Fiber Sourcing

Sustainable forestry practices protect the environment and ensure a renewable long-term supply of fiber. We use sustainable sources of fiber in our paperboard products. This commitment extends from the forestlands we own to the fiber we purchase from conscientious third-party suppliers.

MWV depends on sustainable sources of fiber to supply the world with innovative packaging products. We protect this valuable resource by using responsible practices to manage our forest assets, and by sourcing additional fiber from responsible third parties. MWV does not knowingly accept illegally harvested or stolen wood, wood from recognized old growth forests, rainforests or forests of exceptional conservation value.

MWV Fiber Resources

We secure our fiber resources from three primary sources.

Our Lands

Each year, about 30 percent of the wood used by our U.S. integrated pulp and paper mills comes from company lands and other sources of certified fiber. Sixty percent of the forestland we own is in forest plantations typically located on former agricultural lands or degraded forest sites, and we harvest less than three percent of our forests annually. 

At Rigesa in Brazil, because 50 percent of the annual forest harvest is sold as sawlogs, approximately two thirds of the company's fiber needs are met from company-owned forests.

Private Landowners

We also source fiber from 2,264 individual and family forest owners who control 1 million acres of forestlands in the U.S. and Brazil. As members of our Cooperative Forest Management program, they benefit from our advice on forest management.

Other Industries

Sixteen percent of the wood we use comes from residues from other wood-using industries. We maximize the use of slabs, edgings and waste that would otherwise be designated for landfills.