Business View Magazine | September 2022

86 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 forests as the mass timber sector grows. “The industry has a lot of passionate people working on how to use timber sustainably and protect its positive environmental impacts,” says Chris. “These people come from all corners of the industry and are helping move it forward through cross-industry collaboration.” Technology is also critical in guaranteeing the sustainability of the mass timber industry, from forest mapping technologies to digital design and construction technologies. “One of the areas we are working on as an industry is to standardize designs as much as possible to reduce waste, improve efficiency and develop more streamlined products that can be manufactured quickly and cost-effectively,” Chris adds. According to Chris, forests are the company’s foundation and the reason it exists, so stewardship must occupy the top spot on its list of priorities. Four generations earlier, the Kalesnikoff brothers who started the company – including Chris’s great grandfather – established a motto that remains the company’s guiding principle to this day: Take care of the land, and the land will take care of you. “Forestry is what our business was founded on and remains our key focus,” Chris says. “We make every effort to grow and maintain sustainable forest lands that we can pass on to future generations.” Each year the company plants an average of 500,000 seedlings. Kalesnikoff maintains an Environmental Policy that encompasses an integrated management approach from seedling to finished product. The policy guides the company in maximizing the benefits of timber resources while respecting the natural surrounding landscapes and environment with a focus on long-term sustainability. Kalesnikoff also participates in collaborative wildfire risk reduction projects and is partnering with