life cycle analysis of hardwood products from...

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Life Cycle Analysis of Hardwood Products from Lumber to Floor Coverings

September 21st 2010

Fredericton, NB

™

Patrick Lavoie

Researcher – Markets and

Economics Group

© 2009 FPInnovations. All rights reserved.

Copying and redistribution prohibited.

30/09/2010 2

Presentation content

� What is Life Cycle

Analysis (LCA)?

� Example of previous

work

� Progress on

hardwood initiative

� Results for hardwood

lumber and flooring



30/09/2010 3

What is Lifecycle Analysis (LCA)?

Source: O’Connor.



30/09/2010 4

How is LCA done?

Source: O’Connor. 2009.

Cradle Gate Grave



30/09/2010 5

Typical Steps in LCA

� Establish goal and scope.

� Identify participating manufacturing

facilities according to ISO 14040.

� Develop questionnaire

� Data collection (LCI)

� Create LCA model

� Assess impacts using LCI data

� Perform sensitivity analysis

� Interpret results, make recommendations

and draw conclusions

� Write report and submit to peers for review



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Information needed to perform LCA

� Production and residues

� Consumption

– Species

– Volumes

– Distances

– Energy

– Water

– Nails / screws

– Other inputs (fluids, greases, plastics,

etc.)

� Emissions

– Air

– Water



30/09/2010 7

What does Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) do?

� Differentiation from

competing products on

an environmental

standpoint

� Objective picture of

manufacturing

operations and overall

efficiency



30/09/2010 8

Greenhouse gas emissions due to manufacturing



30/09/2010 9

LCA limitations

� Quantifies the impact of a product / process across a number of dimensions

– Embodied energy

– Waste

– Air pollution

– Water pollution / Eutrophication / Acidification

– GHG emissions

– Resource use

– Water use

� No global number, weighting and interpretation is necessary

• Does not cover IEQ, toxicology and site specific extraction effects

• Expensive exercise



30/09/2010 10

Wood’s Negative Carbon Footprint – A Positive!

Using LCA, we can calculate carbon balances for wood products.

CO2 removal

The C is used to

make wood

The C balance here

is negative

C is captured /

sequestered in

products

CO2 emissions due

to harvesting,

manufacturing,

transportation

More C is in the product than was

emitted to atmosphere in making the

product - negative ‘Net C’

-

-

+



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OSB’s carbon balance

1,000 ft² OSB:

Stored: - 912 kg

CO2

Emissions: + 154

kg CO2

Net GHG = -758 kg

CO2

= emissions from 1.8

barrels of oil

Not included: Emissions avoided by not using some other product.

This number is even larger.

Harvesting



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Environmental footprint for various walls

This data was generated using the simplified LCA software tool, the Athena EcoCalculator.

Available for free at www.athenasmi.org

Ben

chm

ark



30/09/2010 13

LCA: Wood vs. steel across 7 sample measures

Source: Calculated using the Athena Impact Estimator

For a post-and-beam building, wood is the benchmark and shown against typical

steel (25% recycled content) and a hypothetical steel at 100% recycled content.



30/09/2010 14

Embodied energy, typical house



30/09/2010 15

FPInnovations involvement in LCA

� Eastern hardwood initiative

funded by most provincial and

federal governments

� Numerous projects within

initiative

� LCA of floor covering (hardwood)

� Hardwood harvesting and

sawmilling

� Next year: cabinets, mouldings,

furniture and pallets



30/09/2010 16

Progress of LCA project

Lumber manufacturing

cradle-to-gate LCA

Hardwood

flooring cradle-to-

grave LCA

Harvesting

LCA

Various floorings,

comparative cradle-

to-grave LCA

Alternate floorings

cradle-to-grave

LCAs

Hardwood

flooring gate-to-

gate LCA

Cabinet

cradle-to-

grave LCA

Furniture

cradle-to-

grave LCA

Millwork

cradle-to-

grave LCA

Pallets

cradle-to-

grave LCACompleted

Aug. 31 2010

Completed

Completed for March 2011

Cradle-to-Grave Flooring – the Product System

Forestry

Manufacturing

End of life



30/09/2010 18

Method

� A multi-product system:

– Lumber manufacturing

�Main product: lumber

�Co-products: pulp chips, sawdust, bark

– Flooring manufacturing

�Main product: flooring

�Co-product: hog fuel

• Allocation of environmental burden to products and co-products was done according to ISO standards for LCA (socio-economic option)



30/09/2010 19

Method

� Environmental impact indicators were chosen

according to the ISO standards for building material

EPDs (ISO 14025 and 21930)

� Chosen impact indicators

– Global warming: greenhouse gas emissions in CO2

equivalent

– Acidification: sulphate and nitrate emissions to air and water

– Eutrophication: phosphate, nitrate and sulphate emissions

to water

– Ozone depletion: ozone depleting substances

– Smog formation: ground level ozone formation due to VOCs

and NOx emissions

– Non-renewable resource depletion, e.g. fossil fuel



30/09/2010 20

Method

� Required minimum sample size: – An LCA needs a representative sample with at

least three companies and at least 5% of total industry production.

� Harvesting – 3 harvesting companies from QC, ON and NB

– Sample size: 20% of industry production in 2008.

� Lumber Manufacturing– 4 mills from QC and NB.

– Sample size: 10% of industry production in 2007.



30/09/2010 21

Green hardwood lumber (cradle→→→→ gate)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Cl i mat e Aci di f i ca t i on Eut r ophi cat i on Ozone Smog T ot a l ener gy Fossi l non-

r enewabl e

Nucl ear non-

r enewabl e

Bi omass

r enewabl e

Other r enewabl e

Sawmilling Harvesting

Note: 76% environmental impacts allocated to green lumber manufacturing. Benchmark graph

presenting normalized results based on highest score.



30/09/2010 22

Hardwood flooring(gate to gate)

*Note: 95% environmental impacts allocated to pre-finished flooring

**Impact evaluation method: TRACI 2 and CED for presentation V3.03 / Characterization /

Excludes infrastructures linked to processes..

-100%

-80%

-60%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Climate Acidification Eutrophication Ozone Smog Fossil fuel non-

renew.

Flooring (gate→gate) Moulding Drying Finishing



30/09/2010 23

Conclusions

� Wood, in general, is well positionedfrom an environmental standpoint

� LCA is the best tool available to quantify environmental performance of products

� LCA can force companies to re-examine products, processes, inputs, etc. (continuous improvements)

� Initiative underway in 2010/11



30/09/2010 24

Questions / comments?

Patrick LavoieResearcher – FPInnovations

Markets and Economics Group

(418) 659-2647 x 3106

[email protected]




30/09/2010 25


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