Wood is a 100% renewable building product. When considered over a building’s lifetime – from harvest of raw materials through manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and disposal or recycling – it performs better than concrete and steel in terms of embodied energy, air and water pollution, carbon footprint and global warming potential. Further, it is a natural insulator and can contribute to better air quality by minimizing the accumulation of dust and microbes.
More information is available on our website Build With Wood page.
Product information and certifications organized by product are available on our website. Data Safety Sheets are available for all of our products to help people handle and use our products appropriately.
- SPF (Spuce/Pine/Fir) lumber (Canada)
- SYP (Southern Yello Pine) lumber (USA)
- MDF (Canada)
- Plywood (Canada)
- LVL (Canada)
- Pulp & Paper (Canada)
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a performance-based approach to assessing the impacts building material choices have on the environment. Cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis is available for our Canadian-produced products LVL, MDF, plywood and softwood lumber through the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute (supported by FPInnovations, of which West Fraser is a member).
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are concise, standardized, independently verified reports on environmental performance. The American Wood Council (AWC) and the Canadian Wood Council (CWC) have developed EPDs in compliance with ISO 14025 and ISO 21930, verified under UL Environment’s EPD program. Three EPDs cover West Fraser’s products: North American softwood lumber, softwood plywood and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL).
We are not aware of any health and safety incidents of noncompliance concerning our products.