Sustainability is the only solid foundation for long term value creation. This is the key message that UPM Communication Papers shares to international delegates at the 42nd FIPP World Media Congress, which is held from the 12th to 14th of November in Las Vegas. UPM’s presentation “UPM – Responding to the changing world” explores the advantages that paper offers from a sustainability perspective and outlines concrete actions that UPM is taking to help mitigate the effects of climate change in the face of global megatrends. “We optimize our production and energy generation to continuously decrease our emissions. We champion biodiversity while setting a precedence for a responsible connection of forest use and nature conservation. And we take an active role in supporting the development of our employees, the communities we operate in and the standards of our suppliers. We believe in the future role of paper in the publishing industry as a truly sustainable product,” Ledwon says.

Domtar is strengthening our commitment to sustainability with a pledge to pursue new Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) certification standards for the Canadian government lands that we manage in the Wabigoon and Trout Lake forests. The new FSC standard for responsible forest management in Canada was launched in June. The new FSC standard consolidates four existing regional standards into one national standard. Recommendations range from physical solutions, such as buffer zones around waterways, to social solutions that address gender equity and engagement with indigenous communities.

Irving Tissue’s newest $470 million tissue plant is officially open in Macon, Georgia and based on a new, additional $400 million investment, will soon double its capacity. The new second phase of the project represents an additional $400 million investment, adding another 150 jobs and will be completed by January 2022. “We’ve already ordered an additional ThruAir Dry machine that will be a duplicate of what we already have in our Macon plant,” said Robert Irving. “This facility is part of an integrated value chain from sustainably managed forests to the store shelf. Most of the pulp for Macon products comes from our mill in Saint John, New Brunswick.”

Verso Corporation announced that Nancy M. Taylor and Randy J. Nebel have been appointed as independent members of Verso's Board of Directors effective immediately. With more than 20 years in senior management, as well as leadership roles in manufacturing and sales, Ms. Taylor brings extensive strategic, finance and corporate governance knowledge to the Board. She served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tredegar Corporation, a manufacturing company, from February 2010 to June 2015, and currently serves on the board of two other NYSE-listed companies. Mr. Nebel brings extensive paper and packaging industry knowledge and senior leadership experience to the Board. He served as Executive Vice President of Integrated Packaging at KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation from January 2017 to November 2018, and previously served on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Financial summary for Q4 FY19 and full-year ended September 2019 • EBITDA excluding special items * For the quarter US$185 million (Q4 FY18 US$224 million) * For the year US$687 million (FY18 US$762 million) • Profit for the period * For the quarter US$50 million (Q4 FY18 US$107 million) * For the year US$211 million (FY18 US$323 million) • Net debt US$1,501 million (FY18 US$1,568 million). The major factors which influenced the group’s results include: • We experienced prolonged weakness in global graphic paper markets. • In the second half of the year the graphic paper segment started to benefit from a reduction in input costs, particularly paper pulp, helping to mitigate the impact of lower volumes.