Greenpeace and Kimberly-Clark Reach Agreement

Canada's precious Boreal Forest is better conserved today. So are ancient forests around the world.

At a joint news conference in Washington DC, Greenpeace and the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the world’s largest tissue-product manufacturer, announced an historic agreement that will ensure greater protection and sustainable management of Canada's Boreal Forest. The agreement also will stand out as a model for forest-products companies worldwide.

After five years of relentless campaigning by Greenpeace, which is chronicled in an impressive visual timeline on their website, this is a tremendous victory for the movement to transform the pulp and paper industry.

Congratulations Greenpeace, and kudos to Kimberly-Clark for committing to these significant changes. The success of the discussions between Greenpeace and Kimberly-Clark means a movement away from conflict to a new collaborative relationship to further promote forest conservation, responsible forest management, and the use of recycled fiber for the manufacture of tissue products.

“I am looking forward to working with Kimberly-Clark on the full implementation of this policy. Because of Kimberly-Clark’s size - it uses more than 4.5 million tonnes of fibre and pulp each year to make it products -, this new policy will have a profound effect on the global forest products industry.”-Richard Brooks, Greenpeace

Under the policy Kimberly-Clark has set a goal of ensuring that 100 per cent of the fibre used in its products will be from environmentally responsible sources. It will greatly increase its use of recycled fibre and fibre from forest certified to Forest Stewardship Council standards. By 2011, it will also increase the use of recycled and FSC fibre [from North America sources] to 40 per cent from 29.7 per cent in 2007. By 2012, the company will no longer use pulp from the Boreal Forest unless is it certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council.

The full policy and its annex can be downloaded here

Please join us in thanking Kimberly-Clark for supporting conservation of the Boreal Forest by sending its CEO a congratulations email