Transcontinental Reports Gains for Fiscal Year Despite Q4 Loss
Major projects included $60 million to expand the Transcontinental Transmag newspaper printing plant, in Montreal, and purchase state-of-the-art equipment that allows customers to put colour on every page of their publications; a further $20 million to buy sophisticated equipment for magazine and catalogue printing at Transcontinental Interweb Montréal; and another $20 million to buy additional equipment to print the Rogers magazines at its printing plant in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Sustainable Development
Transcontinental has exercised its leadership in sustainable development in its own way, that is, by mobilizing its employees and taking concrete action. Highlights in 2008 included the following:
- FSC certification of nine more of its facilities in Canada and the U.S. by the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies that a product meets its social and environmental standards. This brings to 18 the number of Transcontinental’s plants that are FSC certified;
- The launch of an oxo-biodegradable Publi-Sac (Ad-Bag). The bag is now made of biodegradable plastic thanks to a technology developed by EPI, a pioneering Vancouver firm in the field of environmental technologies;
- Sponsorship of the National Environment Show, the biggest event of its kind in Quebec, held at the Old Port of Montreal;
- The publication of four new issues of the magazine Vision durable, whose mission is to help business people take action to support sustainable development;
- The print customer mail-out of eight issues of Éco-Questions, a newsletter that addresses issues, trends and terminology as they relate to the environment and printing;
- And the participation of Transcontinental, with four other major corporations, in a project to improve energy efficiency in cooperation with the Association québécoise de la maîtrise de l’énergie.
These initiatives show that Transcontinental management is very committed to sustainable development, and management is convinced that all of these efforts will help it create long-term value for employees, customers and shareholders. Furthermore, this commitment has been recognized, once again, by Jantzi Social Index® (JSI), an index composed of a select group of 60 Canadian corporations chosen for their performance in the area of social and environmental responsibility. Transcontinental has been on this index since 2004.
