The Forest Products Journal recently published a research paper titled, Carbon Analysis of Wood Composite Panels, authored by Maureen Puettmann, Principal, WoodLife Environmental Consultants LLC. This paper was sponsored by CPA and provides information on the net carbon impact of particleboard, MDF and hardboard–engineered wood siding and trim (EWST) by measuring the total carbon storage (embedded carbon) and embodied carbon over an estimated service life of 25–30 years for these products. The results present carbon pools and flows for composite panels manufacturing facilities located in the U.S. and Canada for the production years 1996–2019. The composite panel industry stores more than 14.8 million metric tons of carbon (CO2e) through the manufacture of panels each year. This is equivalent to carbon emissions for over 3.2 million cars (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2021). In summary, North American composite panels store far more carbon than released from cradle through service life.
A large majority of the technical information used to develop the paper was based on life cycle analyses and environmental product declarations previously funded by CPA. See Carbon Analysis of Wood Composite Panels. More Info: Gary Heroux
