The federal government has finally come out and admitted what people in the forest products industry have known for a long time – using wood is good for the environment. Government officials have started urging builders to prioritize the use of wood in green buildings citing its environmental benefits.
According to a new report released by the U.S. Forest Service, a recent lifecycle analysis found that fewer emissions result from harvesting, transporting, manufacturing, and using wood in lumber and panel products in building than the resource extraction, manufacture and use of other common building materials.
“This study confirms what many environmental scientists have been saying for years,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Wood should be a major component of American building and energy design. The use of wood provides substantial environmental benefits, provides incentives for private landowners to maintain forest land, and provides a critical source of jobs in rural America.”
Detractors of using wood products in building have argued that using wood harms the environment and that other building materials are more environmentally friendly – an idea that the report said needed to be corrected.
“USDA and other stakeholders must overcome existing misconceptions about wood as a green building material and help lead the research and development efforts on green building materials,” the report said. “Despite documented advantages in many peer reviewed scientific articles, most building professionals and members of the public do not recognize wood as a renewable resource, or the role efficient wood utilization plays in mitigating climate change and promoting healthy forests.”
Though wood has been used as a structural material in North America for hundreds of years, the market share for wood in commercial buildings, such as schools and strip malls, has been small compared to other materials, according to the USDA. The wood industry has been fighting for years to have wood recognized by green building certification standards. It has specifically petitioned the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to open its LEED green building certification system to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified wood products, as well as other independent standards, such as the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) and the Canadian Standards Association. Currently LEED only gives credit for wood and paper products certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard.
However, the report also pointed out that an increased use of life cycle analysis in building codes and standards would improve the scientific underpinning of building codes and standards and thereby benefit the environment. It further suggested that the sustainability of forest products can be verified using any credible third-party rating system, including SFI, FSC, or ATFS certification.
“It’s gratifying to see this report,” said Deb Hawkinson, executive director of the Hardwood Federation. “We’ve known all along that sustainably managed wood was not getting the respect and credit it deserves as an environmentally preferable material. Hopefully this report will help open up people’s eyes to the fact that many green building standards are deeply flawed for their direct or indirect exclusion of wood products.”
