2024 Community Highlights
We understand the connection between our people and the places where they work and live, so we give back strategically to causes that have the greatest local impact. In 2024, Interfor strengthened communities in many ways. We provided essential aid to those in need through food drives, meal services for Ronald McDonald House, and assistance for hurricane-affected communities. Our teams engaged in environmental stewardship by organizing cleanups, contributing to animal sanctuaries, and supporting local ecosystems. We partnered with Habitat for Humanity, providing materials and labor to build and renovate homes, emphasizing its commitment to housing accessibility. We also invested in education and youth, renewing partnerships with schools, offering forestry tours, and sponsoring youth sports. Through these efforts, we continue to demonstrate our dedication to sustainability, community welfare, and fostering future generations.
Our Metrotown Head Office team had the distinct honor of preparing and serving meals for over 125 residents and volunteers at Ronald McDonald House.
Our Longview Division’s Diversity Team hosted a gently used warm clothes and blanket drive for The Community House On Broadway.
Our Longview Division, led by the maintenance department, collected more than 185 pounds of nonperishable food for the local St. Vincent de Paul Food & Clothing Bank.
The Metrotown Office supported distribution at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
Many employees across our US Southeast operations supported their colleagues at our Baxley and Swainsboro Divisions after Hurricane Helene. Interfor also contributed over $165,000 to non-profits to support affected communities.
Our Castlegar Division donated sawdust to Kootenay Acres Farm Sanctuary for animal bedding. Another example of how we ensure that 100% of every tree processed through our mills is put to use.
Our Metrotown Office team partnered with the City of Vancouver’s Neighborhood Cleanup Program on World Environment Day. Environmental stewardship is one of our core values, and we were proud to do our part to give back to our community and help protect wildlife, the land, and waterways.
Our Cedarprime Division and their family members participated in a trash clean-up in Sumas, WA, removing trash from a six mile stretch of roadway.
Many employees across our US Southeast operations supported their colleagues at our Baxley and Swainsboro Divisions after Hurricane Helene. Interfor also contributed over $165,000 to non-profits to support affected communities.
Interfor hosted Selkirk College students, the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA), Wood-Works, and the Canadian Wood Council for a tour of its Ear Falls Division. Interfor is proud to showcase its efforts to achieve excellence at its woodlands and mill operations.
Interfor is grateful to the volunteers who enriched story time at Stringer Attendance Center, fostering education through books like Family TREES to teach students about the importance of forests. Special thanks to Volunteer Mississippi for making this initiative possible.
Our Castlegar Division worked with the Nakusp & Area Community Forest to plant 600 trees with grade six and seven students from Nakusp Elementary School at a site near Box Lake. The students were taught about species selection and the silvical characteristics of the trees they were planting.
Our Perry Division hosted a Georgia Teacher Conservation Workshop with 25 educators from across the state of Georgia who toured our sawmill and had lunch with our foresters.
Interfor’s Longview Division teamed up with Habitat for Humanity, Cowlitz County, to help build a home for a family with four children in need.
Interfor’s Port Angeles Division is proud to have supplied the lumber that helped build the new fire station in Joyce, WA.
We were pleased to reaffirm our agreement with Northern College in Timmins, ON, to support students and grads with experiential learning and job opportunities. The partnership enriches education, boosts employment, and supports local economies.
Partnerships
Each Interfor division has a unique relationship with its surrounding communities and is given an annual donation budget to be spent as the divisional leadership sees fit. Preference is given to activities involving education, children and youth, environment and health. The overarching goals for Interfor’s divisional annual donations are:
- Build positive community relations and awareness of Interfor within the community;
- Invest in initiatives our employees care about; and
- Achieve our corporate social responsibility goals.
Many divisions have long-term relationships with Habitat for Humanity affiliates in local communities, and our operations and offices continue to watch for engagement opportunities. As a lumber producer, we can provide the materials needed to build affordable homes.
Community Engagement
We engage with the public and communities in or around our mills and harvesting operations. Some of the formal frameworks under which we actively share information and engage with Indigenous Peoples, communities, stakeholders and the general public include:
- Interfor Stakeholder Engagement Strategy Plans;
- Forest Stewardship Plans (BC);
- Forest Landscape Plans (BC);
- Customized Consultation Agreement for the Wahkohtowin Communities (Ontario);
- Local Citizens Committees (Ontario);
- Landscape Reserve Design in the Great Bear Rainforest (BC);
- SFI Certification (SFI Forest Management Standard Objectives 6, 8, 14 and 15 and SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard Objectives 6, 7 and 8);
- Regional SFI Implementation Committees;
- Operational referrals to other tenure holders such as traplines, range tenures and water licenses;
- Timber Supply Review process for our tree farm licenses (BC);
- Participation in and sponsorship for formal community events, including the Indigenous Lands Symposium (Ontario), Georgia Teacher Conservation Workshop, South Carolina’s Wood Magic Forest Fair (South Carolina), FAWN Day (Fayette, Alabama), and the Forestry and Wildlife Expo for landowners (Marion Country, Georgia); and
- Forest collaboratives on National Forest land near our operations, including the Olympic Forest Collaborative, South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative, and Clackamas Stewardship Partners (Pacific Northwest).
In addition to the broad frameworks under which we share information, we engage with stakeholders by attending local forums, providing tours and taking part in educational opportunities.
Sharing our Passion for Sustainable Forestry & Operational Excellence
Our foresters are passionate about sustainable forestry, and many appreciate the chance to engage with local communities. We work with schools and non-profit organizations to host tree planting days and field trips to raise understanding of the importance of forests and how we manage them.
Our operators are equally passionate about the high standards implemented in our sawmills, and the ways in which our business contributes to a healthy economy and environment.
REFERENCES & METHODOLOGY
We are committed to transparency in our reported metrics and continuous improvement of our methodology. Download our References & Methodology document.
Our Values
Our values are more than words on an office wall.
Our mission is to build value in everything we do, every day. Whether our days are spent in woodlands, sawmills, offices — or all of the above — it’s the shared focus on excellence that drives us.
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Honesty & Integrity
We conduct ourselves with honesty & integrity.
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Respect
We respect, value & engage our employees.
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Safety & Sustainability
We embrace world-leading safety & environmental standards.
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Fact-based & Proactive
We are fact-based & proactive.
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Excellence
We strive for excellence in everything we do.
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Responsibility
We are responsible for our own success.
Sustainability
Building value through sound environmental, social, and governance practices
Our commitment to sustainable growth has been the foundation of our success, and to a broader extent, the success of our partners and the communities we serve.
Check out our Sustainability Report and explore how Interfor and our partners are creating a safer, more sustainable, and equitable future for all.