SPH Not Buying Newsprint From Companies Under Probe For Haze

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) has asserted that it does not buy newsprint from the five companies under probe for links to the forest fires in Indonesia. On the contrary, SPH said it obtained its newsprint from diversified sources in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific. SPH Chief Executive Officer Alan Chan said: "Some 80 per cent of the newsprint is derived from recycled paper. Only the remaining 20 per cent is from virgin pulp, and this comes from certified sustainable sources. None of the virgin pulp is sourced from Indonesia." The certifications come from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), ISO 14001, Certification by the South Korean Board of National Technology and Quality (GR), and EU Ecolabel. As a leading media organisation in Southeast Asia and a responsible corporate citizen, SPH said it strongly supports sustainability and aims to remain at the forefront of corporate social responsibility. SPH publishes The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian, My Paper (English section), and two student publications - IN and Little Red Dot. Forest and plantation fires in Indonesia were blamed for haze blanketing Singapore and Malaysia. --BERNAMA