Beyond FSC: Going further than standard certification – how West Fraser’s approach exceeds industry norms

As one of the world’s largest producers of timber panel products – and a pioneer in driving the industry towards FSC certification – West Fraser views official accreditations as fundamental building blocks of its long-term environmental management strategy. Consequently, the company has established a broader sustainability framework and associated procedures that now underpin all its procurement operations.

In line with this, West Fraser is making strong progress towards compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The company’s UK operations are also ahead of schedule on the journey to Net Zero. Crucially, its systems and procedures have been significantly strengthened in recent years, with the compliance team conducting regular reviews of progress.

Compliance plays a key role

At the heart of these efforts is Group Compliance Manager, Julie Turner, who plays a key role in overseeing all procurement activities, ensuring that due diligence is carried out at every stage of the purchasing process.

Julie’s role involves close collaboration with both customers and the supply chain, as well as ongoing engagement with the procurement team prior to contracts being placed. Monitoring is not only meticulous – it was enhanced in 2024 by the introduction of a new supplier portal featuring dashboards and automated alerts for any activity that could present a risk.

“I spend a large part of my day sharing and demonstrating our processes with customers, who are increasingly focused on ensuring they’re purchasing legal timber from responsible sources,” Julie explains. “This has become just as important as commercial decisions.”

The need for robust analysis and constant vigilance has been reinforced by organisations such as Earthsight, whose Blood-stained Birch investigation revealed how, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, over €1 billion worth of Russian plywood has been falsely certified as FSC by Chinese suppliers and sold within the EU.

One step further

Julie continues: “While FSC is a valuable certification that covers all our UK production, we go much further. Every single consignment arriving at our plants is assessed. One of our primary aims is to prevent any illegal trade – such as timber imported from Russia via third countries – or the sourcing of endangered species.

Early engagement and collaboration have been crucial. We examine geo-location data, satellite assessments and imagery – all of which go beyond what FSC currently covers. This is primarily in response to the EUDR, a major project I’m leading, and we’re significantly ahead of our competitors in this area.”

“As part of the initiative, we launched our supplier portal in September 2024. All our suppliers are now required to input data on each consignment, including commercial information and detailed ‘forest floor’ data. This includes geolocation polygons, species and harvesting dates, which are sent to satellite providers who generate reports to identify any natural resources at risk.

Site audits even assess factors such as the efficiency of felling machinery, fire suppression systems in place and whether solar panels are used to power welfare units, instead of diesel generators in the forest. All harvesting operations are certified to ISO 14000 and ISO 45000 – the internationally recognised standards for Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety Management.”

Rigorous approach & due diligence 

The company’s rigorous approach to due diligence extends beyond forest thinnings and smaller sections from felled trees – often harvested by West Fraser’s own teams – to include waste wood such as pallets and timber from demolition. In fact, recycled wood now accounts for 68% of the material used in its particleboard production.

Julie concludes: “West Fraser is incredibly proud of the due diligence systems we’ve developed – we’ve taken them to a whole new level. Importantly, although I’m part of the wood procurement team, I have no commercial responsibilities. That separation helps maintain our focus on compliance. We go the extra mile on sustainability and have a deep commitment to legislative integrity.

Before our supplier portal launched last year, hardly anyone knew what a ‘polygon’ meant in a forestry context. Today, 100% of our UK suppliers are signed up and fully engaged with it.”

All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in ISO 14001-certified mills. Responsibly sourced, the panels are FSC® certified (C012533) and made from locally grown timber, which significantly reduces embodied carbon from transport.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit https://uk.westfraser.com/