Hardwood Export Council Commissions LCA

Washington, DC, Nov. 9, 2010 -- The American Hardwood Export Council has commissioned what may be the largest Life Cycle Assessment study ever undertaken in the international hardwood sector.

The council's investment into a massive LCA study will involve data collection from a variety of sectors, supply chain elements and geographical regions.

The study will provide a Life Cycle Inventory data for sawn lumber and veneers of a selection of American hardwood species, as well as LCAs and carbon footprints for product groups such as flooring, doors and furniture, comparing them with products manufactured in alternative materials.

The project is expected to continue through 2011.

"This undertaking by AHEC poses a major significance for the American hardwood industry, specifically in gaining a competitive edge in global markets, given that green specification is increasingly informed by a science-based approach and sustainability is being viewed as an important facet of development," said Roderick Wiles, AHEC director for Africa, Middle East, India and Oceania.

Once the LCA is completed, an Environmental Product Declaration, which is quantified environmental data for a product with pre-set categories of parameters based on the ISO 14040 series of standards, will be issued to provide the basis of a fair comparison of the environmental performance of American hardwood products included in the LCA.

A key aim of the study is to enable manufacturers of joinery, flooring and furniture products that rely on American hardwoods to prepare formal EPDs in line with international standards.