Sustainability Report :: Sustainability

Tolko Industries 50th Anniversary - 1956-2006

Tolko Industries Ltd. 1998/99 Sustainability Report

A MESSAGE FROM AL THORLAKSON, PRESIDENT & CEO

This year marks the end of a millennium and the start of an exciting new chapter for Tolko Industries, highlighted by our first Sustainability Report. We have always taken seriously our stewardship of the forest lands entrusted to us. The publication of our Sustainability Report outlines the environmental, social and economic balance we aim to achieve.

Since my father started in the business in 1956, the forest industry has experienced dramatic change. Every day we encounter new technology, expanded markets and globalization, increased competition and growing awareness of social and environmental responsibilities. New concepts, such as sustainability, are challenging the industry to re-think the way they do business. Yet within this atmosphere of transformation, one simple truth has not changed. We must still satisfy the basic human needs of clean air, clean water and shelter.

As a forest products company, Tolko connects naturally with this concept of basic human needs. The forests we manage act as the lungs of the earth, cleaning the air by pulling carbon from the atmosphere and locking it away. Our forest practices can help protect precious water resources, often aiding Nature in controlling water flows. And our products provide shelter all over the world. Renewable and energy-efficient, wood is an environmentally responsible building material.

Sustainability and satisfying basic human needs are not new ideas to Tolko. We have always tried to expand our understanding of our environmental, social and economic responsibilities, and this approach has strengthened our ability to position ourselves for the future. Tolko's vision, mission and corporate values of respect, open communication, progressiveness, profitability and integrity guide the way we do business. Our commitment to being "customer oriented and results focused" communicates our business philosophy.

At Tolko, we define "sustainability" as the balancing of economic, environmental and social responsibility, or, as some call it, the "triple bottom line." As this is the first report of our progress toward sustainability, we have not fully evaluated our performance against the triple bottom line. We have made substantial progress in measuring our environmental achievements and opportunities, and we are beginning to measure our economic and social performance in a more systematic way.

Tolko's commitment to sustainability will continue to evolve. We have updated our Environmental Policy for the 21st Century and have clearly identified our Forest Management Principles. Tolko has completed a certification Gap Analysis with the assistance of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and we are taking steps toward finalizing an Environmental Management System.

I believe we have a positive message about our environmental, social and economic performance. The growth of the Company will be based upon our responsibility for sustainability and our commitment to "forests, families and financial security."

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