Resolute Forest Products Inc. filed a federal lawsuit in the US against Greenpeace and a number of its associates for racketeering and defamation against the company’s forestry practices.
The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Of Georgia, included federal racketeering claims and racketeering, trademark, defamation and tortious interference claims and the Montreal, Quebec-based company seeks compensatory and other damages.
Resolute, one of the largest producers of newsprint in North America, was said to be destroying the forests in Boreal, Canada. The company yet proved that it planted over a billion trees in the region and is responsible for virtually no permanent lost forest acreage.
The complaint also demonstrates that Resolute also has not impaired the Boreal's ability to absorb greenhouse gases, and, instead, has improved that ability through harvesting and forestation as recognized and encouraged by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Resolute accuses Greenpeace for fabricating false evidence, such as staged photos falsely purporting to show the company logging in prohibited areas and as having harvested areas that were actually impacted by fire.
"Our company strives for the highest standards of environmental stewardship, which is why the attacks on us are so obviously cynical and thoroughly irresponsible. We have an obligation to our business ethics, and our many shareholders, customers, partners and stakeholders to draw the line after all other means have been exhausted," stated Richard Garneau, Resolute's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products, newsprint and specialty papers. The company owns or operates over 40 pulp, paper, tissue and wood products facilities inthe United States, Canada and South Korea, as well as power generation assets in Canada and the United States.
