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of circular economy principles in their innovation product pipeline. Speaking from experience, Arxada has been placing sustainability at the heart of its innovation for several years. Looking specifically at timber in construction, we have Vacsol 6118, Tanalith MF and Resistol 6220 that have helped to reduce waste at end of life through reuse and recyclability. If we take Vacsol 6118 as an example. A low-pressure metal-free and VOC-free water-based preservative system, it is an ideal treatment for roofing battens, timber frame, internal joinery and wood windows (when a top coating is applied). When applied correctly, Vacsol 6118 can provide up to 60 years protection. That’s 60 years that carbon is locked in the treated timber. At end of life, the treated timber can be reused or recycled helping to promote a circular economy in the built environment. In the development of Vacsol 6118, embodied carbon consumption was reduced by developing it as a concentrate product to be distributed via recycled Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), eradicating the need for bulk distribution of diluted ready-to-use solution.
INVESTING IN EPD DATA The Timber in Construction Roadmap advocates that environmental product declaration (EPD) data for timber products is comprehensive and consistent, to enable a clear understanding of overall carbon impact of the timber product from raw material extraction through to end-of-life. To enable product manufacturers to produce these, wood preservation companies need to invest in providing this data for the manufacture of the wood preservative product.
Again, drawing upon experience at Arxada, we have developed three EPDs for different wood preservation technologies which look at cradle-to gate-assessment covering the Production Phase: extraction of raw materials (A1), transport (A2) and production (A3). The intention is that this information is then used by timber treaters and manufacturers of products to calculate the overall environmental impact of their products over the subsequent four phases covering construction, use, demolition and processing and beyond the system boundaries phase. However, as I write this article exploring how sustainability is driving innovation in wood preservation, warnings about sub- standard treated timber battens are being issued. Incidents of poor-quality treated timber products damage the reputation of the wood preservation industry and take the spotlight away from all the great work we are collectively doing to drive the modern era of wood preservation, including investment in EPD data.
EVIDENCING COMPLIANCE FOR SUPPLY CHAIN CONFIDENCE Wood preservative manufacturers undergo rigorous efficacy testing to prove the performance claims of their treatment products – Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) and national approval schemes. Though, treaters using the preservatives are not statutory obliged to sign up to independent schemes to evidence the quality of their treated timber products. In Europe there are several independent schemes that assess the quality of treatment and treated wood including WPA Benchmark in the UK, the NTR scheme in the Nordics and the CTB-P+ scheme in France.
If a timber product manufacturer cannot evidence compliance to an independent assurance scheme, then I would urge the supply chain to ask about the wood preservative they use, at which retention rates for the end use-class application and how the producer can evidence this. At Arxada we help our treaters demonstrate their quality approach to treated timber through plant automation reporting, operator training, treatment solution sampling and treated timber sampling.
When treated timber products fail early, confidence in wood is eroded and it’s a long- term risk for everyone involved. With wood being a natural, renewable material, the focus should firmly be on the work that the industry is doing to sustainably source materials, use less energy for manufacture, provide products with a long service and low maintenance and
help drive decarbonisation and its efforts to minimise waste at end-of-life. I know that the Wood Protection Association (WPA) and the European Wood Protection Association (EWPA) are working hard to promote these efforts but it’s disheartening that their good work is being overshadowed by industry quality issues. My call to you all is to work together to evidence quality and keep driving innovation for a more sustainable future, helping to keep wood firmly in the game. ■
Environmental Product Declaration Tanalith®
E 8000 Wood Preservative
In Accordance With EN 15804+A2 & ISO 14025 / ISO 21930
EPD created by: SHR Wageningen EPD owner: Arxada
Top: Vacsol treated timber used at a leisure complex Above: Arxada has developed three EPDs for different wood preservation technologies
www.ttjonline.com | May/June 2025 | TTJ
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