New Tools Set to Boost The Commercial Prospects of Us Hardwoods Worldwide

Environmental Product Declarations and wood modification are among new tools set to boost the commercial prospects of US hardwoods worldwide, the recent American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) European Convention heard. Entitled "Sustainable American Hardwoods – a Market Opportunity", the Convention was held in Warsaw and attracted over 170 delegates from the US and Europe. Consultant Rupert Oliver of Forest Industries Intelligence told the audience that Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, the "environmental equivalent of food ingredient labels", would figure increasingly in timber procurement criteria. These cover all aspects of a product or material's environmental performance, from sustainable sourcing and processing to delivery, and can encompass life cycle analysis (LCA). "EPDs already form the basis of material selection in European green building initiatives, " said Oliver Working with consultancy PE International, AHEC will unveil the first EPDs for American hardwood, for the UK, German and French markets, in spring next year. These will incorporate the LCA study AHEC has also commissioned, billed as "probably the largest ever in the international hardwood sector". "LCA and EPDs will allow customers to make like for like comparisons on products' environmental credentials and put us in a strong position to press for other materials sectors to adopt the same standards as timber, " said Mr Oliver. On another environmental topic, delegates heard that, in part thanks to an earlier legality risk assessment commissioned by AHEC from Seneca Creek Associates, American hardwoods should also have nothing to fear from the upcoming anti-illegal logging EU Timber Regulation. Neil Summers of specialist consultancy Timber Dimension told the conference that evaluation of different treatment systems commissioned by AHEC could enhance US hardwoods' potential in exterior application markets. American species were suitable for conventional preservative treatment, and also proving ideal for processes including hot oil and thermo treatment and wood modification methods, such as acetylation and furfurylation. AHEC Europe director David Venables said the Convention had demonstrated the "ever-growing potential of American hardwoods in the face of complex issues, from new legislation to materials substitution. Source: ttjonline.com