September 2021 Message from Our CEO

Serving our Natural Resources 

Significant Service is what gets us up in the morning and guides our every move and decision. 

In the last issue, I touched on our “P2/I2” graphic and the meaning that’s built into it.  It’s there to remind us about the role of People, Partnerships, Innovation and Improvement in Columbia’s daily and ongoing operations. 

This time, I want to discuss one of the key areas in our Purpose Statement: 

“To significantly serve our customers, employee owners and their families, our communities and natural resources.” 

For a company like ours in the wood products industry, the essential element is something that’s provided by nature.  Wood fiber we get from logs, which come from trees. 

(Of course, the soy flour we utilize in our formaldehyde-free PureBond technology is also a natural material, but it’s the result of a lot more intentional human effort to plant and nourish the soy to begin with…) 

Thus, Columbia’s commitment to serving our “natural resources” mostly begins and ends in the forest, where great things are happening to assure the long-term availability of the trees we use in our production.   

Elsewhere in this issue, you can find a link to the Forest Stewardship Council’s upcoming “FSC Friday” celebration.  Our relationship with FSC goes back decades, when Columbia became North America’s first hardwood plywood and veneer producer to sign on.  Their mission and vision are clear, and they align perfectly with ours: 

“To promote environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically prosperous management of the world’s forests.  Our vision is that we can meet our current needs for forest products without compromising the health of the world’s forests for future generations.” 

Beyond the forest, though, we’re also occupied with air and water.  Indoor air quality has been a huge focus for us over the last 20 years, when we began seeking a replacement for the conventional formaldehyde-laden adhesives our industry had been using since the 1950’s.  The result was PureBond, as mentioned above. 

As for water, it’s obvious that trees need it to grow.  But the forests themselves do a lot to support clean water in return.  

“Forests play a key role in the global water cycle by stabilizing the climate, generating rain and providing watersheds.” 

I invite you to read the story below about a recent event where members of our Newport, Vermont Caring Team joined a conservation project to clear water reeds (phragmites) from the shoreline of Lake Memphremagog, an important body of water we share with Canada. 

The next time you’re enjoying the great outdoors, breathing clean air or enjoying a cool glass of water, you can remind yourself that as a Columbia customer or fan, you’re supporting the work our team is doing to keep our natural resources healthy and productive!  We thank you. 

Greg 

Greg Pray 

President and CEO 

Columbia Forest Products 

Our Core Values 

Customer Service 

Absolute Integrity 

We are Family 

Share the Success