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BEING SEEN TO BE SUSTAINABLE PLUS
The US hardwood sector is providing copper-bottomed proof of its sustainability while encouraging the market to make more sustainable use of its timber, writes TTJ consultant editor Mike Jeffree
US hardwood is demonstrably sustainable. The American hardwood forest has grown dramatically in the last 50 years, with the volume of standing timber increasing from 5 billion m3
to 12 billion m3 .
In fact, such is the rate of growth, a concern today is that the number of trees dying naturally in the forest exceeds the number harvested. That presents potential fi re and forest health risks. So, effectively, we need to be using more timber to underpin forest sustainability. At the same time, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) maintains in its latest market development campaign, we can make more sustainable use still of this resource.
In recent years, AHEC’s message has been that one way of doing that is working more in tune with nature by using the spread of US hardwood species according to their abundance. That simultaneously increases market choice and cuts risk of supply stress on species currently in greatest demand.
AHEC’s new campaign No.1 Common (see pp40-41) explains sustainable use is also about exploiting as much of the tree as possible in the form of long-term carbon storing timber products. That means designers and end- users exploring the performance and aesthetic potential of lower grades rather than opting exclusively for top end timber. To demonstrate what can be achieved with No.1 Common US hardwood, AHEC has challenged three European designers to create furniture using it in a species of their choice. The end result will be displayed in a special exhibition at the 3daysofdesign festival in Copenhagen and will subsequently appear at other events, including in the UK.
The US hardwood sector has also well and truly taken on board the fact that today, to see fi rst-hand with your own eyes that a forest and its timber is sustainable is not enough to satisfy the tide of timber market legality and sustainability regulation rising worldwide – the latest example being the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Consequently, AHEC has been prime mover behind the Sustainable Hardwood Coalition (SHC) (see p45). This has developed a legality and sustainability assurance system tailored specifi cally to the type of low intensity forest management and fragmented forest holding model that prevails in the US, with its more than 9 million forest owners.
It combines third party legality risk assessment against the US Framework for Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA) of Legal Compliance of Hardwood Production, with independent assessment of risk of deforestation using GIS and AI technology.
The latter is based on the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Cropland Data Layer (CDL), an annual geo-referenced, crop-specifi c land cover data layer produced using satellite imagery and agricultural ground reference data. The SHC system also uses ‘smart geolocation’ to identify county of origin of US hardwood.
That’s the science bit – or at least part of it. There will also soon be a proof of provenance procedure to accompany it, plus a web portal making all the legality, deforestation-free and provenance data publicly available. You surely can’t argue with that making US hardwood production a closed and shut case of sustainability. ■
www.ttjonline.com | May/June 2025 | TTJ
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