Air, Water, Waste & By-products
Stewarding Resources
Air quality and air management is crucial to the communities surrounding our operating areas. We are committed to continuous air management improvement, and we have set targets established to drive improved performance.
Air emissions are generated through activities that include drying processes in our engineered wood and lumber kilns and biomass or fossil fuel combustion systems that provide heat and electrical energy for our manufacturing processes. We also monitor emissions from transportation, material handling, bleaching processes and owned landfills.
All emissions sources are authorized by respective regulatory agencies to meet applicable air quality standards.
Water, a vital natural resource, is carefully managed in our woodlands and manufacturing operations, and we operate under strict regulations to protect watercourses.
In our forest areas, landscape water management supports healthy ecosystems and watershed function. We design watershed-level management approaches and incorporate hydrological recovery considerations into forest planning. We work with Indigenous communities, regulators and other stakeholders to support water quality and quantity and protect fisheries and wetlands.
Water also plays an important role in our manufacturing processes across our lumber, OSB, engineered wood and pulp operations. It supports fibre handling, equipment cooling and environmental treatment systems at our manufacturing facilities. We monitor and manage water use and effluent discharge quality, and work to reduce consumption at higher-use facilities.
We strive to derive the highest value from the wood fibre used in our processing and manufacturing operations, maximizing fibre utilization and recovery. By making the most efficient use of renewable natural resources, reducing waste and improving recovery—as well as supporting the value-added products sector—we enhance the circularity of our manufacturing processes.
Sawdust and shavings from our lumber mills supply our MDF plants, or they can be transformed into fuel and energy to run our mills. They can also be sold for agricultural purposes. Wood chips and the wood cores from our lumber, plywood and veneer operations are used to make pulp. Even the heat, steam and gases that develop during our manufacturing processes can be captured to provide energy to our mills.
We continue to explore new ways to use wood by-products, and this is an important way that the company is minimizing waste.
Read our latest Sustainability Report to learn more about West Fraser's sustainability targets; measurement and progress; innovative solutions; and the strategies we put into place in order to improve our performance.
West Fraser is committed to the highest expectations and standards for business ethics and governance.
Sustainability considerations are embedded into business decisions, enabling us to strategize, implement and measure our progress toward our sustainability ambitions.