VANCOUVER, B.C., BUSINES WIRE –For Attribution to Cees de Jager, President and CEO of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council:
“Reducing carbon emissions will require innovation and change from all sides. Wood construction offers just one way to limit the carbon footprint of buildings. Wood stores carbon and has the lowest embodied energy of all major building materials, because it requires less energy from harvest to manufacturing, installation and disposal or recycling. Wood helps communities reach net-zero targets faster.
Strong markets for wood products encourage forest owners to keep their lands as forests and invest in practices to keep trees healthy. In fact, each year, the U.S. forest products industry plants nearly 700 million trees. Modern forestry standards ensure a continuous cycle of growing, harvesting and replanting. Harvesting and replanting increases forests’ carbon sink potential as the rate of sequestration is greater during early growth.
We look forward to working with Congressman Westerman and the U.S. Congress on this important issue.”
About BSLC:
The Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC) was established by the Canadian and U.S. Federal governments as part of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. The Council’s mandate is “to promote increased cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian softwood lumber industries and to strengthen and expand the market for softwood lumber products in both countries”.
The BSLC benefits from the leadership and expertise of its 12-member board which consists of Canadian and U.S. senior industry representatives and stakeholders. The construct of this board is unique within the industry and offers an influential and powerful vehicle to establish strategic direction for market development programs, direct broad industry initiatives, and facilitate collaboration among organizations serving the North American softwood lumber industry. Since its inception, the BSLC has actively supported initiatives by a variety of industry organizations that meet its mandate.