Sustainability

At Coillte, it is recognised that integrating sustainability into all business practices is essential. By managing resources responsibly, reducing waste, and mitigating environmental risks, Coillte can continue to operate efficiently and effectively while contributing positively to a more sustainable future for society and the planet.

Sustainability underpins everything the organisation does – including strategic planning, decision making and operations. The economic, social, and environmental sustainability of Coillte is also a key priority for Coillte’s shareholders and stakeholders. To ensure Coillte’s work is focused on the most material sustainability issues, Coillte continuously engages with stakeholders and closely monitors the impact the business has on society, the environment and the economy.

 

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Strategy Development

Coillte’s forestry strategic vision aims to sustainably balance and deliver multiple benefits from its forests across four strategic pillars: climate, nature, wood, and people. In December 2023, following public consultation and a Strategic Environmental Assessment, Coillte’s Forest Estate Strategic Land-Use Plan (FESLUP) was published.

Having determined the most material sustainability issues and finalised the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) profile of Coillte’s existing managed forest estate, and Coillte’s business emissions, Coillte is in the process of developing a set of near-term sustainability metrics and KPI’s which will measure the organisation’s progress against key sustainability objectives.

 

Contribution to Sustainable Development

Coillte uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a foundation for its sustainability framework. The 17 SDGs were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They were created to provide a shared strategic direction for member states to enable peace, equality and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future.

The materiality assessment process identified that the forestry sector, including Coillte, supports ten out of the 17 UN SDGs. The organisation recognises that it has a particularly significant impact on climate action and clean energy, good health and wellbeing, and life on land, as well as providing economic growth through the production of innovative and sustainable timber products. Those benefits are summarised by the four pillar objectives of: forests for climate, forests for nature, forests for wood and forests for people.