Water Use and Conservation

Weyerhaeuser recognizes water consumption and water quality as global social and environmental issues.

Making pulp and paper requires large volumes of water, and we are working on ways to reduce water consumption in our operations. Since 1990, Weyerhaeuser has reduced the amount of water required to produce a ton of pulp and paper by 48 percent—from 19,430 gallons to 10,064 gallons. The water we use in the manufacturing process is treated and returned to the environment.

As part of our membership in the U.S. Business Roundtable S.E.E. Change initiative, we are working to develop a water consumption reduction goal.

We also monitor our impact on water tables in our forestry operations. For instance, in Uruguay, where we've planted trees on former grazing land, we initiated a study in 1999 to determine the effect of the land use change on the region's water table. Since then, we've collaborated with a Uruguayan organization and North Carolina State University to determine the effects of change in land use, including annual water yield, peak runoff rates, and water quality.