FORESTRY 

Planting, growing, protecting, managing, harvesting and replanting; forestry is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to balance and deliver the multiple benefits of our forests to society, leaving an enriched resource for the next generation.   Ireland's forest industry will double in size over the next 10 years and Coillte will be at the core with an innovative supply chain and a consistent reinvestment in the next generation of forests.  Our vision is to become the leader of a fast growing Irish forestry sector where technology, people and sustainability is at our core.

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.

Picture of Coillte Forest Park
Coillte harvesting site

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®1 (Forest Stewardship Council®) and PEFC™2 (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification).

¹FSC licence code FSC- C005714  

2PEFC Licence Code NSAI-PEFC FM.006

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

The Forest Cycle

Wood

Coillte is Ireland’s largest producer of roundwood, the raw material which our sawmill customers process into high quality timber. Sitka Spruce is our main commercial...

Nurseries

Coillte's four Nurseries produces 25 million bare rooted plants every year, most of which are used to renew our own forests. Our four nurseries are...

Activities

Come and join us for a unique, exhilarating and fun-filled day out at one of our spectacular 260 recreation sites around Ireland. There is so much to do - walking, cycling, orienteering, camping, ziplining nature watching, fishing, orienteering, horse-riding, boating and much, much more.

Camping

Learn More

Get in touch with nature and pitch your tent for a cool camping adventure at one of our seven designated camp sites in Ireland.

Learn More

Cycling

Learn More

On your bike and get into gear for a memorable experience at one of our 13 dedicated cycling sites around Ireland.

Learn More

Picnic & Play

Learn More

Make tasty sambos, fill the flask and set the sat nav for one of our perfect picnic and play spots tucked away in spectacular parts of Ireland.

Learn More