Corporate Responsibility Reports and Data

Q: What were PotlatchDeltic’s key corporate responsibility successes during 2023?
A: We integrated our corporate responsibility reporting with our mission and values in 2023 through establishing initiatives and goals across four pillars: Forests, Planet, People, and Performance. Several of the goals we established were linked to short-term incentive compensation in 2023 to create alignment across the organization. We also continued to expand our reporting, adding CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) Climate disclosures, and completing our climate risk scenario analysis for our Southeast timberlands and our Lake States timber procurement regions. The corporate responsibility section of our website was expanded to include our approach and commitments, data, and case studies. Our employee climate teams continued to implement initiatives to meet greenhouse gas reduction commitments and evaluate net-zero alternatives. We also worked towards improving our corporate responsibility data quality and controls and responded to supply chain data requests.

Q: What are currently the biggest corporate responsibility challenges you face?
A: We believe it is important to have transparent reporting that accurately reflects our carbon flows. Accurate assessments serve as the basis for our greenhouse gas reduction initiatives and allow forests to participate in markets that make real contributions to solving climate change. We are concerned with the direction of current initiatives, and it is unclear whether protocols currently under negotiation for the land sector can provide a reasonable outcome. We continue to work with our global peers on a science-based approach to land sector carbon accounting.

Regulatory and reporting requirements are growing and placing significant pressure on companies to build systems to be able to provide accurate data and information. In some instances, such as the EU Deforestation Regulations, capabilities to track the requested data require extended workstreams or are not even currently feasible. While these initiatives have important objectives, companies need time and reliable methodologies to meet the reporting requirements. Further, regulatory bodies should balance the need for solutions with reasonable and science-based implementation requests.

We also remain focused on the challenge of building trust by communicating and interacting with our stakeholders to increase awareness of the approaches and benefits of working forests. We manage our forests on a sustainable basis while protecting water quality, biodiversity, and wildlife. We also contribute to sustainable development by providing jobs, training, and benefits, and by helping to support the communities where we operate. At the same time, working forests are part of the solution to climate change. We believe that through effective communication, our stakeholders will better understand the work we do and will trust our motivation to continue to be stewards of the forests.

Q: What can we expect next for PotlatchDeltic in corporate responsibility?
A: Implementing natural climate solution opportunities remains a key focus for PotlatchDeltic. These opportunities include working with solar developers, developing high-quality carbon offset projects, and assessing our carbon capture storage potential. In addition, we plan to increase our engagement with our supply chain on human rights risks, sustainability, responsible sourcing, and greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. We will be responding to the CDP questionnaire again this year and working towards reporting under the Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) in 2025. In addition, we will continue to strengthen our corporate responsibility controls to respond to new and pending regulatory reporting requirements.

Q: How are you advancing the role of sustainably managed working forests in decarbonization and the bio-circular economy?
A: Forests have a significant opportunity to participate in natural climate solutions markets, playing a key role in net-zero strategies and in products that have a lower embodied carbon footprint. Building with wood and mass timber stores carbon for the long-term, while emerging products like biofuels and bioplastics could offer solutions towards a bio-based circular economy. Biopower with carbon capture and storage can provide carbon-negative electricity. These developments could drive significant change in our markets, reduce our planet’s reliance on fossil fuels, and further support rural jobs and communities, all while we maintain our commitment to sustainable forest management practices. We are actively pursuing these opportunities and are supporting scientific research organizations to advance the roles of forests, biomass, and wood products in climate solutions. In addition, we work with our industry associations to promote regulations and policies that translate science into credible frameworks for sustainable development.