Communities

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE?

Most of our employees live in rural communities across North America where our mills, distribution centers, timberlands and other offices are located. These small towns are often built around a history of forestry and manufacturing, as well as a deep appreciation for outdoor activities and experiences closely tied to forests.

Society at large benefits from thriving rural communities and landscapes because they are often crucial sources of water, food, energy and recreation for all people, no matter where they live.

In some rural areas, however, barriers to economic and social prosperity can be difficult to overcome, particularly in communities that lack access to good job opportunities or are experiencing population declines or other demographic shifts. According to many reports, the lasting negative effects of the Great Recession disproportionately affected rural areas, and the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted rural well-being. A declining population in these areas is both the cause and effect of limited employment opportunities. Education, technology and infrastructure are often underfunded, especially for communities of color and other marginalized people, and rural communities often experience limited access to critical services such as healthcare and higher education.

WHAT IS OUR ROLE?

As a company with operations in many rural areas, we play a significant role by providing family-wage jobs with opportunities for growth, a stable tax base, recreational access to our land and philanthropic support to local organizations. Our employees are also extremely active volunteers for causes they care about, and many are engaged in civic leadership or are otherwise part of the fabric of these communities.

At the same time, we are acutely aware of the challenges these communities face, and we are motivated to help ensure they remain great places to live, work and do business for decades to come.

We believe permanent successful solutions can be found through the right combination of focus, resources and leadership, supported by public and private partnerships as well as grassroots organization and engagement. Nobody is better equipped to chart a community’s future than the people living and working there every day, so we aim to leverage our resources and experience to support and amplify initiatives that align with local priorities.

WHAT DO WE WANT TO ACHIEVE BY 2030?

By 2030, we envision real, measurable improvements in how we and our partners positively impact life in our rural operating communities. We view the health and vibrancy of these communities as integral to our long-term success as a company, and we expect to drive meaningful growth in how we engage with, invest in and otherwise support our operating areas.

WHERE ARE WE FOCUSED FOR PHASE 3 (2026 to 2030)?

While there is much we can accomplish over a decade, we’ve structured our long-term goals into three phases to better prioritize and accelerate progress. In 2026, we entered the third phase of our 3 by 30 Rural Communities ambition focused on our work in two key areas:

Invest targeted resources to ensure our rural communities are healthy and resilient

We already have a robust corporate giving program that directly benefits our communities, but we see opportunities to direct more of our resources to the highest-priority issues in the areas where we operate. To that end, we are working to:

Drive significant and lasting change through targeted investments in our rural operating communities in most need of extra support through our THRIVE program.
Secure external resources and develop partnerships to amplify our investments in housing, infrastructure and community development in our THRIVE communities.
Grow local pipelines for advancing youth education and workforce development through our Learn Local, Earn Local program in rural operating communities.
Continue to increase employee awareness and engagement in support of our 3 by 30 Sustainability Ambitions.

Leverage our scale, voice and influence to help solve critical rural challenges through advocacy efforts

By partnering with government agencies, other companies, nonprofits and community leaders, we can better identify and advocate for the needs of rural communities and help ensure resources are directed to the highest-impact areas. To that end, we are working to:

Partner with community leaders and organizations to facilitate government-funded project opportunities and support engagement from local leaders and employees in these activities.
Build broad support for our partner organizations and advocate on their behalf.
Develop a replicable model for increasing the availability of attainable housing in rural communities that includes strategies for partnerships, financing and community engagement.

PHASE 2 ACHIEVEMENTS (2023 to 2025)

During the second phase of our 3 by 30 Sustainability Ambitions, we intentionally made fewer — but more strategic — investments of our time and resources, building on our Phase 1 achievements.

Key Accomplishments

Launched our THRIVE program to provide targeted support to five of our rural operating communities, with each receiving a $1 million investment over the next several years.

Selected Zwolle, Louisiana, and the northwest Louisiana region as our first THRIVE community. We worked with local elected officials and community leaders to address four strategic project areas to maximize the program’s positive impact: water infrastructure, education, recreation and the economy.
- Water: We completed a water system analysis in Zwolle, supported grant applications for improving water infrastructure, and helped elected officials secure $750,000 from the state budget to put toward a larger, more modern well for the municipal water supply.
- Education: We launched partnerships with the local school district and United Way of NW Louisiana to improve literacy rankings in Sabine Parish, participated in two targeted outreach events for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and deepened our partnership with Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology by expanding a workforce development scholarship training program to graduating seniors.
- Recreation: We funded much-needed upgrades to two main ball fields at the Zwolle fairgrounds to improve drainage and durability, making the fields more resilient and playable year-round.
- Economic Development: We partnered with the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) to aid Natchitoches, Louisiana, in the creation of a five-year, technology-based economic development plan. We also partnered with the Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce and Northwestern State University Foundation to help fund a Sabine Parish master plan for growing Zwolle and the nearby community of Many, as well as others in the area.
Selected Raymond, Washington, as our second THRIVE community and worked with local employees, elected officials and community leaders to identify attainable workforce housing as a key need and priority for our investment. We formed a new partnership with the Coastal Community Action Program (CCAP) to help develop our approach.
Provided $40,019 in matching funds to help Raymond secure a $46,800 USDA grant to replace aging self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) fill station equipment for local firefighters.
Selected Buckhannon, West Virginia, as our third THRIVE community and began collecting feedback from the community through listening sessions and surveys to identify local priorities for future work.

Launched and grew our Learn Local, Earn Local program to support workforce development and youth education in our rural operating communities.

Awarded additional funds to each of our local Giving Fund Advisory Committees to support efforts in their areas; expanded national partnerships with organizations such as Project Learning Tree, Be Pro Be Proud, Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and SKILLS Canada, Alberta; participated in Pathways 2 Possibilities in Mississippi and South Carolina; and engaged employees in youth education activities.

Expanded our partnership with American Forests’ Tree Equity program.

Launched a fall giving campaign in 2024 focused on a “Tools for Schools” supply drive supporting six organizations in our operating areas. Our employees delivered nearly 200 “Goods from the Woods” boxes to schools in our operating communities in the past two years.
Participated in a tree planting and education event in Aberdeen, Washington, to introduce students to urban forestry and principles of tree equity. Volunteers and students planted 20 trees at a local park.

Maintained our partnership with Habitat for Humanity International.

Our employees participated in building two houses in Monroe, Louisiana, and Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 2024, in addition to the three they helped build in 2023 in Monroe, Hot Springs, and Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

PHASE 1 ACHIEVEMENTS (2020 to 2022)

In the first phase of our 3 by 30 Sustainability Ambitions, we laid the groundwork for meaningful progress toward our goals.

Key Accomplishments

Completed an in-depth evaluation of our rural communities’ landscape to determine strengths and opportunities.

Conducted an analysis in 2022 to better understand common challenges and distinct needs in our rural operating communities. We reviewed publicly available data, interviewed focus groups and benchmarked industry and non-industry peers to identify best practices and other successful strategies. This assessment prepared us to make targeted, impactful investments in the critical needs of rural communities.

Developed a comprehensive strategy for giving, advocacy and engagement in rural communities.

In 2021, we hosted our first education sessions with our regional employee-led Giving Fund Advisory Committees to ensure they had the necessary tools and resources to effectively make local giving decisions.
Established an internal task force to ensure perspectives from all businesses, local leadership and corporate functions were included in the planning and establishment of key priorities for supporting our rural operating communities.

Launched our engagement with American Forests’ Tree Equity program.

Formed a partnership with American Forests to develop tree planting and workforce development pilot programs in three of our rural or smaller urban communities. We later held a planting event in Ruston, Louisiana, with Louisiana Tech University and a local urban forestry organization, and we supported the development of a new curriculum focused on green careers and urban forestry for 200 students at Ruston High School.

Expanded our partnership with Habitat for Humanity International.

We expanded our partnership with Habitat for Humanity International to support more than 10 local housing builds in or near communities where we operate. Eight builds were completed in 2022: Lane County, Oregon; Cowlitz County, Washington; Grays Harbor County, Washington; Northern Louisiana; Central Oregon; Garland County, Arkansas; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Flathead Valley, Montana.
Through the partnership, we also participated in “Habitat on the Hill” — the organization’s premier legislative conference — to advocate for rural communities.

On our way to 2030, we are confident we can continue making meaningful progress against the challenges our rural communities face. At the same time, we know there will be obstacles and setbacks. We will continue to use these challenges as opportunities to learn, adapt and improve our approach so that our communities will remain great places to live, work and do business for years to come.