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Montreal, February 26, 2010
– At its annual meeting of shareholders on February
18th, Transcontinental, in its role as a leader in environmental
protection and as a company that strives to serve the communities
in which it operates, officially tabled its Sustainability
Report 2009 — Committing ourselves to performance.
In it Transcontinental actively commits “to sustainable
development by integrating social, financial and environmental
considerations into its day-to-day business operations and
long-range planning". The report is available on the
company website.
“In the past, our commitment was part of our effort
as a good corporate citizen to combine business success with
social responsibility,” said President and Chief Executive
Officer François Olivier. “We did it our way:
by mobilizing our employees and working with our partners.
So it is a natural step for Transcontinental to now integrate
sustainable development in a manner that is consistent with
and broadens our environmental commitment.”
This first sustainability report was based on the Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard, an international reference
for methodology. In accordance with the GRI approach, Transcontinental
identified a series of indicators which the Corporation will
monitor regularly, with reports on future progress. “You
can’t improve what you don’t measure,” said
Jean Denault, Transcontinental’s Vice President, Procurement
and Technology and Chair of the Sustainable Development Steering
Committee. “The 2009 report will be used as a benchmark
to track our results and establish guidelines for our actions,
with the transparency and rigour provided by the GRI standard.”
The report has also been verified by the GRI organization.
In the coming year, the Steering Committee —which
is composed of employees from all operating sectors—will
guide the internal process of defining the objectives, performance
targets and timeframes required for the next stages in the
GRI reporting procedure.
A dynamic and ongoing commitment
The very first thing the report does is set out
Transcontinental’s commitment to sustainable development.
As indicated by past achievements, namely its Paper Purchasing
Policy that favours environmentally preferable papers, the
Corporation’s commitment encourages the mobilization
and accountability of its partners, as well as innovation,
concrete and tangible actions and the sharing and communication
of results. It is around these four themes, essential to a
successful process, that Transcontinental’s path to
sustainable development will be built.
- Engagement and ownership: Mobilize employees
at all levels of the organization, and our suppliers, customers
and partners.
- Innovation is the key driver, internally and
externally: Supporting and rewarding innovation
as key component of the strategy.
- Connecting words to actions: Setting
targets and key performance indicators to measure progress.
- Shared journey: Communicating challenges
and progress at each step of the way.
Lastly, preparation of the Sustainability Report 2009 made
it possible to identify initiatives and projects central to
responsible management of the organization which, without
being called sustainable at the time they were implemented,
are consistent with the spirit of sustainable development.
- Greenhouse gas emissions: reduction
of 11% in 2009 and implementation of a global energy management
program to reduce emissions by 15% by 2012 compared to the
level in 2008.
- Paper Purchasing Policy: increase in
the use of Gold and Gold Plus papers, the highest ranked
papers in the environmental classification developed by
Transcontinental, which represent 48% of the paper purchased
in 2009, compared to 22% in 2008.
- Chain-of-Custody: triple forest product
chain-of-custody certification (FSC/SFI/PEFC) in 42 Transcontinental
printing plants.
- Recycling programs: recovery of 700
tonnes of paper in the Montreal subway system and contribution
of $480,000 to provincial and municipal recycling programs.
- Health, Safety and Wellness: decrease
in the accident frequency rate, from 1.30 in 2008 to 1.08
in 2009.
- Corporate philanthropy: investment of
about $5.7 million in social and humanitarian causes in
2009, in the form of donations and sponsorships.
- LEED certification: LEED Silver certification
for Transcontinental Northern California, the plant built
in Fremont, California to print the San Francisco Chronicle.
The report also recognizes the contribution of Transcontinental
employees. It identifies some 25 awards and prizes won by
our business units or employees at every level of the organization.
Profile
Transcontinental provides printing, publishing and
marketing services that deliver exceptional value to its clients
and provide a unique, integrated platform for them to reach
and retain their target audiences. Transcontinental is the
largest printer in Canada and in Mexico, and sixth-largest
in North America. It is also Canada’s leading publisher
of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources,
the second-largest community newspaper publisher, and its
digital platform delivers unique content through more than
120 Web sites. Its Marketing Communications Sector provides
advertising services and marketing products using new communications
platforms supported by database analytics, premedia, e-flyers,
email marketing, and custom communications. Transcontinental
is a growth-oriented company with a culture of continuous
improvement and financial discipline, whose values, including
respect, innovation and integrity, are central to its operation.
Transcontinental (TSX: TCL.A, TCL.B, TCL.PR.D) has approximately
12,500 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico,
and reported revenue of C$2.3 billion in 2009. For more
information about the Corporation, please visit www.transcontinental.com.
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For information:
Media
Sylvain Morissette
Vice-President, Corporate Communications
Transcontinental Inc.
Telephone: 514 954-4007
sylvain.morissette@transcontinental.ca
Financial Community
Jennifer F. McCaughey
Director, Investor Relations
Transcontinental Inc.
Telephone: 514 954 2821
jennifer.mccaughey@transcontinental.ca
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