Calculating Carbon Footprint
Wood for a Sustainable Future
“Increasing the global forest land base and increasing the capacity of each forest, while using them as a sustainable supply of wood for building materials and fuel to offset the need for other energy-intensive materials and fossil fuels represents an important carbon mitigation option over the long term.”
—UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2010 report
Perhaps it is not surprising that wood, one of the oldest and most natural building materials on earth, would have a more positive environmental impact than materials that are highly energy intensive. But only recently has the analysis of products used in buildings become sophisticated enough to study and measure that impact scientifically. Actively managed forests store large amounts of atmospheric carbon. Wood products are manufactured from the renewable, natural raw material that results from the forest cycle. They are adaptable and reusable, and they continue to store carbon throughout their lifetimes. These characteristics make wood an excellent, low-carbon alternative to many of the materials now widely used in construction and consumer goods. Just as wood has been a desirable building material since the distant past, it will make an essential contribution to a sustainable future.
Project: New Earth Market This 20,000-square-foot market includes a hybrid panelized roof system that offered the benefit of wood’s lower cost while integrating exposed steel to achieve the modern industrial look the client wanted. |
NOTE:
The carbon calculations throughout this CEU were estimated using the Wood Carbon Calculator for Buildings [www.woodworks.org], based on research by Sarthre, R. and J. O’Connor, 2010, A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products and Greenhouse Gas Impacts, FPInnovations. Note: CO2 on these charts refers to CO2 equivalent.
ENDNOTES | |
1 | http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html |
2 | http://woodworks.org/design-tools/online-calculators/ |
3 | American Forest & Paper Association, http://www.afandpa.org/our-industry/fun-facts |
4 | Calculated by Dovetail Partners Inc., based on data from Natural Resources Canada and the USDA Forest Service |
5 | USDA Forest Service, http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/national-report.php |
6 | American Forest & Paper Association, http://www.afandpa.org/our-industry/fun-facts |
7 | Impact of the global forest industry on atmospheric greenhouse gases, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010, http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1580e/i1580e00.pdf |
8 | A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products and Greenhouse Gas Impacts, FPInnovations, 2010, http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/technical_rpt/TR19%20Complete%20Pub-web.pdf |
9 | Dovetail Partners, Inc., http://www.dovetailinc.org/files/DovetailCarbon0408hz.pdf |
10 | A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products and Greenhouse Gas Impacts, FPInnovations, 2010 |
11 | Werner, F. and Richter, K., 2007, Wooden building products in comparative LCA: A literature review; International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 12(7):470-479 |
12 | El Dorado High School case study, U.S. WoodWorks, http://woodworks.org/publications/case-studies-design-examples/ |
13 | Utilization of Harvested Wood by the North American Forest Products Industry, Dovetail Partners Inc., http://www.dovetailinc.org/reportsview/2012/sustainable-forestry/pjim-bowyerp/utilization-harvested-wood-north-american-forest-%20 |
14 | Survey on actual service lives for North American buildings, O’Connor, J., FPInnovations |
The reThink Wood initiative is a coalition of interests representing North America's wood products industry and related stakeholders. The initiative shares a passion for wood and the forests they come from. Innovative new technologies and building systems have enabled longer wood spans, taller walls, and higher buildings, and continue to expand the possibilities for wood use in construction. www.rethinkwood.com |