M-real announces that PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) forest labelling is now carried by its Galerie range of publishing papers, including Galerie Lite, Galerie Brite, Galerie One, Galerie Fine and Galerie Art. The PEFC logo and certification will automatically be printed on reel labels and delivery documentation This signifies that the mills manufacturing these grades know that the wood originates from certified forests and is documented under the PEFC Chain of Custody standard.

“This makes it possible for our customers to use the PEFC logo on their end product, if the printer and publisher have their own PEFC Chain of Custody certification in place,” adds Miika Jokinen, Assistant Vice President, Technical Services, M-real Publishing.

Certification labels can be adopted once the volume of certified fibre used by a mill exceeds 70%, making it possible to label the whole of the mill’s output. This has been achieved by M-real’s Kirkniemi Mill (Finland), where Galerie Lite, Galerie Brite and Galerie Fine are made; and by the Äänekoski Mill (Finland) where Galerie Art is made.

Supplies of PEFC labelled Galerie One, made by the Kangas Mill in Finland, are also available, with M-real working towards increasing the percentage of PEFC fibre in order to reach certification levels for its total output.

All M-real mills hold a certified Chain of Custody and can trace the origin of wood used in their products. This information is published in product specific Paper Profiles, which can be found on M-real’s website www.m-real.com

M-real’s aim is to increase the share of certified wood entering its supply chain and to introduce more products with forest certification labels. Forest certification is a voluntary system aimed at promoting sustainable forest management in commercial forests. It takes into account the environmental, economic and social aspects of forestry in a balanced way. There are several recognised international and national forest certification schemes adapted to local conditions in various parts of the world, the largest of which is the PEFC system.

Note to editors: Employing over 14,000 people, M-real is one of the leading paper companies in Europe. Through its worldwide sales network, M-real serves customers who mostly comprise publishers, printers, paper merchants, offices and carton printers and well-known consumer product companies M-real provides excellent wood fibre-based solutions for consumer packaging, communications and advertising end-uses. Together with its customers and partners, M-real develops solutions for demanding end-use, such as magazines, art books, brochures, direct mail, office papers, as well as packages for beauty and healthcare products, cigarettes, branded food and consumer electronics.

The company focuses on four core businesses: Consumer Packaging, Publishing, Commercial Printing and Office Papers. Map Merchant Group is M-real´s paper merchant.

Headquartered in Finland, M-real Corporation is listed on the OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange. Sales of the company in 2006 were EUR 5.6 billion. M-real is part of the Metsäliitto Group. With sales of EUR 8.5 billion, Metsäliitto Group is the eighth largest forest industry group in the world. www.m-real.com

For additional information, please contact:

Marjo Halonen,
VP Marketing Communications,
M-real Publishing

tel. +358 10 469 462
e-mail: marjo.halonen@m-real.com