This is West Fraser’s first report prepared with the GRI Standards. GRI is a global standard for reporting on a range of economic, environmental and social impacts.
Data in this report is from both 2016 and 2017 calendar years. Please see our website www.westfraser.com to access reports related to this publication such as our Annual Report, Information Circular, Financial Statements and Governance documents. Please contact [email protected] for more information about topics covered in this report.
West Fraser ESG GRI Content Navigation Table | |||||
102 - Organizational Profile | |||||
102-1 | Name of the organization | West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (“West Fraser”) |
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102-2 | Activities, brands, products, and services | West Fraser is a diversified wood products company producing lumber, LVL, MDF, plywood, pulp, newsprint, wood chips and energy with facilities in Western Canada and the Southern United States. | 2016 Annual Report, pages 6-14
2017 Annual Report, pages 8-22
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102-3 | Location of headquarters | 2016 Annual Report, page 72
2017 Annual Report, pages 110-111 | |||
102-4 | Location of operations |
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102-5 | Ownership and legal form | West Fraser is a publicly traded company with shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol: “WFT”.
West Fraser’s Certificate of Incorporation was filed with the Government of the Province of British Columbia April 29, 1954 and was most recently amended, restated and filed May 1, 2014. | 2016 Annual Report, pages 6-8 2017 Annual Report, pages 10-12 | ||
102-6 | Markets served | Annual Report: Markets | 2016 Annual Report, pages 11-13, and 69 2017 Annual Report, pages 17-21, and 105 | ||
102-7 | Scale of the organization | Annual Report | 2016 Annual Report, page 38, page 2-3, and 7 2017 Annual Report, page 59, pages 3-4 and 9 | ||
102-8 | Information on employees and other workers | Annual Report: Human Resources | 2016 Annual Report, page 11 2017 Annual Report, page 17 | ||
102-9 | Supply chain | Annual Report: Business Overview Contractors are subject to our Environmental Policy and Safety Policy | 2016 Annual Report, pages 7-14 2017 Annual Report, pages 8-22. | ||
102-10 | Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain | Annual Report: MD&A The most significant change to operations was the acquisition of six sawmills and a finger-joint mill from the Howard Gilman Foundation in August 2017 | 2016 Annual Report, pages 22-43 2017 Annual Report, pages 34-68 | ||
102-11 | Precautionary Principle or approach | Environmental Policy, Environment and Product Certifications
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102-12 | External initiatives |
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102-13 | Membership of associations |
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102-14
| Statement from senior decision-maker | Report to Shareholders | 2016 Annual Report, pages 4-5, 2017 Annual Report, pages 5-7 | ||
102-15
| Key impacts, risks, and opportunities | Annual Report: External Factors Affecting West Fraser’s Business and MD&A | 2016 Annual Report, pages 13-14, MD&A pages 23-42 2017 Annual Report, pages 12-16, MD&A pages 34-68 | ||
102-16
| Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior |
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102-17
| Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics |
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102 - Governance | |||||
102-18
| Governance structure | 2016 Annual Report, pages 16 -19 2017 Annual Report, pages 25-29 | |||
102-19
| Delegating authority |
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102-20
| Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics | West Fraser’s executive team has responsibility for one or more sustainability areas, including environmental responsibility at manufacturing sites, safety, employee development, forest management activities, governance, financial performance and stakeholder engagement.
The Safety & Environment Board Committee is ultimately responsible for monitoring our safety and environmental performance. |
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102-21 | Consulting stakeholders on economic, environmental, and social topics | Shareholders may communicate directly with our Board and Directors as outlined in the Information Circular: Shareholder Feedback and Concerns | 2017 Information Circular, pages 30 2018 Information Circular, pages 30-31 | ||
102-22 | Composition of the highest governance body and its committees | Information Circular: Composition of the Board | 2017 Information Circular, pages 29-35 and 2018 Information Circular, pages 31-35 | ||
102-23 | Chair of the highest governance body | Chairman of the Board: Hank Ketcham | 2017 Information Circular, page 25-26 2018 Information Circular, page 26 | ||
102-24 | Nominating and selecting the highest governance body | Information Circular: Board Renewal and Governance & Nominating | 2017 Information Circular, pages 18-20, page 35 2018 Information Circular, pages 17-20, page 35 | ||
102-25 | Conflicts of interest | Information Circular: Serving on Other Boards | 2017 Information Circular, page 32 2018 Information Circular, page 33 | ||
102-26 | Role of highest governance body in setting purpose, values, and strategy | Mandate of the Board of Directors Information Circular: Mandate of the Board | 2017 Information Circular, page 28-29 2018 Information Circular, page 29
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102-27 | Collective knowledge of highest governance body | Information Circular: Orientation Program and Continuing Education | 2017 Information Circular, pages 35-36 2018 Information Circular, pages 35-37 | ||
102-28 | Evaluating the highest governance body’s performance | Information Circular: Expectations of Management page 30 and Performance Reviews | 2017 Information Circular, page 30, 18 2018 Information Circular, page 31 and 19 | ||
102-29 | Identifying and managing economic, environmental, and social impacts | ||||
102-30 | Effectiveness of risk management processes |
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102-31 | Review of economic, environmental, and social topics |
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102-32 | Highest governance body’s role in sustainability reporting | The Board’s Safety & Environment Committee is responsible for monitoring the Company’s environmental performance and environmental systems. Our executive management team reviews and approves our Sustainability Report. |
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102-33 | Communicating critical concerns | Code of Conduct sections 15. Compliance & Reporting and section 16. Whistleblower Protection |
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102-35 | Remuneration policies | Information Circular: Executive Compensation | 2017 Information Circular, pages 37-53 2018 Information Circular, pages 38-57 | ||
102-36 | Process for determining remuneration | Information Circular: Advisory Resolution on the Company’s Approach to Executive Compensation (Say On Pay) and Executive Compensation | 2017 Information Circular, pages 24-25, pages 37-53 2018 Information Circular, page 25, pages 38-57 | ||
102-37 | Stakeholders’ involvement in remuneration | Information Circular: Advisory Resolution on the Company’s Approach to Executive Compensation (Say On Pay) | 2017 Information Circular, pages 24-25 2018 Information Circular, page 25 | ||
102 - Stakeholders Working effectively with our stakeholders is key to our success and embedded in our operating approach. Since the early days of our Company, a foundational goal of West Fraser has been to develop and maintain responsibility in the communities in which we work. | |||||
102-40 | List of stakeholder groups |
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102-41 | Collective bargaining agreements | In 2018, approximately 37% of our employees were covered by collective agreements. | |||
102-42 | Identifying and selecting stakeholders |
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102-43 | Approach to stakeholder engagement |
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102-44 | Key topics and concerns raised |
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102-45 | Entities included in the consolidated financial statements | Annual Report: Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Basis of Consolidation | 2016 Annual Report, page 50 2017 Annual Report, page 75
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102-46 | Defining report content and topic Boundaries |
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102-47 | List of material topics |
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Operations & Value Chain See the Operations & Value Chain page for more information. | |||||
102-48 | Restatements of information | None to report. |
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102-49 | Changes in reporting | None to report. |
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102-50 | Reporting period | January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2017 |
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102-51 | Date of most recent report | March 14, 2016 |
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102-52 | Reporting cycle | Annual going forward |
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102-53 | Contact point for questions regarding the report | Please contact: [email protected] |
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102-54 | Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards | This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option |
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102-55 | GRI content index | This page |
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102-56 | External assurance | We have not sought external assurance for this report |
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103 Management Approach See the Management Approach page for more information. | |||||
103-1 | Explanation of the material topics and its Boundary |
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201 - Economic Performance See the Economic Performance page for more information. | |||||
201-1 | Direct economic value generated and distributed | Annual Report: Annual Information Form and MD&A | 2016 Annual Report, pages 8-42 2017 Annual Report, pages 8-68 | ||
201-2 | Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change | Annual Information Form and MD&A, “Risks and Uncertainties” | 2016 Annual Report, pages 38 – 42 and the 2017 Annual Report, pages 59 – 68
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201-3 | Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans | Annual Report: Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements | 2016 Annual Report, pages 57-60 2017 Annual Report, pages 86-91 | ||
201-4 | Financial assistance received from government | Annual Report: Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Government Assistance | 2016 Annual Report, page 65 2017 Annual Report, page 99 | ||
202 - Market Presence See the Discover West Fraser pages within the Careers section on our website to learn more about our approach to recruitment and employment opportunity. | |||||
202-1 | Ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to local minimum wage |
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202-2 | Proportion of senior management hired from the local community |
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203 - Indirect Economic Impacts See the Indirect Economic Impacts page for more information. | |||||
203-1 | Infrastructure investments and services supported | Annual Report: Report to Shareholders | 2016 Annual Report, pages 4-5 2017 Annual Report, pages 5-7 | ||
203-2 | Significant indirect economic impacts |
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204 - Procurement Practices Our facilities are primarily located in rural communities in the United States and Canada, where our business relies on many local contractors, partners and suppliers to provide goods and services to our mills, most materially, the log supply for our manufacturing operations. Conflicts of interest in procurement are covered under our Code of Conduct Section 6. Conflicts of Interest and Corporate Opportunity. | |||||
204-1 | Proportion of spending on local suppliers |
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205 - Anti-Corruption West Fraser obeys the anti-corruption laws in Canada and the United States, where we do business. See also our Code of Conduct Section 8. Offering or Accepting Gifts and Gratuities / Anti-Corruption | |||||
205-1 | Operations assessed for risks related to corruption | West Fraser obeys the anti-corruption laws in Canada and the United States, where we do business. We conduct Bill 198 internal auditing and risk assessments regularly throughout our operations. Any material risks are disclosed in our regulatory filings. |
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205-2 | Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures | All Directors, members of management and substantially all salaried employees periodically confirm compliance with the Code of Conduct. Instances of non-compliance are expected to be reported to our Board. |
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205-3 | Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken | None to report. We disclose all material litigations and legal proceedings in our regulatory filings. |
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206 - Anti-Competitive Behavior Our Code of Conduct Section 10. Competition and Fair Dealing affirms West Fraser’s long-standing policy that its directors, officers and employees conform to the highest legal, ethical and moral standards in conducting the respective businesses of West Fraser and its subsidiaries including adhering to the laws and regulations in Canada and the United States concerning unlawful activity. All individuals subject to the Code have a responsibility to respect these laws and behave accordingly by complying with our guidelines for behaviour. We disclose all material litigation and legal proceedings in our regulatory filings. | |||||
206-1 | Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices | Annual Report: Softwood Lumber Dispute | 2016 Annual Report, pages 13 – 14, 32, 38 – 39, and 69 2017 Annual Report, page 35, pages 54 – 55, and 105 -106 | ||
301 - Materials See the Fibre Utilization & Recovery page for more information. | |||||
301-1 | Materials used by weight or volume | The most significant material input to our company is wood fibre.
Annual Report: Fibre and Log Supply information | 2016 Annual Report, pages 9 - 11 2017 Annual Report, pages 12 - 16 | ||
301-2 | Recycled input materials used |
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301-3 | Reclaimed products and their packaging materials | We manufacture renewable, sustainable products that may be reused, recycled or consumed for energy generation. |
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302 - Energy See the Energy page for more information. | |||||
302-1 | Energy consumption within the organization |
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302-2 | Energy consumption outside of the organization | We do not currently track this energy consumption. |
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302-3 | Energy intensity |
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302-4 | Reduction of energy consumption |
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302-5 | Reduction of energy requirements of products and services |
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303 - Water See the Water Use & Effluents page for more information. | |||||
303-1 | Water withdrawal by source |
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303-2 | Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water |
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303-3 | Water recycled and reused |
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304 – Biodiversity See the Wildlife, Habitat Management & Biodiversity page for more information. | |||||
304-1 | Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas |
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304-2 | Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity |
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304-3 | Habitats protected or restored |
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304-4 | IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations |
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305 - Emissions See the Air Emissions page for more information. | |||||
305-1 | Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions |
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305-2 | Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions |
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305-3 | Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions | We do not currently track other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions. |
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305-4 | GHG emissions intensity |
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305-5 | Reduction of GHG emissions |
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305-6 | Emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) | These are not material to our operations. |
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305-7 | Nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX), and other significant air emissions |
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306 - Effluents and Waste See the Waste Management page for more information. | |||||
306-1 | Water discharge by quality and destination |
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306-2 | Waste by type and disposal method |
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306-3 | Significant spills | No significant spills occurred in 2016 or 2017.
All the jurisdictions where we operate have spill reporting legislation and our facilities comply with these regulations. |
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306-4 | Transport of hazardous waste | We use authorized service providers to dispose of our hazardous waste. All of our facilities are required to appropriately manifest and track all hazardous waste in accordance with governing federal, state and provincial legislation before it is transported from our operating sites. |
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306-5 | Water bodies affected by water discharges and/or runoff | No water bodies were significantly affected by water discharges or runoff from our operations in 2016 or 2017. |
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307 - Environmental Compliance See the Environmental Performance page for more information. Also see our Environmental Policy and Certification Programs. | |||||
307-1 | Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations |
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308 - Supplier Environmental Assessment See the Environmental Performance page for more information | |||||
308-1 | New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria |
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401 - Employment See the Employee Engagement page for more information. | |||||
401-1 | New employee hires and employee turnover |
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401-2 | Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees | Employee benefits vary from country to country, depending on national legislation. Only a small percentage of our employees are part-time (less than 5%). We therefore do not believe this measure is material for reporting purposes. |
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401-3 | Parental leave |
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402 - Labor/Management Relations | |||||
402-1 | Minimum notice periods regarding operational change | We follow the labour market standards on advance notice requirements in the jurisdictions where we operate, including employment standards regulations and collective agreements. If the Company needs to make operational changes sooner than expected, we pay employees for the notice period. |
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403 - Occupational Health and Safety See the Worker Safety page for more information. Also see our Health and Safety Policy. | |||||
403-1 | Workers representation in formal joint management–worker health and safety committees | All of our Canadian facilities have safety committees to represent their employees, and we are working towards establishing these committees in all of U.S. mills. Each individual site is responsible for arranging and maintaining such committees. |
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403-2 | Types of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities |
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403-3 | Workers with high incidence or high risk of diseases related to their occupation | This is not a significant risk within our company operations. |
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403-4 | Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions | In our unionized facilities, union representatives participate in joint union-management safety committees. |
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404 - Training and Education It is core to our company values to promote from within to build our leadership team. The overwhelming majority of our management and senior leadership teams are drawn from employees who have developed their talents and grown their career within West Fraser. Read more about our approach to training in the Careers section of our website. | |||||
404-1 | Average hours of training per year per employee | We support the learning and career development of our employees through internal training courses and externally developed training programs. We do not currently maintain a central database of employee training hours. |
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404-2 | Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs |
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404-3 | Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews |
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405 - Diversity and Equal Opportunity In keeping with our commitment to human rights, our aim is to afford all individuals who have the necessary qualifications an equal opportunity to compete for employment and advancement. We are committed to the philosophy and principle of equal employment opportunity for all present and prospective employees. Code of Conduct, section 5. Human Rights, Discrimination and Harassment. | |||||
405-1 | Diversity of governance bodies and employees |
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405-2 | Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men |
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406 - Non-Discrimination See the Employee Development & Equal Opportunity page for more information. Also see our Code of Conduct, section 5. Human Rights, Discrimination and Harassment. | |||||
406-1 | Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken | Discrimination complaints are investigated by local management. At this time we do not centrally track discrimination complaints at the corporate level. |
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407 - Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining | |||||
407-1 | Operations and suppliers in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk | Not material to our operations, West Fraser requires all suppliers and contractors to adhere to the human rights laws of the United States and Canada. |
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408 - Child Labor | |||||
408-1 | Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child labor | Not material to our operations, West Fraser requires all suppliers and contractors to adhere to the human rights laws of the United States and Canada. |
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409 - Forced or Compulsory Labor | |||||
409-1 | Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor | Not material to our operations, West Fraser requires all suppliers and contractors to adhere to the human rights laws of the United States and Canada. |
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410 - Security Practices | |||||
410-1 | Security personnel trained in human rights policies or procedure | Not material to our operations. |
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411 - Rights of Indigenous Peoples See the Rights of Indigenous Peoples page for more information. Annual Report: Aboriginal Matters | 2016 Annual Report, pages 10 and 41 2017 Annual Report, pages 15-16 and 65-66 | ||||
411-1 | Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous peoples |
We disclose all material litigations and legal proceedings in our regulatory filings.
Annual Report: Aboriginal Matters | 2016 Annual Report, pages 10 and 41 2017 Annual Report, pages 15-16 and 65-66 | ||
412 - Human Rights Assessment See the Human Rights Assessment page for more information. Also see Code of Conduct, section 5. Human Rights, Discrimination and Harassment. | |||||
412-1 | Operations that have been subject to human rights reviews or impact assessments |
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412-2 | Employee training on human rights policies or procedures | Our Code of Conduct, signed by our employees, outlines our commitment to human rights (defined by the laws of Canada and the United States).
All of our foresters receive training to meet the requirements of the Company’s forest management and sourcing certifications, which include human rights provisions. |
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412-3 | Significant investment agreements and contracts that include human rights clauses or that underwent human rights screening |
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413 - Local Communities See the Local Communities page for more information. | |||||
413-1 | Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs |
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414 - Supplier Social Assessment See the Supplier Social Assessment page for more information. | |||||
414-1 | New suppliers that were screened using social criteria |
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415 - Public Policy See the Public Policy page for more information. | |||||
415-1 | Political contributions |
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416 - Customer Health and Safety See the Customer Health and Safety page for more information. | |||||
416-1 | Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories | Certifications organized by product
Cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis is available for our Canadian-produced products LVL, MDF, plywood and softwood lumber
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs): North American softwood lumber, softwood plywood and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) |
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416-2 | Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services | We are not aware of any health and safety incidents of noncompliance concerning our products. |
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417 - Marketing and Labeling We manufacture sustainable, renewable and recyclable wood products that can be used in a wide variety of applications, often as a more environmental alternative to other construction and fossil-fuel based materials. We comply with, and regularly monitor, developments in the United States and Canada to ensure our product labeling meets and reflects regulatory requirements, where needed. | |||||
417-1 | Requirements for product and service information and labeling | Information is available on our website about the source, certification and safe handling for all of our products, organized by product. |
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417-2 | Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling | We are not aware of any product labeling incidents of non-compliance concerning our products in 2016 or 2017. |
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417-3 | Incidents of non-compliance concerning marketing communications | We are not aware of any noncompliance concerning the concerning marketing communications of our products in 2016 or 2017. |
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418 - Customer Privacy We respect and uphold individual rights to privacy and the protection of personal information. West Fraser has two privacy officers identified as a point of contact to address privacy concerns. | |||||
418-1 | Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data | No material privacy complaints were received by privacy officer(s) during 2016 or 2017. |
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419 - Socioeconomic Compliance | |||||
419-1 | Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area | No significant, material incident of non-compliance occurred during 2016 or 2017. |
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