• Raw materials: As temperatures increase, forests could become impacted by disease or insects and the needed precipitation for trees to grow could decline. Fewer trees mean we could have less raw materials to manufacture our products.
• Regulatory changes: State and/or federal governments may impose limitations on carbon emissions through permit limits and/or cap and trade programs. If our ability to obtain permits is restricted, then expanding our operations could be more challenging.
• Energy regulations: Our operating costs could increase if the supply of natural gas and/or electricity becomes restricted because of regulatory changes. While not a significant burden because our manufacturing facilities rely on self-generated biomass fuels for most of their energy, a combination of less raw materials and reduced access to other energy sources could impact our operations negatively.

Our support of sustainably managed forests and the manufacturing of wood products that store carbon is an opportunity to play a key role in reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and then use the carbon to produce sugars and fiber for growing, which sequesters carbon. The wood products we manufacture continue to store that carbon. Because they retain carbon long-term, we promote using wood building materials over alternatives. 

As a building material, wood offers many environmental benefits that matter to communities across the country. According to data from the American Forest Foundation, wood is the only major building material that is renewable and sustainable. Wood is better for the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and other impacts. Compared with alternatives, wood products help to increase a building’s energy efficiency and minimize the energy consumed throughout the life of the product.