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Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
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July 2020 #12252 Page #100
EPDs Give Consumers Environmental Assurance for Using Wood Products
I
magine you’re standing in the bread aisle at your local grocery store, contemplating what loaf you should take home that day. If you’re like any of the millions of health-conscious shoppers, you’ll subconsciously turn the loaf over and read the nutrition label for a better idea of what’s in it. But what if there was no nutrition label on the package? Sure, you might know that wheat bread is generally considered better for your health than white bread, but what if you suffer from gluten? An everyday choice like what bread to buy becomes critical to your daily health and the importance of that nutrition label is amplified.
Robert Glowinski is the President & CEO of the American Wood Council (AWC).
Corporations, manufacturers, and individuals must make similar everyday decisions. Which car do I buy? What type of materials do we use to build our new office space? You wouldn’t make these decisions without having reliable product information at your disposal. Luckily, the benefits of building with wood products are plentiful, scientifically supported, and we can demonstrate that to users, in part thanks to environmental product declarations (EPDs). EPDs are just like the label on bread, except instead of nutritional information, they provide data on environmental impacts. In June, the American Wood Council (AWC) released updated cradle-to-gate, industrywide EPDs for seven wood products, further giving stakeholders the evidence and confidence that using wood products can play a key part in reducing our nation’s carbon footprint. The third-party verified updates replace the 2013 editions previously available for use in determining the environmental footprint of the industry’s principal products, as well as with green building rating systems and sustainable construction standards. Each EPD includes an example calculation for determining long-term carbon sequestration of atmospheric CO2 after considering biogenic carbon emissions during manufacture of the product. This calculation is particularly useful for identifying the long-term benefit of using wood products, which convert atmospheric carbon dioxide, a significant greenhouse gas, to stored carbon. As was done previously, AWC worked with the Canadian Wood Council to develop these updated EPDs, ensuring a North American approach that covers lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, I-joists, and glued laminated timber. In addition, AWC developed the redwood lumber EPD, which replaces the previous cradle-to-grave EPD for redwood decking. Continued next page
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