LCA, EPDs and Promoting the Environmental Credentials of American Hardwoods. Mike Snow, Executive Director American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)

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1 LCA, EPDs and Promoting the Environmental Credentials of American Hardwoods Mike Snow, Executive Director American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)

2 The role of green building Estimated greenhouse gas mitigation potential by sector and region using technologies and practices expected to be available in Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change s 4th Assessment Report (IPCC AR-4)

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4 Low Carbon Concrete... UK Concrete Centre This is low carbon: this is concrete It was calculated that the construction approach used for Hampshire County Council decreased the carbon emissions associated with the timber frame by an incredible 33% Website reveals that claimed savings derive mainly from reusing the existing concrete frame (which was less than 50 years old) and from recycling concrete from the partial demolition for use as aggregate

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7 Strip mining for iron ore.

8 Low environmental impact?????

9 Label fatigue...

10 AHEC LCA Study Deliverables: Compile Life Cycle Inventory data Compile data in line with internationally recognised protocols for use in regional databases such as: European Reference Life Cycle Data System (ELCD) The US Department of Energy Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) Database LCA-National Project in Japan To cover major exported US hardwood species From point of extraction through to point of delivery in the EU and Asia

11 LCA Impact Categories

12 Project outputs: peer reviewed ISO report Lengthy technical report for conformance to ISO LCA standards Prepared by PE but subject to independent critical review Publicly available on the AHEC website Not designed for mass communication Underpins credibility of data in EPDs & i-reports Allows comparisons with other materials without "greenwash" Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner (Chair) - Berlin University, Chairman of ISO TC207/SC5 on LCA; Dr Richard Murphy, Imperial College London, Vice-Chair EC COST E9 network on Forest Products LCA Pankaj Bhatia, World Resources Institute (WRI) Washington DC, leading expert on GHG Protocol

13 Derived from PE/AHEC ireport

14 LCA Example: Ash lumber Transport scenarios between U.S. & Japan Scenario 1: US west coast route 660 km by truck in the US 3550 km by train in the US 9000 km by container ship 200 km by truck in Japan Scenario 3: Worst case route 1050 km by truck in the US km by container ship 200 km by truck in Japan Scenario 2: US east coast route 1050 km by truck in the US km by container ship 200 km by truck in Japan

15 LCA Example: Ash lumber to Japan Derived from PE/AHEC ireport

16 AHEC LCA Project: cradle to gate Product stage Construction stage Use stage End of life stage Benefits and loads for the next product system raw m aterial supppy transport m anufacturing transport construction/installation process use m aintenace incl transport repair incl transport replacem ent incl transport refurbishm ent incl transport operational energy use operational water use de-construction dem olition transport re-use recycling final disposal Reuse, Recovery Recyclingpotential A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 C1 C2 C3 C4 D B2.1 B2.1 product stage, e.g. impacts due to provision of materials and energy for maintenance processes. AHEC Project: - Lumber & veneer - Delivery into export markets B2.2 B B2.3 use stage, e.g. impacts due to the maintenance processes. B2.2 end of life stage, e.g. end of life management for materials applied during maintenance. Other life cycle stages: input from manufacturers, designers, users

17 Implications of wood carbon store Cradle to gate analysis suggests 1 kg of 1 US hardwood lumber delivered to Japan has a "negative" carbon footprint i.e kg CO2 equiv. in wood exceeds 0.49 to 0.82 kg GHG emissions from burning fossil fuels during extraction, processing & delivery. Cradle to grave analysis required to assess contribution of carbon store in wood to climate change mitigation Carbon storage heavily dependent on design and manufacturing strategies

18 Maximise material use Igooplay Mod Rocker by Lisa Albin Design in Walnut veneer Black cherry flooring at the Rimini Convention Centre by German architects GMP Studio Bolefloor, a Dutch company is marketing "the world s first industrialscale manufactured hardwood flooring with naturally curved lengths that follow a tree s natural growth

19 Ensure long life in use The 3000 tons of wood in Salisbury Cathedral have been storing equivalent of 5500 tons (3 million m3) of CO2 for 750 years and counting EU Veterinary Centre, Ireland

20 Cascaded use of wood Divert as much fibre as possible into longlife products to maximise carbon store Recycle as much as possible Reduce fossil fuel use by incinerating at EoL

21 Out of the Woods: A project with Design Product students at the Royal College of Art Workshops & education on: Wood as a design material Life Cycle Assessment The principles of chair design An introduction to American hardwoods The forest resource

22 Out of the Woods: Full Life Cycle impact assessment for 12 hardwood chairs BEEEENCH Designer aimed for dematerialisation, creating a product that contains more air than matter Large credit assigned to waste because of high levels of machining Lightweight solution reduces environmental footprint in transport Issues of durability Dematerialisation means the product can be disposed of regularly without creating much waste

23 AHEC LCA Study Deliverables: Environmental Product Declarations Facilitate AHEC members and their customers preparation of Environmental Product Declarations EPDs provide science based, verified and comparable environmental information along product's entire supply chain Neutral with no value-based judgements Allow fair comparison of products and services Standardised (ISO 14025) Two types: Generic EPDs prepared by trade associations Product Specific EPDs prepared by manufacturers

24 EPDs

25 Data output for 1 kg of 1 White oak lumber delivered into EU Impact category What it stands for Value Units PED Resources PED Renewable Raw Materials Primary Energy Demand (using nonrenewables) Primary Energy Demand (using renewables) MJ MJ GWP Global Warming Potential kg CO2-Equiv. AP Acidification Potential kg SO2-Equiv. EP Eutrophication Potential ADP elements Abiotic Depletion Potential (of minerals and ores) 3.92E-08 kg Phosphate- Equiv. kg Sb- Equivalent ADP Fossil Abiotic Depletion Potential (of fossil fuels) MJ ODP Ozone Layer Depletion Potential 2.98E-08 kg R11-Equiv. POCP Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential kg Ethene-Equiv

26 Wood: The Substitution Effect

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28 Impact of forest preservation on Forest carbon growth rates slow with age Little or no increase in carbon storage when the forest reaches maturity. carbon storage Data relates to Douglas-Fir in Western Washington. Bruce Lippke et al, 2011, drawing on US Forest Service Forest Inventory

29 The story doesn t end there only considering GWP at one point in the life cycle need to consider effect on carbon pools across entire life cycle Forest plus productcarbon pools and process-energy emissions for a 160 year period (4 forest rotations) in the Pacific North West. Variables: Distribution of carbon in the forest (between stem, root, crown, litter, soil) Intensity of harvesting & rate of forest regeneration Distribution of carbon between chips and lumber following harvesting Length of life in use of lumber products Source:Life cycle impacts of forest management and wood utilization on carbon mitigation: knowns and unknowns, Lippke et al, Carbon Management (2011) 2(3),

30 Wood: The Substitution Effect

31 Impact of sustainable timber harvesting on carbon storage Carbon in forest supplemented by progressive increase in carbon stored in long-term forest products Carbon storage benefits outweigh (relatively minor) manufacturing emissions Most significant benefit due to substitution of more fossil fuel intensive materials (steel concrete) Data relates to U.S. Inland Northwest state and private forests. Bruce Lippke et al, from Wood Fibre Science 42, (2010)

32 DNA finger printing of American hardwood Preliminary discussions with Double Helix, company specialising in DNA timber tracking Funding sought for a US forest genographic map showing distribution of genetic types for tree populations New low cost timber DNA testing equipment becoming available to importers, retailers & regulators Incontrovertible proof of specific US origin and that wood is negligible risk

33 Thank You!