Environment

Our green involvement

SBC is aware of the importance of its green awareness.Certified cedar supply, as well as responsible and sustainable development of forest resources are supported.

All SBC cedar comes from serious suppliers who are mostly FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified. Therefore, agreements on sustainable forest management have been signed and the supply of certified wood products according to the FSC and SFI strict standards are promoted.

Thanks to SBC manufacturing principles and its one-site plant, all combustion source emissions are minimized. The transformation or all waste into horticultural mulch is a great example of this principle. The proximity of suppliers is also considered an asset. As a consequence, SBC products are considered in many ways for the LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) program, for both Eastern Canada and North Eastern United States.

Finally, SBC encourages biodiversity and does not buy any product which comes from regions with endangered ecosystems.

Wood - The best choice with environmental consideration for humankind

An ecological choice – A renewable resource

Did you know that: A wooden house contributes to reduce greenhouse effect emissions. Wooden constructions are the only sustainable stock pile, with an important carbon dioxide volume. 1 m³ of wood retains 1 ton of CO₂.

A growing forest absorbs CO₂, but a mature forest does not anymore. Thus, to bonify the positive effects of forest growth, human beings must:
- Use wood as a sustainable construction material, rather than energy-consuming materials.
- Insure there are young trees on the logging area to take over the fallen ones.
Did you know that: Wood is a low cost energy material.

Comparisons of CO₂ emissions, associated to the fabrication of a beam:
- Aluminum: 327 kg
- Concrete: 101 kg
- Steel: 76 kg
- Wood: 6 kg

SBC adopts sustainable practices

Did you know that: SBC has environmental concerns.

Adopt responsible practices to protect the environment, as well as the health of employees, clients and every citizen.
Operate the manufacturing installations in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Eliminate waste by improving productivity and implementing new technologies (SBC has developed a unique resquaring and rebutting process for shingles, which allows an optimal efficiency).
Manage and protect forest resources in a way to insure sustainable forest management, to preserve biodiversity, and to protect wildlife, as well as its habitats and ecosystems, all this from buying FSC and SFI logs.
Offer controlled products, which allow obtaining up to 4 points from LEED® program.
Use boxes, for stained shingles, made with 100% recycled materials.
Treat the washing water, which has previously been used for staining processes.
Encourage local purchase in regard with furniture – thus reducing the use of fuel.
Encourage the purchase of low-consumption equipments, in a way to reduce greenhouse effect.
Use pigments with iron oxide to color mulch, non-toxic for the environment and human beings (iron oxide is widely found in nature and has been used as a pigment for centuries).
Operate an integrated cedar transformation complex: produce cedar mulch with waste from shingle mill, thus decreasing transportation and eliminating combustion source.
Provide cedar shingles for the first sustainable house, built by "Habitat for Humanity" on Martha Island’s Vineyard in Massachussetts.

Did you know that: Proper use of mulch helps improve the environment.

Increase water conservation in the soil.
Reduce the use of herbicides and insecticides.
Reduce greenhouse effect.
Return organic matter to the soil where it comes from.
Beautify and improve landscape.
Is a friendly alternative to wasted forest resources.
Is one of the most environmentally sound recycling industries (only 6% of the forest by-products are recycled as mulch, the majority being used as fuel source).

Mother Nature is proud of SBC.

Patrick Moore quotations

Patrick Moore is a Greenpeace co-founder and chairman of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. in Vancouver:

"A material that’s both highly sustainable and practical from a cost perspective is wood. Wood is the most abundant renewable building material on earth. Wood demand keeps land forested that might otherwise be permanently cleared. Trees soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing greenhouse gases associated with climate change." Greenspirit Strategies Ltd., September 7, 2004

"As a lifelong environmentalist, I say trees can solve many of the world’s sustainability challenges. Forestry is the most sustainable of all the primary industries that provide us with energy and materials. Rather than cutting fewer trees and using less wood, … ought to promote the growth of more trees and the use of more wood." The Vancouver Sun, August 29, 2007

"North Americans are the world’s largest per-capita wood consumers and yet our forests cover approximately the same area of land as they did 100 years ago. According to the United Nations, our forests have expanded nearly 10 million acres over the past decade." The Vancouver Sun, August 29, 2007

"To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees and to produce more wood. That means we can then use less concrete, steel and plastic – heavy carbon emitters through their production. Trees are the only abundant, biodegradable and renewable global resource." The Vancouver Sun, August 29, 2007.

SFI® (Sustainable Forestry Initiative)

A bold approach to sustainable forest management.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program is based on the premise that responsible environmental behavior and sound business decisions can co-exist.
SFI program participants practice sustainable forestry on all the lands they manage.
They also influence millions of additional acres through the training of loggers and foresters in best management practices and landowner outreach programs.
This unique commitment to sustainable forestry recognizes that all forest landowners, not just SFI program participants, play a critical role in ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of our forests.

LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design)

LEED USA
LEED Canada

Green rating system for building construction and renovation.

There are four categories of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These ratings are based on an accumulation of points in areas such as:

Sustainability of the sites
Water efficiency (1)
Energy
Materials and resources (2)
Proximity between sites (supply, factory, use) (2)
Indoor environmental quality
Innovation and design

The highest the level of certification a building receives, the greenest elements it has incorporated.

(1) SBC mulch used for landscaping minimizes watering because it preserves soil moisture.