In Alberta, you can be sure our products are sustainably and ethically produced. On top of meeting government requirements for sustainability, Alberta forestry companies often seek additional certification from independent sustainability organizations. 96% of the managed forests in Alberta are certified sustainable by international organizations like the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.


Forest products sometimes show up in places you might not expect. In addition to paper, pulp is used to make HDTV screens. Cosmetics, diapers, and other everyday consumer goods use natural elements from trees, too. And with the material that’s left over from producing pulp, lumber, and other primary products, we can create carbon neutral energy, fertilizer, and renewable components for other kinds of manufacturing, such as wood pellets for barbecues.

Sustainable & innovative uses for wood

As Canadian architect, Michael Green, shares in his TED Talk, no two pieces of wood anywhere on earth are exactly the same. That unique, organic quality brings the wonder of nature into our buildings and reminds us that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, a beautiful and complex natural environment that sustains all life on Earth. As you might expect in a province that’s over 60% forest, wooden architectural gems built with wood can be found all across Alberta.
Timber is strong enough to be used as a structural element. Biophilic design – the practice of connecting people and nature within our built environments - aims to bring humans back into a closer union with our natural surroundings. The technology behind mass timber products, which are made by bonding smaller wood components together with fire-resistant glue; not only are they just as strong as concrete or steel, but they’re also a fraction of the weight allowing us to safely build larger and taller wood structures. The Mjøsa Tower in Norway is currently the world’s tallest at 18 storeys, and Alberta building codes were recently adjusted to allow wood structures up to 12 storeys.

The art of Biophilic design

Building with sustainably sourced wood can actually help the environment. When trees are converted to building materials, instead of burning or decaying, the carbon they absorbed over their lifetime stays trapped in the wood. The areas that were harvested are then replanted, and the cycle starts again – regenerating forests capture more carbon, and the carbon that was already absorbed stays locked away. Living forests and wood buildings both serve as carbon sinks, working simultaneously to keep carbon out of the atmosphere.
When other building materials are replaced with wood in building design, the benefit goes even further. Not only does wood store carbon, but we reduce the emissions that would have been produced by using less sustainable materials.

Building with sustainably sourced wood

Responsible harvesting means birds get the right of way. Disruption during their breeding season can impact bird populations.

Foresters monitor and predict seasonal patterns and the phases in the birds’ lifecycles to calculate the best time for harvesting activities in a given area. This is done through a tool created in partnership with researchers and helps predict the harvesting risk to birds in a certain area by using information such as seasonal patterns. Alberta forest companies provide trainings for the foresters to help them identity situations where best practices around risk mitigation need to be applied.

Our foresters are very passionate about the well-being of the bird populations. Their dedication and effort, in addition to the continuous work being done by the forestry companies, make a difference.

Yield to the Bird Kingdom

In 1990, the iconic grizzly bear was struggling in our province. It was estimated that there were only 790 grizzlies living in Alberta. Scarier still was that the reason behind the problem was unclear. Alberta needed reliable scientific data to understand the cause of the decline, so the industry supported and collaborated with initiatives like fRI Research’s Grizzly Bear Program.

The research showed the importance of something called “edge habitat”, which refers to the sections of young forest on the border of an established one. The plants that grow in this environment are an important food source for bears, as are other animals that move in to graze in these areas.

Through strategic harvesting and regeneration practices, the forest industry can create this kind of grizzly bear habitat where it’s most needed to keep those grizzly bear numbers robust. We are pleased to say that the grizzly population has reversed its decline and has seen significant growth in the past ten years.

Our Bears are Back

Caribou are one of Alberta forests’ most notable species. Forest companies, in partnership with the Government of Alberta, are working with researchers to ensure a healthy population is maintained and nurtured in the province. A large portion of their food source comes from a composite organism found in mature trees called lichen. As a result, the industry plans the harvests strategically to safeguard caribous and their population. This is done through better harvest block designs, advancing silvicultural practices, improving linear features, and more.

Caring For Caribou

The Southern Rockies Watershed Project at the University of Alberta is the largest study of its kind worldwide. It examines how watershed changes as a result of large-scale disturbances and it may offer insight on how to help forests and water systems bounce back after forest fires. fRI Research is revolutionizing watercourse buffers to improve how we maintain water sources. They’re able to identify the ideal shape, size, and location of buffers for different types of water bodies.

Why water research matters

The health of our wetlands and the species that live there is a barometer for the overall health of our environment, not to mention the direct benefits to our broader ecosystem.

Canada holds close to a quarter of the world’s wetlands. They’re vital to our ecosystem and environment – wetlands hold and filter fresh water, support a diversity of wildlife, and store carbon. Globally, the boreal forest holds 455 billion tonnes of carbon or as much as 26 years’ worth of global emissions, most of which is held in peaty boreal wetlands that submerge decaying plants and keep them from releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and other partner organizations worked alongside the forestry industry and to establish the Forest Management Wetland Stewardship Initiative – an ongoing collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Canada to share knowledge and resources that maintain the health of wetlands in the boreal forest.

Why we love our wetlands

Alberta’s forest industry respects the value of every tree and forest companies work hard to minimize waste from their operations.
Material left over from making forest products such as hog fuel, black liquor, and wood pellets can be used and burned to create carbon-neutral renewable energy.


Another process of creating bioenergy is through methanation. The chips that are left from the lumber production in the mills undergo the pulping process. In this pulping process, water is cleaned through a bacterium to remove organics before it is discharged back to the stream. In this process, the bacteria produce methane and the mills take this methane gas to produce bioenergy.


Many of the industry’s manufacturing facilities produce and use this kind of energy to power their operations. Any excess energy created by biomass is also transferred to the provincial grid, reducing the overall environmental impact of supplying electricity to Alberta communities.

Creating bioenergy

Replanting isn’t the end of regeneration; any more than birth is the end of parenthood. The new forests we plant need nurturing and care to reach their full potential.

In Alberta, we carefully monitor and adapt our management practices to nurture new growth until it reaches a self-sustaining stage. Even if all goes well and the forest develops as expected, companies are still required to watch over the areas they’ve replanted for a minimum of 14 years.

Goals are established in advance for that 14-year period. If the new forest hasn’t reached specific indicators of healthy, stable development by that time, the company stays involved until those standards are met and the forest is able to thrive on its own.

When it comes to replanting, nature is our best teacher. We should always look at what was growing there before when we work to regenerate a forest – in replanting, we restore the same types and mix of trees that are native to a particular site. This includes forest companies collecting the seeds from the site to ensure similar genetic compositions exist within the new forest. The purpose of regeneration isn’t to plant what grows the most quickly or would be most profitable if the area was harvested again. The purpose is always clear: ensure healthy, thriving, diverse forests across the province.

Our regrowth philosophy

Destruction caused by fire does set the stage for renewal – some tree species have even adapted specifically to open their cones and release fire-activated seeds. Fires also clear the forest canopy to let sunlight in and release nutrients that are stored in the material scattered on the forest floor, which stimulates new growth and helps the forest regenerate. These benefits mean that stopping forest fires entirely would be taking away something our forests need.

Healthy fires are a product of a well-balanced landscape through sustainable forest management. These types of fires benefit the ecosystem by providing nutrients to the soil, allowing more sunlight to reach the forest floor, and encouraging the area to adapt to the new environmental conditions. Other characteristics of healthy fires include:

More likely to benefit ecological services

Although less frequent, when an unhealthy fire takes hold of an area, it is difficult to extinguish the fire. Unhealthy fires can burn so hot and so deep that a forest won't naturally regenerate in that area. Other characteristics of unhealthy fires include:

Creating buffer zones that limit and guide the path of fires also helps protect human structures and communities. Controlled burns and strategic harvesting of older, drier areas that are more susceptible to burning also help reduce the risks associated with fire, without preventing them entirely. Researchers, government, and the forest industry work together to keep people safe while making sure our forests are thriving.

Forest Fires and their Impact

The mountain pine beetle infests trees by embedding itself in their trunks. After implanting itself, it transmits a fungus that kills the tree by cutting off the flow of water and nutrients. The beetle has been spreading east across Canada at a concerning rate.
In Alberta, the forest industry and the provincial government have worked together to slow the mountain pine beetle’s spread to other provinces. By monitoring the situation closely and proactively harvesting trees that are most susceptible or already infested, we have been able to slow the beetle down. The diversity of tree species in our forests is also crucial to limiting infestations – ongoing efforts to increase the diversity and resilience of our forests will help keep insects and diseases in check.

Meet the notorious Mountain Pine Beetle

Wood products made from trees hold the carbon that was absorbed over the trees’ lifetime – dry lumber is 50% carbon by weight. Wood’s carbon storage capacity is why wood is such an effective opportunity for addressing climate change.

The amount of carbon stored by an average wood-framed house is equivalent to the emissions from running a car for five years. On top of that, forest companies grow three new trees for every tree that’s harvested to make these wood products – the new trees will absorb even more carbon, and younger trees absorb it at a faster rate.

It is possible for the carbon stored by trees to be released, though – this happens if the tree burns or is killed by insects like the mountain pine beetle. That’s why controlling and containing wildfires and infestations is such a hot topic.

200 Years In The Making

The full environmental assessment

Alberta Vegetation

Parks and Roads

Water

Wildlife

Indigenous Values