from the international trade. In 2008, the U.S. Hardwood Federation, the industry’s representative association, joined forces with environmental groups in a successful effort to extend the U.S. Lacey Act to include coverage of wood products. The amendment makes it an offence within the U.S. to possess any wood product “taken, possessed, transported, or sold” in violation of any relevant foreign or state law. Any U.S. companies trading in wood products that does not take due care with respect to their wood supplies could face criminal sanctions. AHEC has been advocating the introduction of similar legislation in other major wood consuming regions, including the European Union.In response to campaigning by environmental groups and responsible timber trading organisations like AHEC, the EU’s “Illegal Timber Law” (ITL) which “lays down obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the [EU] market” was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 November 2010. This law, due to be fully enforced from March 2013, will make it a criminal offence to place timber illegally harvested under the laws of any country onto the internal EU market.The law also requires European timber importers to implement due diligence procedures to minimise the risk of any wood being derived from an illegal source. This regulation will be to the benefit of the whole European wood trade – finally putting to bed any lingering uncertainty over the legal provenance of wood consumed in Europe.


AHEC is now encouraging the on-going movement towards a more science-centred approach to green specification and design using environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Although there is some way to go before LCA becomes a deciding factor in material specification throughout the UK and wider European market, there are clear signs of movement in this direction. Green building rating systems like BREEAM in the UK, HQE in France, and DGNB in Germany are becoming more widely used and all draw on LCA for allocating credits for building materials.


In line with this market shift, in 2010 AHEC commissioned the largest LCA study ever undertaken in the international hardwood sector. The independent assessment is being undertaken by PE International, a leader in the field of LCA, in accordance with the ISO14040 series of standards for LCA. It will include, as a discrete component, independent assessment of the “carbon footprint”


of American hardwoods in line with carbon footprint standards such as the UK’s PAS 2050 standard and the international Green House Gas (GHG) Protocol. The study involves the compilation of environmental life cycle inventory (LCI) data on the main American hardwood species from point of extraction in the US through to point of delivery as kiln dried sawn lumber or veneer in the EU and Asia. This will enable the industry to identify “hot spots” of higher environmental impact and to better target improvement measures. The study also includes a full life cycle impact assessment for a number of high priority finished construction and furniture products manufactured from American hardwoods in the EU market.


A major output of the study will be the preparation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for American hardwood products. EPDs look set to become an important tool for communication of product-specific LCA data to specifiers and end-users. EPDs are designed to allow fair comparison of the environmental performance of products through provision of structured, science based, and verified information. EPDs provide information along the product’s entire supply chain, are designed to be neutral with no value-based judgements, and are required to be verified for accuracy by an independent third party. An international standard - ISO 14025 – has been prepared providing guidance on the structure and content of EPDs.


So is American hardwood the most environmentally friendly building material on the planet? Well, the truth is we don’t know – yet. We’ll just have to await the results of the PE International study and more widespread publication of EPDs. But American hardwoods must be a contender – given their unique ability to combine a vast and rapidly expanding resource base, low intensity extraction, carbon sequestration properties, low emissions during processing, strong performance in-use, and an industry with demonstrable commitment to transparency and improved environmental performance.


|90| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE


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