Aug 05, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. MeadWestvaco’s Brazilian subsidiary Rigesa has been awarded the forestry certification known as CERFLOR (the Brazilian forest certification program). This certification completes the company’s commitment to have all of its forestry operations certified under internationally recognized forest certification standards. Such standards are becoming increasingly important to stakeholders as they provide assurance that the forests are being sustainably managed while they produce the products society needs. MeadWestvaco’s U.S. forestlands are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI). Rigesa’s forest certification is the first of its kind in Brazil’s Santa Catarina State, and follows a lengthy period of public input, process review, and on-site inspection. “With CERFLOR, Rigesa has acquired a significant competitive difference in a market that is more and more demanding in terms of operational excellence,” said Etsuro Murakami, Rigesa’s Forestry director. The audit of the Brazilian forestry operations was conducted by Bureau Veritas Quality International, an independent auditor who has audited the company’s U.S. forestry operations. The certification includes 128,000 acres of company land in the northern portion of Santa Catarina and the southern part of Parana. Approximately 60% of the land is planted in pine and eucalyptus, and the balance is protected in natural forest preserves. MeadWestvaco has historically been active in the development and implementation of forest certification, and was the first company to publicly endorse the SFI in 1994. More recently, the company’s program to assist South Carolina landowners with forest management expertise received the first group certification under the American Tree Farm System. Rigesa, Celulose, Papel e Embalagens Ltda., a wholly subsidiary of MeadWestvaco Corporation, has been operating in the Brazilian paper and packaging industry since 1942. The company has two paper mills, five corrugated packaging plants, two consumer packaging plants, 52 000 hectares of timberlands and eighteen sales offices and commercial representatives strategically located nationwide. Rigesa has more than 2,000 employees and is the second largest player in the Brazilian corrugated board market. MeadWestvaco, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a global packaging company that delivers high-value packaging solutions and products to the world’s most recognized companies in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, cosmetic and healthcare industries. The company also has market-leading positions in its consumer and office products, specialty chemicals and specialty papers businesses. MeadWestvaco, with operations in more than 29 countries, has been selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, and manages its forestlands in accordance with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®.