Xerox and The Nature Conservancy Extend Forest Conservation Partnership

$1 million grant from Xerox will help decrease Canadian forest loss, degradation

TORONTO, April 14 /CNW/ - Xerox Corporation announced today that it will invest an additional $1 million over the next four years as it commits to the second phase of its partnership with The Nature Conservancy to promote Canadian forest conservation and sustainable forest management around the globe.

The agreement builds upon the work of the Forest Conservation Partnership between Xerox and The Nature Conservancy which began in January 2007 with an initial investment of $1 million. Much of the work during the first phase of the partnership focused on the protection of the Boreal forest in Canada. Xerox supported the launch and deployment of the Canadian Boreal Data Centre, linking forest data and information across continents with the goal of improving resource management, monitoring and conservation planning.

The partnership also supported activities aimed at successful and full implementation of the High Conservation Value (HCV) concept in the Boreal forest, a key tool for identifying priority habitats. High Conservation Value Forests have conservation, biodiversity or social values considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance.

"Our work will help stem the tide of forest loss and degradation that contributes approximately 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere each year," said Bill Ginn, chief conservation officer, The Nature Conservancy. "Xerox has demonstrated true leadership in promoting responsible forest management - both in areas that they source from and in other key geographies around the globe. It's partnerships like these that are starting to change how forests are managed and how areas of High Conservation Value are treated within working landscapes."

In addition, the partnership yielded methods and tools that support effective land-use decisions in Canada, Indonesia and Brazil and fostered stronger international sustainable forestry standards that will promote biodiversity conservation.

"Given its global ecological importance, the focus on the Canadian Boreal Forest in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy has helped define our strategic outlook on responsible forest management and established a solid foundation to build on," said Emechete Onuoha, vice president, Sustainability and External Affairs Xerox Canada Ltd.

Work supported by the second, $1 million grant by Xerox officially began in January of this year. This second phase of the partnership aims to:

    
    -   Develop and test a broadly applicable forest carbon methodology for
        improved forest management that would allow landowners to achieve
        forest certification and serve as a platform for potential carbon
        benefits;
    -   Strengthen a key tool for identifying priority habitats - the High
        Conservation Value (HCV) approach - to build consistency across
        projects, disseminate standards and train assessors through global
        and regional HCV networks; and
    -   Promote responsible forestry through the implementation of forest
        management standards by working with Xerox suppliers and other land
        managers at two sites in North America - Central-Western New York and
        across the Canadian Boreal forest (including a project in Northwest
        Ontario).
    

"Our work with The Nature Conservancy directly aligns with our core values and our goal to create a sustainable paper cycle," said Kevin Warren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Xerox Canada. "While this is just one step in the protection of the world's forests and ecosystems, we feel this investment has the potential to pay huge conservation dividends now and in the future."

For more information about Xerox's commitment to environmental sustainability, visit http://www.xerox.com/environment.

About Xerox Corporation

Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology, services and outsourcing offerings, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and supplies for production and office environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 130,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries.

About The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. For more information, visit www.nature.org.

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For further information: Media Contact: Laura Mergelas, Xerox Canada, [phone], [email protected]; Tina Quelch, Calador Communications, [phone], [email protected]; Mike Andrews, The Nature Conservancy, [phone] x 117, [email protected]