[5][6] MeadWestvaco was formed in January 2002 as the result of a merger between The Mead Corporation of Dayton, Ohio, and Westvaco.

[23] However, Data had also been working on a full-text information retrieval system for the U.S. Air Force, and by 1967 had adapted this product to the task of indexing and searching legal precedent as part of an experiment with the Ohio State Bar.

[24] After a study led by Arthur D. Little indicated that the product had a profitable future, Mead Data Central launched it as the LEXIS legal research system in 1973.

[29] The suit alleged that the companies had collaborated to increase the cost of cardboard containers between March 1973 and December 1975.

Mead acquired the Hilroy Companies in 1994 from a consortium of banks that had purchased Olympia and York from the receiver, O&Y's subsidiary through Abitibi-Price.

[34] MeadWestvaco took steps to improve its environmental impact by upholding both mandated and voluntary performance standards.

It was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, a system that tracks the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

MWV met the carbon reduction targets of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only legally binding rules-based greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system.

The Foundation works closely with local MWV business unit managers to determine the goals, priorities, and strategies best for each location.

Funds were allocated to the following categories: United Way, education, environment, health & human services, culture & art, and civic organizations.

MWV employees, families, and friends also contributed over 46,000 volunteer hours to schools, charitable organizations, and public institutions.