Message from our President & CEO
As a manufacturing company that relies on a renewable natural resource, Interfor’s performance against sustainability criteria is one of the most important signals of the health and success of our Company.
Interfor’s 2023 Sustainability Report shows a company that is delivering on our commitment to embrace world-leading practices to advance renewable forest products as part of the climate solution.
Our sustainability goals are aligned with Interfor’s values, and how we manage our company:
Our highest priority in all we do is safety. This year we achieved our best safety performance ever, with a record low medical incident rate (MIR) across the Company and continued expansion of our safety metrics to our recently acquired operations. While we still have work to do, this year we showed significant progress toward our goal of zero injuries and everyone returning home safely.
Our commitment to our people goes beyond safety, and includes our goal to develop a workforce that reflects the diversity and strengths of our communities. In 2023, we continued to build, grow and offer high-quality learning and development opportunities throughout our workforce, with our employees completing more than 30,000 hours of learning.
This year we also completed a company-wide diversity audit of our operations and a voluntary diversity survey to better understand our employees' experiences as they relate to diversity. We will use the results to develop action plans to address the unique challenges in each of our regions.
Progress on climate and environment remains a fundamental priority for Interfor. As a company we are taking action to reduce our footprint, through efficiency improvements and targets to reduce our emissions, waste and water consumption. This past year clearly demonstrated the importance of action in this area, and its relevance to our business and our communities.
Wildfire activity was particularly intense in 2023, threatening not only the forests we rely on, but also our mills and the places we call home. I am exceptionally proud of our employees, our contractors, and the government firefighters who worked tirelessly to save the Adams Lake sawmill in BC.
Ultimately, the work we are doing to enhance our sustainability is all about strengthening the future of our Company and the resilience of our communities. In the actions we are taking across the Company, both small and large, our team is continuing to demonstrate a responsible approach to manufacturing a sustainable product in a way that aligns with broad societal objectives. We look forward to building on our momentum as we go forward.
Thank you for reading.
Ian Fillinger
President and CEO