The woodchips Nippon Paper Industries purchases from Gunns Limited are produced in accordance with the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) of Tasmania, which was introduced as a legal framework through a democratic process. The Company believes that forests with higher preservation value are protected under the RFA, and that sustainable management is carried out in the forests used for the forestry industry. In addition, efforts to obtain forest certification have been made in the local forests.

The Company most definitely does not support the destructive harvesting of old growth forests and forests with higher preservation value, and does not purchase forest products produced from woods of destructive harvesting. Also, the Company considers that that is not the case in Tasmania.

 

As previously mentioned, the Company believes that this issue should be resolved through a democratic process in Tasmania.

To help resolve the issue, President of Nippon Paper Industries sent letters to the premier of Tasmania and the president of Gunns Limited on March 9, and urged all parties in Tasmania to participate in a dialogue to achieve a settlement.

The Company also requests that Greenpeace Japan and The Wilderness Society of Australia continue to make efforts to settle this issue.

(The letter of the same contents as the above was sent to the president of Gunns Limited.)