VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - In keeping with its longstanding commitment to sustainability, Colliers International's (Colliers) Canadian Real Estate Management Services division announced today an agreement to purchase towel and tissue products containing alternative, non-tree fiber for its managed properties wherever possible. Distributed by Unisource Canada, Inc., the products will be provided by Kimberly-Clark Professional, which boasts the largest portfolio of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) certified towel and tissue products in North America as well as offerings that include alternative, non-tree fibers.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121112/NE10239 )
"As one of Canada's premier commercial real estate management services providers, we feel it is our responsibility to provide sustainability leadership for our clients and their properties," said Ken Scott, Director of Vendor Management for Colliers' Canadian Real Estate Management Services division. "We are deeply committed to sustainable business practices, environments and workplaces. Today's announcement is an exciting step forward in this journey."
"We are pleased to support Colliers in these efforts," said Andrew Gustyn, Director of Sustainability – North America for Unisource Worldwide. "One of our overriding commitments is to help lead our industry into a sustainable future. Our partnership with Kimberly-Clark Professional and the promotion of products containing rapidly renewable, non-tree fiber demonstrate Unisource's commitment to providing innovative solutions that help our customers foster more sustainable development."
Kimberly-Clark Professional is the first major tissue manufacturer to introduce products that contain alternative, non-tree fiber content to the North American market. Available exclusively to the business-to-business marketplace, these products are part of an ambitious corporate-wide initiative aimed at accelerating the use of rapidly renewable, non-tree sources of fiber in Kimberly-Clark products. They proudly join the family of Kimberly-Clark Professional products carrying FSC and EcoLogo certifications, which ensures that they are sourced and manufactured to stringent third-party environmental standards.
Colliers' Canadian Real Estate Management Services division will be purchasing Kleenex and Scott brand towel and tissue products that include alternative fiber content. Initially, these products will contain 20 percent non-tree fibers, including wheat straw and bamboo. These fibers both meet the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) definition of "rapidly renewable" fibers, meaning the materials regenerate themselves in less than 10 years. This shorter harvesting cycle allows for more efficient and sustainable use of land and resources, and reduces pressure on forests and other critical habitats. Wheat straw is an agricultural byproduct of harvesting grain. Its use in towel and tissue products essentially puts fiber that might otherwise be "waste" to good use.
"As global demand for the world's natural resources increases, it is critical that we find innovative ways to meet our customers' needs while reducing our Forest Fiber Footprint," said Howard Connell, Global Sustainability Leader for Kimberly-Clark Professional. "Discovering new fiber streams and shifting the way we think about resource consumption, while delivering the same quality, performance and value, is one more step in these efforts. We applaud Colliers' decision to join us on this journey."
FSC and EcoLogo
Colliers' Canadian Real Estate Management Services division will also be purchasing products from the Kimberly-Clark Professional portfolio of other FSC certified and EcoLogo-certified towel and tissue offerings, including a broad range of Kleenex and Scott brand towel, bath tissue and facial tissue offerings.
In 2009, Kimberly-Clark Professional became the first away-from-home tissue products company in North America to receive FSC chain-of-custody certification for a wide range of towel and tissue products. In 2011, FSC chain-of-custody certification was expanded to the vast majority of Kimberly-Clark Professional tissue and towel products. FSC is an international, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world's forests through third-party forest certification and product labeling, which ensures that forest products come from sources that are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment.
The EcoLogo program is one of North America's most respected environmental leadership certification programs. To earn the EcoLogo mark, tissue products must demonstrate significantly reduced environmental impact among five key lifecycle based criteria: resource consumption, energy consumption, wastewater quality, aquatic toxicity and solid waste.
Product Information and Images
The Kimberly-Clark Professional Alternative Fiber products are an early phase effort and are currently available in limited areas throughout the business-to-business segment. Images of the products are available at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcpna/sets/72157631961666811/. Kimberly-Clark Professional prohibits any other product images to be used in association with the Alternative Fiber products, including other Kimberly-Clark products, as they would be misleading and inaccurate.
About Colliers International
Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world with 15,000 professionals operating out of more than 512 offices in 61 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV; TSX: FSV and FSV.PR.U), it focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mortgage banking and research. Colliers' Real Estate Management Services division manages over 47 million square feet of office, industrial, retail and residential space across Canada. In 2011 The Bloomberg International Property Awards recognized Colliers International with three awards; Best Commercial Property Consultancy, Best Commercial Property Marketing and Best Commercial Property Website in Canada. The latest annual survey by the Lipsey Company ranked Colliers International as the second most-recognized commercial real estate brand in the world.
About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces helping to make them safer, healthier, and more productive. Key brands in this segment include: Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech, and Jackson Safety. Kimberly-Clark Professional, located in Roswell, Ga., is one of Kimberly-Clark Corporation's four business sectors. To see how we are helping people the world over, work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 140-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.
About Unisource Canada
Unisource Canada, Inc., is a subsidiary of Unisource Worldwide, Inc., and is Canada's national supplier of printing and imaging, packaging and maintenance supply products – operating from 18 locations across Canada. Unisource Canada is committed to being the choice for integrated business solutions that drive customers to improved performance and continues to offer Customer Solutions in a Global Market. Unisource Canada can be found online at www.unisource.ca.
Image with caption: " Kimberly-Clark Professional is the first major North American tissue manufacturer to introduce products that contain alternative, non-tree fibers. Its launch of four new towel and tissue products includes a Kleenex towel and coreless bath tissue offering with 20% bamboo fiber, and a Scott towel and bath tissue product with 20% wheat straw fiber. (CNW Group/Kimberly-Clark Professional)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121112_C7079_PHOTO_EN_20501.jpg
SOURCE: Kimberly-Clark Professional
Amy Vuong, Colliers International, +1-416-305-9297, [email protected]; Dave Lipson, Schwartz MSL Boston, +1-781-684-0770, [email protected]; Kara Herron, Kimberly-Clark Professional, +1-770-587-8049, [email protected]
http://www.kcprofessional.com
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121112/NE10239
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