Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) today announced that the Company moved up three spots from last year on the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings to second place among Tennessee-based companies, behind FedEx Corporation and ranks ninth out of 243 Southeastern companies for leadership in sustainable practices.

The 2012 GreenBusiness WORKS Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings were announced during a ceremony at Atlanta’s Carter Center on May 1.

The Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings evaluate companies on a variety of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and it is the only ranking of companies headquartered in the Southeast on these issues. The rankings were created by GreenBusiness WORKS and its partners to help companies maintain and improve their sustainability practices, while establishing a legacy of corporate and social responsibility in the region. Corporations considered for the rankings must be publically traded on a major exchange, headquartered in the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and have a minimum market capitalization of $100 million USD.

Buckeye Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe expressed appreciation for this recognition: “In April of 2009, we published our inaugural Sustainability Report, emphasizing sustainable business practices throughout our operations worldwide and detailing our sustainability goals for 2015. We take sustainability seriously and I am pleased that our efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels along with reductions in water, solid waste and air emissions are being recognized by the GreenBusiness WORKS Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings.”

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.