At the American Wood Council (AWC), we celebrate the role wood products play in our lives every day. However, once a year, the rest of the nation has the opportunity to join us and commemorate the importance of forest products during the third week of October.
During National Forest Products Week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and forest products industry come together to showcase an industry that has proven to be of the utmost importance to our nation and environmental sustainability, and especially to rural economies, by providing jobs and renewable, carbon-sequestering products.
In parts of the country such as the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern United States, forestry, logging, and wood products manufacturing account for large portions of state economies. For instance, in Oregon, Washington, Georgia, and Alabama, wood products manufacturing employment provides over $1 billion in income to state residents.
Demand for wood products also incentivizes a strong forest economy, promoting reforestation efforts and proper forest management. Growing stock volume has increased by 60 percent since 1953.[1] Using sustainably-sourced wood helps prevent the conversion of forests to other land uses, and also helps remove dead or decaying trees, which in turn reduces fuel for wildfires.
During National Forest Products Week, we’d be remiss not to also mention the environmental benefits of using wood products. It’s no secret that trees sequester carbon when they grow. Turning trees into wood products before they die and decay traps the sequestered carbon for the life of the product instead of releasing it back into the atmosphere. This life cycle has garnered a lot of attention for wood products recently, particularly for newer mass timber products. Replacing traditional building materials in taller buildings with mass timber could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the building.
We expect to see interest in tall mass timber buildings grow even more in the coming years. Following International Code Council hearings, a package of code changes was approved that allow for the construction of mass timber buildings up to 18 stories. These changes will be incorporated into the 2021 International Building Code. However, some states, such as Oregon and Washington, have moved to accelerate incorporation of these changes into their building even sooner. You can see a map of current mass timber buildings, as well as those that have been proposed, at timberinnovation.org.
To highlight recent momentum we’ve seen around wood products, during National Forest Products Week, Tuesday October 22 has been deemed Timber Innovation Day. AWC will hold a briefing on Capitol Hill that day to recognize members of Congress and the Administration who have championed this momentum. Timber Innovation Day will be capped off in Washington, D.C. with a reception at the National Building Museum that showcases the Softwood Lumber Board’s launch of a traveling exhibit on wood products and mass timber.
Follow along with National Forest Products Week and join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #ForestProductsWeek.
[1] Mila Alvarez, The Economic Importance of U.S. Forests. The State of America's Forests: An Interactive Guide: The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, 2018.