Collins Pine: Lessons from a Pioneer - Essay Example

Over the past century and a half, the business has grown, in large part, due to our willingness to revise our operations as necessary. Our principles require that we work to create a healthy, viable Earth, in addition to a healthy, viable business, and in order to do so then we must risk change. Where once forests were abundant and lumber taken from them without regulation, our environment has changed and forestry work has demanded change, also. We take great pride in the fact that all three forests owned by Collins-Pennsylvania, Almanor, and Lakeview have been independently certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) in accordance with the principles and standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Preserving our environment in order that our children and grandchildren may enjoy the natural beauty of our forests is the foundation of the Collins Company. The 295,000 acres of timberlands owned by the company are biodiverse, multi-layered, canopied forests. Each forest is self-sustaining and includes more wood today than it did over a century ago. They contain habitats of bald eagles, black bears, wild turkeys, rubber boas, beavers, great blue heron rookeries, and the endangered Goose Lake redband trout.

They are enhanced by meadows, and various water features including springs, creeks, rivers, and lakes. These forests are naturally healthy with trees grown only from a combination of sunshine, water, and nutrients from fertile soil. We believe in only cutting only new growth, allowing the old trees to stand in majesty. The exceptional quality of our product is our key competitive advantage. Because our wood is certified, our product demands a higher price structure. As such, quality management is an integral part of our production process.

We at Collins believe in producing an exceptional product of unequaled quality and our employees are expected to uphold this value. All employees of Collins are required to receive training in what we refer to as the Natural Step. This training encompasses the ways in which we continually strive to keep our environment sustainable. Recycling of paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum is performed at every level of the organization as well as energy and water conservation measures. At Collins, we believe in not just "talking the talk" but also "walking the walk" and we expect our employees to live up to the same standards we publicize and employ.

We encourage our employees to undertake conservation and recycling efforts of their own and we welcome suggestions to improve our current efforts. We also participate in the Adopt-a-Highway and Adopt Humanity programs and hope that you will consider volunteering in these two important ventures. We are proud of our many awards including the 2002 Governor's Award for Environmental Sustainability, the 2001 Environmental Excellence Award from Business Ethics Magazine, and the 1997 Governor's Challenge of Change Awards.

It is due to the hard work, diligence, and ethical performance of our employees that we have been fortunate enough to maintain a business that continues to change, grow and evolve into an even better company in this century. Sincerely, James E. QuinnPresident/CEOReferencesHansen, Eric and Punches, John (February 2006). "Collins Pine: Lessons From a Pioneer". Sustainable Forests Partnership. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from the SFP Website: http://sfp.cas.psu.edu/collins.htm."History and Philosophy" (2005).