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New Leaf Paper announced that it has the coveted 2008 Social Capitalist Award from Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group. This is the first year that Fast Company has awarded social performance of for-profit companies, recognizing that social entrepreneurship is not limited to the nonprofit sector. Companies are increasingly acting to demonstrate and measure a positive impact on society, the environment, and their workforces, and the magazine believes that those who commit to the highest standards of social responsibility deserve recognition. For the 2008 awards, Fast Company selected New Leaf Paper as one of 10 winners in this new Social Profit category.

"This year we've seen an explosion of diverse experiments that attempt to bring new capital -- and capital-market dynamics -- to the realm of social good," said Fast Company contributing writer, Keith Hammonds . "Through their work, social entrepreneurs and businesses are raising the stakes, creating both business and social impact, and changing old-style capitalism as we know it."

According to the magazine, New Leaf Paper was selected to win the award because the company's business activity both generates immediate environmental benefits and serves the company's greater mission by pioneering markets and shifting the behavior of its competitors.

"When I founded New Leaf Paper in 1998, the paper industry had demonstrated a high resistance to change. With low margins, a commoditized international market, and huge capital investment in the status quo, paper companies resisted efforts to integrate sustainable principles into their business practices," said Jeff Mendelsohn , founder and CEO of New Leaf Paper. "New Leaf Paper is working to change this picture, leading a shift toward sustainability in the paper industry by developing a unique approach to business and embedding our social and environmental values into every product line and every business relationship."

Fast Company cites New Leaf Paper's innovative strategy as helping to solve the classic "chicken or the egg" dilemma in the paper industry, in which both the supply side and the demand side of the market were unable to change their behavior. Leveraging the strength and clarity of the company's mission, New Leaf Paper has developed a market for truly environmentally responsible papers and served this market through leading product innovation.