Wood is the go-to material for builders in the U.S., where we have some of the highest construction standards in the world. Why? It’s easy to build with, strong, safe, and renewable. It’s also the right material for our planet since wood allows for a smaller carbon footprint than alternative structural products.
Some experts have proposed that resilience objectives in construction include the use of low carbon materials with low embodied energy, such as wood – which makes sense. Avoiding materials with large carbon footprints, in either initial construction or rebuilding following a disaster, would be a win-win for a resilient environment.
The North American wood products industry is committed to sustainability in its products and their use. In support of this commitment, AWC and the Canadian Wood Council (CWC) joined together to produce third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Transparency Briefs that describe the environmental performance of many of the products we produce.
Nine of these existing EPDs have been renewed for one-year extensions by the third-party verifier Underwriters Laboratories Environment (ULE), an independent certifier of products and their sustainability. The following are the renewed EPDs by extension period.
April 16, 2019
North American Glued-Laminated Timbers
North American Oriented Strand Board
North American Softwood Lumber
North American Softwood Plywood
July 12, 2019
North American Laminated Veneer Lumber
July 23, 2019
North American Wood I-Joists
September 17, 2019
Redwood Decking
November 13, 2019
Medium Density Fiberboard
Particleboard
The North American Cellulosic Fiberboard and North American Laminated Strand Lumber EPDs are third-party verified through February 24, 2021. The North American Hardboard EPD is verified through August 31, 2021.
Wood is the perfect building material because it is renewable, reusable, stores carbon that reduces greenhouse gases, offsets use of other materials that are fossil-fuel-dependent, and is energy efficient. Reducing our country’s reliance on fossil fuels – and thus our greenhouse gas emissions – creates more resilient communities.
Tall Mass Timber Building Code Changes Pass First Hurdle
The highly-anticipated International Code Council (ICC) Tall Mass Timber Building code changes passed an important first hurdle in late April. The ICC code changes committee responsible for this part of the process approved each of the 14 proposals submitted by the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings by wide margins. The ICC code hearings brought together code and fire officials, along with engineers, architects, builders, and other construction professionals as part of the first public step in approving code change proposals for the 2021 set of ICC codes. Once officially approved by year-end, the code changes resulting from these proposals would collectively allow mass timber buildings to be constructed up to 18 stories in height. For more information see www.awc.org/tallmasstimber.