13550_wfg_faqs_final

FAQs.

Wood CO2ts less.

Wood and the low carbon economy

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Wood products.

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What is certification?Certification provides an independently audited confirmation of theorigin of wood raw material and its status and/or qualifications.

“Timber certification typically includes two main components: certification of sustainability offorest management; and product certification. Certification of forest management covers forestinventory, management planning, silviculture, harvesting, road construction and other relatedactivities, as well as the environmental, economic and social impacts of forest activities, and takesplace in the country of origin.” 1

What is Chain of Custody?Chain of Custody is product certification, providing evidence of anunbroken chain from forest to product.

“Roundwood and processed timber products are traced through the successive stages of the supplychain of domestic and export markets.”1

What is CPET?CPET is the Government’s Central Point of Expertise on TimberProcurement. It provides detailed information on the UKGovernment’s timber procurement policy and advice on how publicsector buyers and their suppliers can meet these policy requirements in practice.

See www.proforest.net/cpet

1 UN FAO, Hj.G. Baharuddin, Timber Certification – An Overview

Which certification schemes arerecognized by CPET?CPET recognizes four schemes as proof of legality and sustainability:

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification)SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative)CSA (Canadian Standards Association)

CPET also recognizes MTCC (Malaysian Timber CertificationCouncil) as evidence of legality.

Are there sufficient supplies ofcertified timber?Currently supplies of certified softwood timber exceed demand. Ask aspecialist merchant for advice about supplies of certified or verified legalhardwood timber.

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What is carbon labelling?Carbon labelling is increasingly used to show the carbon dioxideemissions from the production of a product, including the rawmaterials, transport, processing and packaging. One of the firstcategories to use carbon labelling has been the food industry. Itsadoption within the construction industry would highlight theconsiderable carbon benefits to be gained by using wood products.

Why is recycling wood important?To get the most out of the carbon store effect, the life of the woodproduct should be extended as far as possible, through good designand maintenance, reuse where appropriate (there is a good market forreclaimed panelling, doors and flooring), and recycling (into panelproducts or animal bedding).

In 2007 1,986,000 tonnes of wood was recycled.1

For details of your nearest recycler visit www.recyclewood.org.uk

1 The Wood Recyclers Association

What is biomass energy? Biomass energy, or ‘bioenergy’, is energy sourced from plants andplant-derived materials. Because it is carbon neutral – the CO2 itreleases on combustion being largely balanced by the CO2 capturedduring its growth – it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used as a substitute for energy derived from fossil fuels. Wood is thelargest biomass energy resource today, and is becoming increasinglyimportant.

Wood can be burned as logs, chips, or as pellets, which are a highlystable, easily transported fuel with a high calorific value.

Waste wood that has been painted, varnished or treated withpreservative should not be burned. It should be taken to a licensedincinerator. Ask your council for advice on Waste IncinerationDirective (WID) compliant combustion facilities.

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Construction.

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What is Life Cycle Assessment?An internationally established approach for analysing the environmentalimpacts of products by assessing the energy and materials used andreleased to the environment over the life cycle of the product.

What are Environmental Profiles?Environmental Profiles are used by BRE (the Building ResearchEstablishment) to identify and assess the environmental effectsassociated with building materials over their life cycle - theirextraction, processing, use and maintenance, and eventual disposal.

They provide a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) rating for individual UKconstruction products, and form the basis of the generic resultspublished in the Green Guide.

What is Whole Life Costing?WLC (Whole Life Costing) measures the cost of a product orelement over its life, taking into account: • Initial cost• Quantities of materials used• The service life the materials could or will be used for • The maintenance and operational cost of using the products • The end of life proportions to recycling (and sale value) and disposal.

What is the Green Guide?The Green Guide to Specification, produced by BRE, providesguidance for specifiers, designers and their clients on the relativeenvironmental impacts of over 250 building elements’ specificationsfor roofs, walls, floors etc.

This generic information is based on the Environmental Profiles ofindividual products. Ratings are expressed as A*, A, B or C and formthe basis of the materials section of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Wood and wood products generally receive the highest ratings,particularly on the Climate Change Indicator. For example, as well as achieving A and A* overall ratings, wood windows achieve an A Climate Change Indicator rating, compared to a D rating for bothplastic and aluminium windows.

The revised Green Guide is available online atwww.bre.co.uk/greenguide

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What is the Code for Sustainable Homes?Published by the government in December 2006, the CSH effectivelyreplaced BRE’s EcoHomes scheme. All new housing requires a rating.All new social housing must attain a 3 star rating as a minimum.

The Code has six levels of sustainability, with the most demanding 6 star level representing the zero carbon home that the governmentintends to make mandatory by 2016. All star ratings are calculated ona ‘points out of 100’ basis across nine categories. Materials ratings arebased on the new Green Guide. Timber products can contribute tohigher star ratings. Additional points are available for certified timber.

A Code for Sustainable Buildings is under development and willreplace BREEAM.

See www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/code_for_sust_homes.pdf

What is a ‘zero carbon home’?One which is both thermally efficient (at least 100% better than theminimum laid down in Part L 2006) and which generates all its ownenergy requirements (e.g. using solar roof panels) or receives itsrenewable energy directly from a local source.

What is thermal mass?The material within a building, such as concrete or brick, that absorbsand holds heat.

Buildings with high thermal mass take a long time to heat up and cooldown. This can be good, when the days are hot and the nights arecold, where there is a levelling-out effect; or bad if the nights are hot(as is often the case in a heatwave), when the structure of the buildingkeeps pumping out heat gained during the day. High thermal mass canalso be less practical for the flexible way we live nowadays, withworking couples needing to heat up or cool down their homes quicklyon demand.

The orientation of a building, solar control, effective ventilation, andthermally efficient lightweight structures, like timber frame, combinedwith elements containing thermal mass, will all contribute to the mostcost-effective, comfortable and sustainable solution.

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Forestry.

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Is deforestation happening?Yes. But not in Europe.

“The world has just under 4 billion hectares of forest, covering about 30% of the world’s landarea. Deforestation continues at an alarming rate of about 13 million hectares a year, mainlyfrom the tropical forests of Africa, Latin America and South East Asia.”

“From 2000 to 2005, the net rate of loss declined slightly – a positive development. In thesame period, 57 countries reported an increase in forest area, and 83 reported a decrease(including 36 with a decrease greater than 1% per year). However, the net forest loss remains7.3 million hectares per year or 20,000 ha per day.”

“In Europe the forest area is increasing by 661,000 hectares per year.”

“Net increases in the extent of forest, in forest plantations and in growing stock are positivetrends towards sustainable forest management in the region. All indications are that Europeancountries have successfully stabilized or increased their forest areas, in many cases from thenineteenth or early twentieth centuries.”1

Is it caused by the construction industry?No. Over 97% of the softwood used in the UK and Europe comesfrom European countries with strong forest governance and stableforest estates. Similarly only 16% of the hardwood timber used in theUK and Europe comes from outside Europe, and much of this is fromNorth America.2

Why does deforestation happen?The most important direct causes include logging, the conversion offorested lands for agriculture and cattle-raising, urbanization, miningand oil exploitation, acid rain and fire. A lot of wood is used indeveloping countries for cooking and heating. According to the Foodand Agriculture Organization, 90% of deforestation is caused byunsustainable agricultural practices, while logging and plantationforestry play a greater role in forest degradation.

Is it bad to use tropical hardwood?Yes, if there is no credible evidence that it has been legally logged.

No, if there is. Evidence can take the form of credible third partycertification, ‘verified legal’, or ‘Category B’ evidence – all othercredible evidence that material is from forests which meet therequirements for legality and or sustainability. The evaluation ofCategory B evidence is detailed in UK Government TimberProcurement Policy: Framework for Evaluating Category B evidence.

“A forest that pays is a forest that stays – a good market for legally produced tropical timber is a good incentive to maintain good management processes.”

1 UNECE/FAO, State of the World’s Forests, 20072 IIED and ECCM, Using Wood to Mitigate Climate Change, 2004

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How is the UK helping to eliminateillegal logging?The UK Government introduced a public procurement policy in 2000 which made it mandatory for timber to be certified legal, so thatcertified timber or timber from FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement,Governance and Trade) countries must be used in all public sectordevelopments; and the Code for Sustainable Homes requires certifiedtimber. The Government also funds programmes to help reform forestpolicies and laws in developing countries, such as Indonesia,Cameroon and Ghana.

The Timber Trade Federation is working to eliminate illegal timberfrom the UK trade, through its Code of Conduct and ResponsiblePurchasing Policy.

Specialist timber companies are working with forest owners to develop sources of legal timber and to encourage progress towardssustainability through verified legal certification.

What is Sustainable Forest Management?Sustainable Forest Management aims to ensure that the goods andservices derived from the forest meet present-day needs while at thesame time securing their continued availability and contribution tolong-term development. In its broadest sense, sustainable forestmanagement encompasses the administrative, legal, technical,economic, social and environmental aspects of the conservation anduse of forests.

For more information visit www.fao.org/forestry

What is verified legal?Independently audited assurance that timber is legally harvested andfrom forests where forest management practices are actively improvingtowards achieving certification. Sometimes called Verified Progress.

Verified legal timber is available through specialist hardwood merchants.

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Climate Change.

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What’s causing climate change?Mainly carbon dioxide from industrial processes, energy production,and deforestation. In 1780 the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in theatmosphere stood at 280 parts per million (ppm). Production ofCO2 has increased significantly since the industrial revolution andcontinues to increase, as it is closely related to the growth in energyconsumption and changes in the use of land resulting from anincreasingly mechanized, affluent and growing population. In 2006 itstood at 382ppm – an increase of 36%. Between 1970 and 2004annual emissions grew by about 80%.1

CO2 is the most important man-made greenhouse gas (GHG),although not the most potent, accounting for over 75% of total GHGemissions. The remainder consists of methane (14.3%), nitrous oxide(7.9%) and fluorinated gases (1.1%).

The Stern Report (2006) suggests 1% of global GDP will need to bespent annually to stabilize levels at 450ppm CO2.

1 IPCC AR4 synthesis report, summary for policymakers 2007

What is the Stern Review?A report on the Economics of Climate Change by Sir Nicholas Stern,the former Head of the Government Economic Service and Advisor tothe Government on the economics of climate change and development,published in October 2006. It concludes that:

• The scientific evidence is now overwhelming that climate change is aserious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response

• There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if wetake strong action now

• The benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economiccosts of not acting

• If we don’t act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will beequivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now andforever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account,the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more

• In contrast, the costs of action – reducing greenhouse gas emissionsto avoid the worst impacts of climate change – can be limited toaround 1% of global GDP each year.

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1 IPCC AR4 synthesis report, summary for policymakers 20072 DEFRA

How important are Europe’s forests as acarbon sink?While carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased by about 5.5% at theglobal level from 1990 to 2005, carbon stocks are increasing inEurope and North America.

Europe (including Eastern European countries and the RussianFederation) contains 27% of the total global forest area and Europe’sforests store over 160 billion tonnes of CO2 - currently growing byaround 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 a year.

What is the difference between a carbonsink, a carbon source and a carbon store?• A carbon sink is active: any process, activity or mechanism which

removes CO2 from the atmosphere (such as a forest or ocean).

• A carbon source is also active: any process, activity or mechanismwhich adds CO2 to the atmosphere.

• A carbon store is passive: an object that stores CO2 as carbon (suchas a wood product).

How important is deforestation?Globally, deforestation and land use changes are the third biggest sourceof CO2 emissions. But in the UK and Europe, from where our timber issourced, the growth of our forests is reducing net CO2 emissions.

In the UK, energy supply is the largest source of CO2 emissions followedby road transport.

Deforestation is not a factor in the production of CO2 emissions in theUK, Europe, North America and many other predominantly northernhemisphere countries where the forests are stable or growing. In factthese forests play an important role in reducing CO2 concentrations asthey are natural carbon sinks.

Source of UK CO2 emissions, 20052

Source of total man-made GHG emissions,2004 (CO2 e; forestry includes deforestation)

Energy supply

25.9%

Waste & waste water

2.8%

Industry

19.4%

Forestry

17.4%

Agriculture

13.5%

Transport

13.1%

Residential andcommercial buildings

7.9%

Energy supply

37.5%

Road transport

21.6%

Other industry

17.7%

Residential

15.0%

Other

8.2%

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What is the difference between carbonand carbon dioxide (CO2)?Carbon is a chemical element and a solid. Carbon dioxide is a gas. Onetonne of carbon is the equivalent of 3.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The term ‘carbon’ is often used as shorthand for carbon dioxide (CO2 )emissions, as in ‘carbon footprint’. It can also be used as a shorthandfor the emissions of all Greenhouse Gases (GHG), which include:

• carbon dioxide• methane• nitrous oxide • hydrofluorocarbons • perfluorocarbons • sulphur hexafluoride

As the main GHG is CO2, scientists talk about these gases in terms oftonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, expressed as t CO2 e.

Why is it important to store carbon?How and where is carbon stored?Increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are the maincause of climate change. Stored carbon is CO2 that would otherwisebe released into the atmosphere, increasing concentrations of CO2 andaccelerating climate change.

Carbon is stored in a tree by a process of photosynthesis. On average,trees absorb 1 tonne of CO2 for every cubic metre’s growth, producing727 kgs of oxygen.1

Much of the carbon stored in the tree continues to be stored in thewood products made from the harvested tree, and beyond, throughreuse and recycling.

1 ECCM24 25

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