Building Steps: Carefully Select Wood

Courtesy of www.earthhero.org.

Ease: Medium
Impact Rating (1-5): 4
Influence Beyond You: 1
Types of Impacts: Biodiversity, Protects Ecosystems, System change

Does it help with making your community resilient to disasters and emergencies? No

Tags: Rainforests, certified, Carbon sequestration

Money Saved (1-4 $): n/a

Description: Up until the 1960’s, the demand for forest products was met largely by exploitation of natural, primary forests. The over-harvesting of timber in this way has undoubtedly had implications for biodiversity, ecosystem health and the global climate. Today there are growing demands for timber, in part due to with global population growth as well as greater economic prosperity in developing nations. It is crucial to adopt a sustainable model of timber demand and production, otherwise large-scale deforestation of valuable carbon stores is inevitable. Keep this in mind when buying or building a home or furniture, for business purposes, or for other uses of timber.

The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council; https://fsc.org/en) certifies timber as responsibly sourced based on a number of criteria, including compliance with local laws and FSC principles, the rights of indigenous people, and commitment to a sustainable forest management plan, among others. When buying timber in the form of a new set of garden furniture, it helps to ask if it is FSC-certified. Many home/hardware stores do have access to FSC-certified wood. If so, you can feel comfortable that you are not contributing to the destruction of globally important forests. If not, you are demonstrating consumer demand for ethically sourced wood and prompting positive change in the timber industry.Once timber-reliant industries become aware of consumer pressure to move to a more sustainable business model, the transition is likely to accelerate considerably. It is in the hands of consumers to demand higher standards and to put an end to the over-exploitation of old growth forests.

The undercutting of sustainably sourced timber by cheaper, unsustainable wood, is likely to be a significant barrier to structural change. This can be addressed by lobbying your local politician, political party, industry group or government official to apply pressure to suppliers in the form of legislation or policy reform, making it harder for unsustainable timber to enter the market.

Finally, in addition to considering FSC- or other certified timber, you can also utilize salvaged wood. Deconstruction firms are being created globally that will carefully tear down old houses and buildings, and recycle the wood directly, or sell via partnership with a local salvage yard. Try for this option first.

Tips:

• Certain types of wood, known as softwoods, are faster growing than others known as hardwoods. This makes them better choices for certain building materials as their stocks can be more quickly replenished. Pine, fir and cedar are all examples of softwoods. Mahogany, oak and maple are examples of hardwoods and should be avoided unless their properties are specifically required. Teak and mahogany are hardwoods from tropical forests and especially should be avoided whenever possible.

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