If there’s anything worth doing, it’s worth doing right, and this adage can be applied to when a contractor builds green. Sure, they may aim to cut down on the impacts their projects have on the environment, but what is the point if they use materials that will have more of a negative effect than a positive one?
The American Wood Council (AWC) wants to assist them in this goal and recently released 7 updated environmental product declarations (EPD) for wood products. These can be found on the council’s website, as well as UL Environment’s report website, UL SPOT.
According to AWC Vice President of Code and Regulations Kenneth Bland, what makes the EPDs so important is that they let developers, builders, designers and consumers know about the environmental impacts of the products they specify and use. “EPDs are standardized tools that provide valuable information based on lifecycle inventory data,” he explained.
“Each EPD also includes an example calculation for determining the long-term carbon sequestration of atmospheric CO2 after considering biogenic carbon emissions during manufacture for the product,” Bland said. He added that this calculation is useful for determining the long-term benefits of using wood products that convert the atmospheric CO2 into stored carbon.
“Stakeholders in the building design and construction community are increasingly being asked to consider potential environment and greenhouse gas impacts in their decision-making,” Canadian Wood Council President and CEO Kevin McKinley added. “EPDs are transparent and help the end-user to identify the long-term benefits of stored carbon in their wood products.”
