ForestEthics and Canadian Forest Industry Leader Tembec Announce Agreement to Protect Canada’s Boreal Forest

New York – Canadian forest products company Tembec Inc. and environmental organization ForestEthics announced an agreement today to work together to identify and protect Endangered Forests in North America’s largest remaining wilderness, Canada’s Boreal. Tembec and ForestEthics reaffirmed their commitment to Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC) as the certification system that assures buyers that products are free of social and environmental controversy and sets world class standards for forest management. Tembec has committed to seeking FSC certification on its lands and operating areas by the end of 2005. Tembec is one of Canada's largest producers of forest products and today's announcement represents a significant step forward in expanding supply and meeting growing demand for FSC products in the marketplace.

“Tembec is raising the bar in terms of what practices are acceptable in the forest and the products available in the market” said Lafcadio Cortesi of ForestEthics. “We’re telling forest product customers that they must purchase Endangered Forest friendly, FSC certified products from responsible suppliers like Tembec who are taking a lead in conserving global treasures like Canada’s Boreal forest” continued Cortesi.

Perhaps the world’s greatest remaining conservation opportunity, the Boreal Forest of North America is one of the largest intact forest ecosystems left on earth. With 25% of the earth’s remaining intact, road-less forests, the region supports some of the planet’s largest populations of wildlife such as grizzlies, wolves, woodland caribou and lynx. It is also the nesting grounds for one-third (3-5 billion) of our continent’s songbirds and 40% of North America’s ducks and other migratory water fowl. The boreal is also a key regulator of global climate and holds more freshwater in wetlands, lakes and rivers than any other place on earth.

“By engaging with Forest Ethics to achieve positive conservation outcomes, Tembec has significantly expanded the area of FSC certified forests and increased the availability of FSC certified products” said Terrence Kavanagh, President of Tembec’s Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Group.

In November 2004, Tembec received FSC certification in the province of British Columbia on a forest area of more than 300,000 acres. Integral to this process was a joint conservation assessment project involving Tembec, Forest Ethics, and other environmental organizations leading to the designation of Endangered Forests for protection In the coming months, FSC certified softwood lumber will be produced for the first time on a large scale in British Columbia.

With nearly 8 million acres of forestlands now FSC certified in Northern Ontario – one of the largest contiguous area of FSC certified forest in the world - Tembec has differentiated itself from most competitors by providing sizable quantities of FSC pulp, paperboard and lumber to fulfill growing market demand.

L.L.Bean, for example, anticipates further increases in already significant amounts of FSC certified fiber in its catalog over the next year. "We applaud Tembec's commitment to high environmental standards and FSC certification. Their efforts will enable L.L.Bean, and like-minded companies, to meet increased goals for certified fiber," said Carolyn Beem, L.L.Bean Manger of Environmental and Governmental Affairs.

Tembec’s engagement in FSC certification has added substantially to the protection and conservation of intact and Endangered Forests in Canada’s Boreal forest. Tens of thousands of acres of high conservation value forest land have been deferred from logging and road building across Canada

The proactive efforts of Forest Ethics and Tembec will continue in the coming year. Tembec and ForestEthics continue to be active members of the Boreal Leadership Council and signatories to the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework launched by the Canadian Boreal Initiative in 2003. Additional information is available at www.borealcanada.ca.

Tembec is a leading integrated forest products company, well established in North America and France. With sales of approximately $4 billion and some 11,000 employees, it operates 50 market pulp, paper and wood product manufacturing units, and produces chemicals from by-products of its pulping process. Tembec markets its products worldwide and has sales offices in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, China, Korea, Japan, and Chile. The Company also manages 40 million acres of forest land in accordance with sustainable development principles and has committed to obtaining Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for all forests under its care by the end of 2005. Tembec’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TBC. Additional information is available at www.tembec.com.

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Contacts:

Lafcadio Cortesi
Boreal Program Director
Forest Ethics
Tel.: (510) 701-3540

Chris McDonell
Manager Environmental Relations
Tembec Inc.
Tel.: (705) 840-8391

Carolyn Beem
Manager of Environmental and Governmental Affairs
L. L. Bean
Tel: (207) 552-6016