2004, Natural Resources Canada
Weyerhaeuser Canada’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, Our Reputation: A Shared Responsibility, recognizes that the company has a responsibility to all stakeholders affected by its business and ensures that all employees hold themselves to the highest standards of ethical behaviour. Its acquisition of MacMillan Bloedel reinforced the business case for, and importance of, earning a reputation as a good corporate citizen. The company ensures that its management practices are consistent with its Code by adhering to the principles and objectives of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management System Standard. It developed a formal policy to build strong relationships with Canada’s Aboriginal peoples in 2002, and has set a goal of having all manufacturing and timberland operations ready for certification to ISO 14001 by 2005. Frederick Weyerhaeuser and 15 other partners founded the company in 1900 through the purchase of 900 000 acres of timberland in the Pacific Northwest. The company has grown considerably, and now employs approximately 58 000 people in 18 countries, generating US$14.5 billion in sales in 2001.1 Weyerhaeuser in Canada has grown through acquisition significantly since it was established in 1965, and now employs approximately 10 500 people. The recent acquisition of Willamette Industries in 2002 creates a global leader in the forest products industry, a company that will rank in the top three in all of its major product lines.2 The acquisition of Willamette increases the number of timberland acres owned or leased by Weyerhaeuser in the United States from 5.7 million acres to 7.4 million acres (Figure 1). Worldwide, Weyerhaeuser owns or leases 393 million acres of timberland.
