about
by the cutting down of forests for lumber. These rules complement
the material procurement requirements of copy paper suppliers
all around the world who, in combination with the rules
of Xerox Corporation (USA), have already been provided with
similar provisions.
|
| 1) |
Regulatory compliance |
| 2) |
Sustainable forest management |
| |
* |
The forest to be certified by a third-party
organization. |
| |
* |
or the forest to be well-managed. |
| 3) |
The source of wastepaper
and recycled pulp that the suppliers use as the raw
materials must be apparent. |
| 4) |
Chemical materials used
are to be safely secured. |
| 5) |
Paper must be manufactured
with chlorine free process |
| 6) |
Environmental management system
to be maintained for the production plant. |
|
|
In the "Forest certification system" an independent
third-party organization evaluates and certifies that the
forest management complies with certain standards.
|
| There are several third-party organizations
that conduct forest certification. Of these, the FSC (Forest
Stewardship Council) currently conducts operations such as
labeling (FSC Logo) targeting forests all around the world.
FSC certification proves that the products made of wood from
certified forests have never been mixed with that from non-certified
forests at any point in time during the manufacturing, processing
and distribution processes. |
| Forest certification consists of the following
two items. |
| |
|
Forest Management certification (FM certification)
|
| |
|
Chain of Custody certification (CoC certification) |
|
SPFL in New Zealand (who grow the plantation trees to be
used for "FR") acquired FM certification (item
(1)) in 2004 and Oji Paper (responsible for the manufacturing
of "FR") and Fuji Xerox Office Supply (in charge
of sales) acquired CoC certification (item (2)) in 2002.
|
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