LONGVIEW, Wash., May 11, 2011 - The Association of Washington Business presented Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc. with an AWB Environmental Excellence Award in the category of Green Enterprise & Technology. The award, presented at a luncheon in Spokane, Wash., recognized our development of three new products - FibreShield®, FibreGreen® and FibreLok®, each created to meet customer requirements with environmentally conscious products.

"We are excited to receive this award," said Matt Elhardt, marketing director. "These products represent the future of our business - they reduce the amount of raw materials used while increasing the amount of recycled content and provide an alternative for non-recyclable products."

FibreShield demonstrates our dedication to environmental stewardship. It eliminates up to 50 percent of the raw materials used to produce multi-wall bags by using a species mix from high-productivity coastal forests in the Pacific Northwest. The initial customer focus was on cement and building material bags that require super-strong paper, but FibreShield is equally applicable to other uses, such as food, chemicals and pet food products, many of which are packaged today using four- and five-ply multiwall bags. For more information, visit our FibreShield website, www.fibreshield.com.

Longview turns old corrugated containers (OCC) into FibreGreen, a high quality, unbleached paper ready for converting. FibreGreen is a high-recycled content, lightweight, unbleached kraft paper made with a minimum of 70 percent post-consumer waste that meets FDA requirements for direct food contact. The primary customers of FibreGreen are quick-serve restaurants.

FibreLok is a replacement for wax-impregnated corrugating medium and linerboard specifically designed by Longview for high-humidity box applications. Fruits, vegetables, seafood and flowers are all examples of products that, when in a standard box, the medium (fluted material in corrugated board) readily absorbs water vapor and water, becoming weak when boxes are cooled or stored in a high-humidity environment. If the box softens due to moisture pickup, the strength of the box wall is compromised which can lead to a collapse. Historically, petroleum-based wax was applied to the medium during corrugated board manufacturing to increase strength slightly and inhibit moisture pick up. Besides being petroleum based and a nonrenewable resource, wax significantly degrades the recycle value because it melts in the recycling process, contaminating the process water. Recyclers are instructed to down-grade OCC containing wax. They are not to be reused to make containerboard. FibreLok can recycle back into basic fibers in a standard recycling operation while emitting no contaminants.

Longview works hard to reduce our impact on the environment. We have reduced water consumption by one-third since 2004, and estimate that we have cut total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than half from 2000 through 2008 and a further 10 percent in 2009. We took our dedication to sustainability and environmental protection a step further by joining The Climate Registry, a non-profit organization that sets consistent standards to calculate and report GHG emissions. We are the first company from our industry sector and the first pulp and paper mill in North America to have an inventory certified under The Climate Registry® requirements.

By maximizing the use of carbon-neutral energy sources, we are able to power our mill with nearly 90 percent of our energy use coming from renewable sources. In fact, the pulp and paper industry is the leading producer and user of carbon-neutral, renewable biomass energy--which produces more energy than solar-, wind- and geothermal-generated energy combined.

"Our actions demonstrate that FibreShield, FibreGreen and FibreLok were developed by people who care about the environment," said Randy Nebel, president. "Our goal in designing these products was to use fiber responsibly through the use of sawmill waste, waste wood and recycled fiber. Creating these products challenged employees to strategically manage Longview's resources and data to advance our paper-making abilities."

In addition to the AWB Environmental Excellence Award, Longview brought home an AWB Community Service Award in the category of Projects that Mobilize People into Action. The award, presented yesterday evening in Spokane, Wash., recognized The Daily News and Longview for co-sponsorship of the Annual Cardboard Boat Regatta.

The Association of Washington Business is Washington's oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,400 members. You can read more about the awards on AWB's website (www.awb.org) under "Headline News."

Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc. produces light-weight, high-performance multiwall and complementary specialty kraft papers for an established domestic and global customer base. The company also produces containerboard and corrugated boxes. Longview operates a pulp and paper mill at Longview, Wash., and a network of seven converting plants in the western United States.

###