Embodied carbon refers to the emissions created during the manufacturing, transportation, and installation of building materials. Reducing embodied carbon is essential in the fight to manage global warming. Wood offers a powerful solution for embodied carbon reduction, especially when paired with low-carbon manufacturing and responsible regional sourcing.
Climate Smart Wood: A Spectrum
The Climate Smart Wood Group defines climate-smart wood on a Good – Better – Best scale. The tiers are defined as follows:
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Good: Certified wood sourced from third-party certified forests
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Better: Wood from climate-smart forestry operations
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Best: Recycled, reclaimed, or reused wood sources
Each of these sources can achieve different impacts regarding climate health. Our team can help you identify your carbon reduction goals and recommend the best source for your project.
Carbon Sequestration in Wood Products
Trees capture and store carbon throughout their lives. That carbon is only released when a tree decomposes or burns. Wood products, when substituted for inorganic products, can reduce the embodied carbon of a building by continuing to store this carbon throughout the product lifecycle. This benefit increases when wood products use salvaged wood, keeping the carbon sequestered and extending the environmental benefit of each board.
Regional Sourcing and Manufacturing
We design products using hardwood species native to the Midwest to ensure we can source our materials locally. The majority of our manufacturing occurs within a 100-mile radius of our facility. Our urban wood and select harvest wood are sourced entirely from Wisconsin municipalities and forest managers. This tight-knit regional network dramatically reduces transportation-related emissions and supports a lower overall carbon footprint across our operations.
Life Cycle Analyses – In Progress
We are actively developing EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations) for several of our wood materials through the national organization Build Reuse. The goal of this program is to conduct life-cycle analyses of a variety of reclaimed materials to demonstrate the carbon-reduction potential of reuse. By contributing data to these analyses, we aim to increase the use of reclaimed materials in commercial projects across the industry. Stay tuned for updates as we continue this exciting work.
Have questions about sustainable wood sourcing for your project?
Contact our team to discuss carbon-storing wood products, regional manufacturing, and how our sourcing and production practices support lower embodied carbon.
