Making Sustainable Timber Choices

Sustainable Timber Choices for Carpenters

Timber is a renewable resource – new trees can be replanted as old ones are harvested. However, if producing the timber leads to the destruction of the habitat it grows in, or does not include renewable practices, the process becomes unsustainable.

Let's look at why timber is a carbon-reducing material, and how carpenters can make sure they are using timber that’s produced in a sustainable way.

Value of timber as a sustainable resource

According to Timber Queensland, most of Queensland’s timber is sourced from softwood plantations dominated by pine trees. Softwood plantations account for 75% of the state’s plantation estate.

However, there is a young and expanding hardwood sector that is likely to start producing timber post-2020. This began in 1999 with the South East Queensland Forests Agreement. The agreement called for the transition of a hardwood timber industry largely based on log supplies from state-owned native forests, to one sourcing timber from plantations and private native forests.

Carbon sequestering in timber

Trees have an amazing ability to store carbon, which they take from the air during growth. In fact, carbon makes up about half the weight of timber. For example, a wooden table weighing 30 kilograms holds roughly 15 kilograms of carbon taken from the atmosphere, a storage capability known as carbon sequestering.

Contrast that with steel, which emits 1.83 tonnes of CO2 for each tonne produced, according to the World Steel Association.

Timber production takes less energy as well, reducing its carbon footprint by using less coal-fired electricity. Timber NSW states that compared to a product made from kiln-dried hardwood, it takes:

·         19 times more energy to make a steel product.

·         45 times more energy to make a plastic product.

·         85 times more energy to make a comparable aluminium product.

These figures demonstrate the superior potential of timber as a sustainable material. One international organisation making sure that timber lives up to its sustainable potential is the FSC.

How carpenters can ensure they use sustainable timber

The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organisation that investigates timber supply chains and audits timber producers. It oversees a certification system based on 10 principles applied to timber producing organisations.

Carpenters using FSC certified timber can rest assured they’re making a sustainable choice. FSC Principle 6 ‘Environmental Values and Impacts’ states:

“The Organisation shall maintain, conserve and/or restore ecosystem services and environmental values of the Management Unit [timber resource], and shall avoid, repair or mitigate negative environmental impacts.”

If the 10 standards are met, the FSC auditor will issue a certificate for the forest or the forest management unit. The timber producing organisation can then apply the FSC label to its products.

Although timber is harvested indiscriminately in some countries, Australia aims for sustainable stewardship in its forest management.

By buying timber displaying the FSC label and understanding of the value of sustainable timber to the environment and the economy, carpenters play a role in ensuring the future of Australia’s timber industry.