Multi-use forestry

We grow our forests sustainably to produce quality wood and wood products but there’s so much more going on in our forests!

Forests provide many benefits and products for society, for climate, nature, wood and people and our managers balance all these needs carefully and sustainably to get the very best from our forests.

We have an open forest policy and welcome an estimated 18 million visits to our forests every year.  Our forests and forest products are playing an increasingly important role in mitigating the effects of climate change. The forest sector is growing in Ireland, providing around 12,000 jobs today, mostly in rural Ireland.

Growing our business

We are building our business today on the forests established by past generations of foresters who grew forest cover in Ireland from 1% in 1900 to 11.5% today.  As those forests now mature, we use cutting edge technology in our supply chain and partner with other growers to provide our customers more certainty of supply, which in turn, will enable them to grow their businesses in export markets. Together with our customers, we aim to get maximum value from our wood and wood products which will continue to be sold in over 30 countries worldwide.

We are committed to managing that growth sustainably and responsibly while delivering sizeable returns for the Irish public.  Our forest management practices are independently certified by FSC and PEFC. 

Did you know?

1. Planting

In 2020 Coillte planted 22 million trees reforesting over 9,000 hectares of new forest all across Ireland

2. Growing

Ireland has an ideal climate for forestry with one of the fastest growth rates of trees in Europe helping to reduce climate change effects

3. Managing & Protecting

Coillte own and manage 440,000 hectares of lands, nearly 7% of the total land area of Ireland, 20% of which is managed for biodiversity

4. Harvesting

Coillte produced 2.31 million cubic metres of roundwood for our customers in 2020 helping them to grow their business