MEETING SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
DRIVING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT THROUGH SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
At SmartLam we have been committed to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint since our inception.
The Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our manufacturing facilities describe the environmental performance of our products from the perspective of a cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment (LCA). This assessment analyzes the many activities that occur in the production of our mass timber products; from raw material extraction and processing, transportation to our facilities, and finally, the manufacturing and processing of our products and packaging. You can review the EPD documentation on our resources page.
Additionally, to ensure our wood fiber procurement practices are sustainable, we participate in SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) chain of custody (COC) certification. Internationally recognized forest certification standards provide customers and stakeholders with an objective, third-party determination of whether companies are implementing sustainable forestry practices and making products that come from legal and well-managed sources. We are vocal supporters of the importance of these standards and the use of independent, third-party audits to verify compliance and promote sustainable forestry around the world.
For individuals wanting to earn LEED credits, selecting products with EPDs is a great first step. SFI sourced projects are eligible for LEED credits. Our Technical Sales Representatives can help you determine which standards and certification are right for your project.
DECLARE LABEL ACHIEVED
Living Product Challenge is the world’s most advanced standard for healthy, sustainable products. The Living product Challenge is a framework for manufacturers to create products that are healthy and give back more than they take. We are excited to announce that SmartLam has achieved a Declare Label for our mass timber products.
SFI Marks are registered marks owned by Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. Learn more forest standards and certifications. www.forests.org
SMARTLAM JOINS OUR PARTNERS IN BEING RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.
As more and more people choose to live, work and play in sustainable communities, mass timber is playing a significant role in the new built environment. As producers of mass timber, we directly support this new eco-system. We align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals framework and Principles of Responsible Investment for buildings around the globe. Through our products and services, we support our customers in meeting green building certifications.
INDUSTRY
We support the industry:
• Attain Certifications
• Mass timber best practices
• Research collaboration
• Buildings meet sustainable targets
COMMUNITY
We support communities through the creation of lower carbon footprints for commercial and residential buildings
CLIENTS
We support our clients:
• LEED Gold Certifications
• Passive House
• Living Building Challenge
• Zero Carbon Building
OUR COMPANY
• Zero-waste facilities
• Shavings and saw dust repurposed
• Wood waste converted to biomass energy
As climate change has captured global attention, we now better understand the large impact that buildings contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Typical structural building components like masonry, concrete, and steel have a large carbon footprint and are extremely energy intensive materials to produce. Concrete production represents roughly 5% of world carbon dioxide emissions, the dominant greenhouse gas. Replacing concrete and steel with mass timber as a building material can have a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Woodworks.org, the 7M cubic feet of wood products used in sustainable buildings equals 74k metric tons of avoided green house gas emissions which is the equivalent of 56k cars off the road every year!
Unlike other products that deplete the earth’s resources, wood is the only major building material that grows naturally and is renewable. When considered over a building’s lifetime – from harvest of raw materials through manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and disposal or recycling – wood performs better than concrete and steel in terms of embodied energy, air and water pollution, carbon footprint and global warming potential. In terms of operating energy, wood has the advantage of low thermal conductivity compared to steel and concrete. As a result, wood buildings are easy to insulate to high standards. The precise manufacturing and milling of CLT results in exceptional air tightness. The added aspect of dimensional stability also ensures that the building remains airtight over time. Wood is a good choice for designers who want to meet the Passive House standard or create a net zero energy or net zero carbon building. Because many factors have a greater influence on energy efficiency than the choice of structural material, a more relevant point for many designers is that wood building systems have low embodied energy. Embodied energy is the energy needed to extract, process, manufacture, transport, construct and maintain a material or product. Wood outperforms other materials in this area.
SmartLam's Annual Mass Timber Capacity Carbon Calculation
Volume of wood products used:
141,585 cubic meters (5,000,000 cubic feet)
US and Canadian forests grow this much wood in: 386 minutes
Avoided greenhouse gas emissions: 48775 metric tons of carbon dioxide
Carbon stored in the wood:
126059 metric tons of carbon dioxide
Total potential carbon benefit: 174834 metric tons of carbon dioxide
36963 cars off the road for a year
Energy to operate 18462 homes for a year
*Source: Data derived from Wood Works Carbon Calculator. Estimates are based off average CF stored in wood buildings and respected conversions applied to max capacity of each facility. Estimates are rounded.