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Forest Products Laboratory
One Gifford Pinchot Drive
Madison, WI 53726-2398
Phone: (608) 231-9200
Fax: (608) 231-9592
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Title: Maintaining life-cycle analysis data for U.S. wood products.

Source: fplrip-4851-021-CORRIM-Bergman-Oneil.

Author(s): Oneil, Elaine; Bergman, Richard

Publication Year: 2017  View PDF »

Related Publications: view

Category: Research In Progress

Abstract: Life-cycle assessment research quantifies and characterizes material and energy inputs and material and emission outputs associated with the production of consumer products. The assessment can also be extended past production to the use and final disposal of products in a cradle-to-grave analysis. The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), in cooperation with the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM), has been conducting life-cycle analysis (LCA) research on U.S. wood products used in construction of buildings in the United States for many years. Building designers can use this information to choose structural and nonstructural materials—wood or nonwood—that have the lowest environmental impacts associated with their production and use. Life-cycle information is needed by building designers to guide material choice decisions. It can also be used in support of green certification credits of buildings under standards such as LEED, the National Green Building Standard, the International Green Construction Code, and CalGreen (Bowyer et al. 2012). Wood product producers can present the environmental performance associated with lumber and panel products by publication of environmental product declarations (EPDs) that contain life-cycle environmental impact data for each wood product they produce.

Keywords: life-cycle inventory; LCI; LCA; wood products; environmental product declarations; EDPs; PCR

Publication Review Process: Non-Refereed (Other)

File size: 260 kb(s)

Date posted: 02/01/2017
RITS Product ID: 84004
Current FPL Scientist associated with this product
Bergman, Richard
Research Forest Products Technologist
  

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