A reliable, responsible and sustainable source of high-quality wood fiber is essential to our business. MWV has been a pioneer in sustainable forestry for more than 60 years. We use sound conservation practices to manage our own third-party certified forestland and we ensure that our fiber suppliers meet the requirements of the Sustainable Foresty Initiative (SFI) as well. In early 2008, MWV will implement the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) chain of custody systems for all of our North American mill locations, giving our customers the choice of using either the SFI or PEFC label on their packages.

When MWV combines the practice of innovation with the principles of sustainability, new product paths emerge—even in well-traveled markets. Our advances in material science and specialty chemicals are paving the way to a new, more environmentally friendly solution to asphalt road construction. Our Evotherm™ product is an additive that reduces the heat needed to bind the asphalt mix in production and application, which can reduce the amount of fossil fuel needed by up to one-half.

A key consideration for our customers is choosing a responsible packaging partner that understands climate change issues. MWV self- or co-generates two-thirds of the total electricity required by our four U.S. paper mills. About 65 percent of all the energy used for our pulp and paper operations comes from carbon neutral, renewable biomass based by-products. MWV is a founding member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, the world’s first and North America’s only rules-based greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system, and we are meeting commitments to lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Since its debut in 2006, Natralock^® has solved some of the consumer products industry’s toughest packaging problems: protecting products from theft and damage, standing out on the retail shelf and improving the consumer experience. Natralock combines tear-resistant paperboard packaging with a unique heat-sealed clear “bubble” that displays the product without compromising security or durability. Natralock uses up to 60 percent less plastic on average than clamshell packaging and gives brand owners a paperboard surface for printing vibrant graphics. Natralock opens easily, eliminating the aggravation and injury often caused by hard-to-open clamshell packages.

To our customers, recycled fiber often plays a role in choosing paperboard packaging. Incorporating postconsumer fiber has historically led to a compromise of integrity in the package function of the board or added weight to maintain strength—but no longer. MWV introduced Printkote Eagle^® in 2007 with 30 percent postconsumer fiber and a technology that allows it to retain the sturdiness of a 100 percent virgin fiber paperboard without becoming denser and heavier.

The goals of increasing shareholder value and meeting the needs of communities led us to open a new frontier in 2007—the creation of our land management business. Already a longstanding owner and steward of hundreds of thousands of acres of forestland in the United States, MWV established our Community Development and Land Management Group to manage the company’s diverse portfolio of landholdings.