Product Circularity
West Fraser supports the circular economy, which is designed to eliminate waste and pollution and keep products and materials in use. The trees we harvest and the products we make are balanced by conserving and regenerating the ecosystems where we work, ensuring that our forests continue to be a resource that benefits everyone, today and into the future.
Unlocking the Benefits
From the forests we work in, source from and regenerate, through to our wood products' end use—where they can continue to be upcycled and store carbon—West Fraser’s responsible production practices help us to decarbonize.
Along the way, West Fraser implements sustainable harvest strategies for a variety of products and beneficial-use products, including renewable energy. We make the most of our resources, using 99% of every log we process. We eliminate waste and pollution through upstream interventions, design products to use raw materials at the highest value possible throughout their lifetimes and restore and protect natural ecosystems. This is how we promote the circular economy and unlock the full benefit of the resources in our value chain
Product Circularity in Practice
Natural, renewable and sustainable. Wood is the ultimate circular economy building material.
Carbon Capture
Trees naturally capture carbon and that carbon can also be stored in wood products.
Sustainable Harvest
We manage 8.2 million hectares of forests and harvest less than 1% of this area annually.
Growing Forests, Forever
Through planting and natural regeneration, we reforest areas that we harvest on managed forestlands.
Resource Utilization
We use 99% of every log we process. Lumber accounts for the largest use, but we also make products from wood chips and sawdust. Other applications include mulch, animal bedding, road base, fertilizer, energy and soil improvement.
Renewable Energy
Most of our mills generate renewable energy, which is used on-site, from biomass material recovered from our manufacturing.
Climate-Smart Construction
Wood products are a natural, renewable and sustainable building material that store carbon throughout its lifetime.
Energy Efficient
Of all major building materials, wood requires less energy to harvest, transport, manufacture, install, maintain and recycle.
Beneficial-Use Products
Of all major building materials, wood requires less energy to harvest, transport, manufacture, install, maintain and recycle.