One of the world’s largest home improvement retailers, The Home Depot has released its 2023 Sustainable Forestry Report stating that it works to promote sustainability by enhancing its operations and by purchasing from responsible suppliers across a global supply chain. Source: Timberbiz
The company says it understands the critical role that global forests play in the sustainability of the planet’s biodiversity and the potential impact of deforestation on climate change.
The Home Depot first issued its Wood Purchasing Policy in 1999 and the most recent is its Sustainable Forestry Report published January 2024.
The vast majority of wood sourced by The Home Depot comes from regions with sustainable forests. Nonetheless, the company says it is committed to continuing to manage and mitigate, across its diverse and growing product assortment, the risk that products it sells or suppliers it selects may contribute to deforestation.
The Home Depot has supported third-party certification of wood and wood products. Certified wood and wood products come from forests that are actively managed under strict guidelines developed by third parties that monitor compliance to ensure sustainable forest practices are followed. For this reason, the company strives to select suppliers that have obtained one or more recognized certifications, including certifications from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and others.
The Home Depot has stocked and sold FSC-certified wood since 1994 and began giving preferential treatment to FSC-certified products in 1999. It says it has worked closely with domestic and international suppliers to help develop a supply chain that enables consumers to purchase FSC-certified wood products.
The company currently offers FSC-certified products in numerous categories, including board lumber, plywood, doors, moulding, and patio furniture. The Home Depot continues to seek out opportunities to expand the availability of FSC-certified wood products as well as wood products bearing other recognized certifications.
Moreover, The Home Depot has since 2018, required FSC certification for wood sourced from regions most at risk for deforestation: specifically, the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Taking a regional, risk-based approach to sustainable forestry allows The Home Depot to closely monitor wood sourced from regions of the world where the risk of deforestation is greatest.
Looking ahead, the company says it is focused on ways to expand its regional, risk-based approach to deepen its understanding of risks beyond the four regions have previously identified as highest risk. Home Depot will continue to require FSC certification from the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, while increasing due diligence and other mitigation measures to protect forests in regions that also are at risk of deforestation.
Accordingly, in addition to requiring that all wood from the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands be FSC-certified, The Home Depot will require that, by the end of fiscal year 2026, all wood sourced from the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Choco Darien, Ecuador, Gran Chaco, East African and Miombo, Greater Mekong, Sumatra and Borneo, Eastern Australia, and Russian Far East Forest regions by its US and Canadian Lumber, Building Materials, and Millwork departments must either bear third-party certification as sustainably grown or be verified as plantation- grown. In addition, Home Depot expects all of its wood suppliers to maintain a wood sourcing policy that supports sustainable forestry management and transparency.
Home Depot also encourages its suppliers to enhance biodiversity considerations and support efforts to promote ecological balance. Further, The Home Depot encourages its suppliers to find alternatives to high-risk wood species and support the development and use of wood alternative products.
To better understand and monitor risks connected to the global supply chain for wood products, The Home Depot is committed to an ongoing risk-based assessment that ensures it maintains appropriate diligence requirements regarding the wood products sourced.
As has been the case since the initial publication of its Wood Purchasing Policy in 1999, Home Depot expects to draw on the expertise of and partner with not only suppliers, but also the government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations that are committed to the continual development of best practices in sustainable forestry.
Home Depot will continue to encourage meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities by relevant government authorities and forestry companies to advance sustainable forestry practices.
Home Depot’s policy is outlined below.
The Home Depot and all of its suppliers offering wood and wood products for resale shall adhere to the following principles:
- The Home Depot will give preference to the purchase of wood and wood products originating from third-party certified, well-managed forests.
- The Home Depot will not purchase wood and wood products from regions around the world at greatest risk of deforestation unless responsible sourcing conditions are met. Specifically:
- The Home Depot will not offer products for sale that contain wood from the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, Papua New Guinea, or the Solomon Islands unless it is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
- By the end of fiscal year 2026, The Home Depot will not offer for sale any wood for its US and Canadian Lumber, Building Materials, or Millwork departments from the following regions unless that wood is either third-party certified as sustainable or plantation-grown:
- Atlantic Forest
- East African and Miombo
- Cerrado
- Greater Mekong
- Choco Darien
- Sumatra and Borneo
- Ecuador
- Eastern Australia
- Gran Chaco
- Russian Far East Forest
- The Home Depot requires that its suppliers of wood and wood products maintain detailed information regarding their wood sourcing and that they participate as requested in The Home Depot’s wood sourcing surveys and any inquiries by the company.
- The Home Depot requires that its suppliers of wood and wood products maintain compliance with this policy as well as the laws and regulations pertaining to their operations and the products they manufacture.
