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Major Life Cycle Assessment study announced for American Hardwoods.

 
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10 Nov 2010

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry, has commissioned what will probably be the largest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study ever undertaken in the international hardwood sector.

The announcement was made on November 8, 2010. AHEC’s investment into a massive LCA study - a scientific method to measure and evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product or activity by systematically describing and assessing the energy and materials used and released to the environment over the life cycle - will involve data collection from a variety of sectors, supply chain elements and geographical regions.

AHEC further revealed that leading LCA consultant PE International will undertake the study, which will conform to the ISO 14040 series of standards for LCA and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and include an assessment of the carbon footprint of American hardwoods as a discrete component.

Undertaken to ensure appropriate and fair recognition of American hardwoods’ environmental profile, the study will provide a Life Cycle Inventory data for sawn lumber and veneers of a selection of American hardwood species, as well as LCAs and carbon footprints for product groups such as flooring, doors and furniture, comparing them with products manufactured in alternative materials.

The initial consultation and planning with PE International and leaders of the American hardwood industry took place in Washington DC in mid September 2010, with the project expected to continue through 2011. In line with this, AHEC Director for Africa, Middle East and Oceania, Roderick Wiles, will be delivering a presentation on ‘Sustainable Wood - 21st Century Design Solution’ and highlighting the progress of the LCA study at Index 2010.

Major Life Cycle Assessment study announced for American Hardwoods.

“This undertaking by AHEC poses a major significance for the American hardwood industry, specifically in gaining a competitive edge in global markets, given that green specification is increasingly informed by a science-based approach and sustainability is being viewed as an important facet of development,” said Roderick Wiles, AHEC Director for Africa, Middle East, India and Oceania. “The scope of this project both in terms of logistics and funding will allow us to cover a wide range of operations and processes to be comprehensive and independent, thereby resulting in verified comparative information on the environmental impacts of the processes used to extract, produce and dispose of American hardwood products.”

Once the LCA is completed, an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which is quantified environmental data for a product with pre-set categories of parameters based on the ISO 14040 series of standards, will be issued to provide the basis of a fair comparison of the environmental performance of American hardwood products included in the LCA. EPDs are also widely recognised as the most effective method of communicating the full environmental profile of any given product or material.

PE has completed more than 110 EPDs and is known for its reliable internal EPD Quality Management System and standardised approach towards LCA based testing and analysis - assuring AHEC of a thorough and fully analyzed assessment once the study is complete.

“Due to the rising interest in sustainable design and mounting concern for mitigating climate change, LCA is now being given a whole new impetus, having been identified by the European Commission as the best framework currently available to assess and compare the environmental impacts of products. In addition to supplying the information we need to support our statements on the environmental credentials of American hardwoods, this study will also play an important role in identifying ‘hotspots’, or those processes that have major impacts in the environment. As a result, organisations can implement programmes that can improve their performance amidst rising calls for sustainability among global industries,” concluded Wiles.

A key aim of the study is to enable manufacturers of joinery, flooring and furniture products that rely on American hardwoods to prepare formal EPDs in line with international standards. The information will cover environmental impacts of all processes from point of extraction through to delivery to the importers yard in Europe and in East Asia. Information for regions outside these areas, including the Middle East, will also be made available in the near future.

The study is especially important given that ‘Green Building’ initiatives like BREEAM (UK and International), LEED (U.S. and International), DGNB (Germany), HQE (France), and CASBEE (Japan) are becoming more dependent on EPDs to provide credible and comparative information on the environmental performance of materials used in the building sector



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