Keith Harris, Cox VP Marketing
This month, AquAeTer, as part of the cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) entitled “Life Cycle Assessment Procedures and Findings for ACQ-Treated Lumber”, published their findings regarding the LCA of copper azole type C (CA-C) and micronized copper azole type C (μCA-C). These treatment technologies are produced by Arch Chemical and used by Cox Industries to produce the DuraPine brand of outdoor wood. We will get the full LCA and the “Executive Summary” up on www.coxwood.com very soon, but below you will find some excerpts from the study.
The Wood Products industry as a whole seems to be very slow to promote the fact they have the most sustainable and renewable building material on the planet. In fact Southern Yellow Pine Plantations replant at a rate more than 28% above their harvest on a yearly basis. More than one billion seedlings are planted annually. Southern Pine forests are more plentiful and healthier today than they were 100 years ago.
For generations wood has been prized for its workability and natural beauty, but today we are finally publicizing the positive environmental impact of using sustainable wood products. Wood is an insulator, a net carbon sink, a locally grown product and it is a natural choice that protects Earth’s finite resources.
To take the positive environmental impact of wood a step further, wood treatment technologies extend the service life of wood products in outdoor spaces. This further reduces the impact on forests and plantations. Often wood products are painted in a negative light or with the broad brush of deforestation in South America and Asia, but American forestry has always gone to great pains to make sure forests and plantations are a sustainable resource. Programs include the American Tree Farm System, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative to name just a few.
Check out some of the data below from the LCA and visit www.southernpine.com, http://woodworks.org and www.realoutdoorliving.com before making your decisions about which building materials are truly renewable and sustainable. There are a lot of claims out there and some are purely “green washing”, but “Wood is Real”.
Lumber treated with CA-C and μCA-C preservatives for above ground, exterior exposure have, on a life cycle cradle-to-grave basis, lower environmental impact indicators than wood plastic composite (WPC) decking.
Compared to CA-C-treated lumber, WPC requires approximately 15 times more fossil fuel and 2.4 times more water, and results in emissions with potential to cause 2.9 times more GHG, five times more acid rain, 2.6 times more smog, 1.7 times more ecological toxicity, and 1.5 times more eutrophication impact, than CA-C-treated lumber. In addition, 8.8 times more total energy is required during the life of WPC compared to CA-C-treated lumber.
Compared to μCA-C-treated lumber, WPC requires approximately 17 times more fossil fuel and 2.4 times more water, and results in emissions with potential to cause three times more GHG, 6.5 times more acid rain, 2.6 times more smog, 1.7 times more ecological toxicity, and 3.3 times more eutrophication impact, than μCA-C-treated lumber. In addition, 9.3 times more total energy is required during the life of WPC compared to μCA-C-treated lumber.
Cox Industries Inc. Blog 