Sourcing Mass Timber Sustainably
Let's talk about what it means to specify #masstimber sustainably!
PT 1 - Understanding certifications
There are a lot of misconceptions about what "sustainable wood" means, and it is a touchy subject in the forestry profession. A lot of architects think that if you simply specify FSC certified wood, you are covered. While FSC can be a good option, it is not the only option available to you. The first step is to educate yourself about how certification works. There a multiple types of certifications!
There are forest management certifications (ex: FSC Forest Management, SFI Forest Management, American Tree Farm System), where the forest itself is certified by a third party.
There are also responsible fiber sourcing certifications (ex: FSC Controlled Wood, SFI Fiber Sourcing), which is done at the mill level, where some of the wood they get is certified and some is not. Your project specifically won't be able to trace each board back to a certified forest, but you can rest assured that certain standards are being met.
Finally, there are chain of custody certifications (ex: FSC Chain of Custody, SFI Chain of Custody), where both the forest that all of your wood comes from, as well as the mill, are certified.
Pt 2 - Why is this controversial?
As I mentioned previously, wood product certification can be a touchy subject in the forestry world. Foresters that I have talked to and worked with range from large scale multinational companies to small woodland owners, often just a family with some land that they really REALLY care about.
Certification of a forest, mill, or product comes with additional regulation and cost that not all forest owners can bear. In addition to the cost increases in operation due to the higher regulations, there is also the cost of the program itself. These fees cover the administration of the program and the audits that verify compliance. Some programs such as the American Tree Farm System try to keep costs down by creating group certifications, opening up access for small woodland owners to participate.
Historically there have also been varying approaches from different certification programs when it comes to the creation and communication of their standards. Woodland owners will be the first to tell you that no one cares about their land and trees more than they do because the sustained health of the forest is directly tied to their and future generations’ livelihoods. If certification programs are communicated in a top down way rather than as a collaborative effort to create alignment on sustainability, there will be more pushback than engagement from the forestry industry. We should also take the opportunity to learn about their challenges and priorities to become better advocates!
Certified forests require careful planning, monitoring, and long-term investment in forest health and regeneration. While certification may be more costly, it serves as a solid commitment to environmental sustainability and the well-being of forest ecosystems and communities. Providing woodland owners with access to certification through lowered barriers to entry and a collaborative approach is critical.
PT 3 - How risky is your timber?
Now that you understand a little bit about how different certifications work, you should consider how risky your timber really is. Different regions and countries have different forestry laws, standards, and levels of compliance, not to mention tree types!
As you might imagine, getting certain tropical species of wood for finish material from the Amazon has a different level of risk than a coniferous forest in the Pacific Northwest due to tighter regulations and better verification of adherence to those regulations. Even regions such as the Pacific Northwest vs the Southeast of the US have different forestry laws!
If you are trying to decide what level of certification you want your products to have, and you are budget constrained (aren’t we all?) and have to prioritize, you could consider specifying higher levels of certification, like Chain of Custody certification, for higher risk timber. A great resource to help you learn more about a wide range of risk considerations is the FSC Risk Assessment Platform (https://connect.fsc.org/chain-custody-certification/fsc-risk-assessment-platform) and their associated Controlled Wood Risk Assessment Documents (https://connect.fsc.org/document-centre).
While this may seem like a lot of research to do, understanding and addressing climate risks related to your wood products is one way you can make the biggest impact when it comes to sustainability. It may even help you decide which species to use and where it should come from!
Pt 4 - OK but what about my mass timber specifically?
When it comes to mass timber, your wood is probably coming from a region that has decent forestry laws and adherence to those laws. Most of the wood comes from forests in places like the Pacific Northwest in North America or Europe. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t know where your wood is coming from, or what specific risks there are in those regions, because nowhere is perfect! Check out the FSC Risk Assessment Platform (https://connect.fsc.org/chain-custody-certification/fsc-risk-assessment-platform) and their associated Controlled Wood Risk Assessment Documents (https://connect.fsc.org/document-centre).
If you are going after a sustainability certification for your building like LEED, you will likely need to specify some level of certification for your mass timber since it makes up such a large material quantity in your building. LEED v4 has opened up their certification beyond FSC (https://www.usgbc.org/articles/earning-leed-points-certified-wood), recognizing that other certification types have similar requirements around sustainability and that they may offer a path to certified wood products to a wider range of forest land owners and mills.
If you have the budget to specify Chain of Custody for your entire project, there may be additional challenges to consider. Depending on the current supply and demand for certified products, there may not actually be enough readily available certified lumber from one program (ex: FSC Chain of Custody) to serve your entire project without delays due to procurement. Your wood may also end up coming from further away, adding some transportation carbon emissions to the embodied carbon of the material.
These challenges don’t mean you shouldn’t go for it! We live in a capitalist society, and the more demand there is for high levels of certification, the more available they will become. Just be aware of the potential issues and work with your supplier early to ensure you can meet your project goals.
Pt 5 - Are there alternatives to certification?
While Certification of wood products is one way to ensure that what you specify meets a certain level of sustainability targets, there are alternatives to certification that, depending on the goal of the project, could actually be a better fit. Companies like Vaagen Timbers focus on restoration forestry, thinning overgrown forests prone to wildfire, disease, and beetle kill, focusing on utilizing small trees to their maximum use. They are involved in a number of stewardship projects in their region, contributing to the wellbeing of the wood basket as a whole. You can find more details on Vaagen Lumber’s efforts here (https://www.vaagenbros.com/sustainability/) and the impact that has on their mass timber’s environmental impacts here (https://vaagentimbers.com/environmental-impact).
Another examples of fantastic work happening around sustainable mass timber is the sustainable sourcing effort led by Lever Architecture and Sustainable Northwest, creating their own criteria for sustainability centered around carbon sequestration, worker rights, human health, water, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. While some of their wood was certified, the more important work was in the connections they made to the local supply chain, which helped make the project more equitable by increasing awareness of and access to sustainable forestry standards. You can read more about their efforts here (https://leverarchitecture.com/innovation/Meyer_Memorial_Trust_a_new_sourcing_criteria_for_sustainable_wood).
Digging in deeper than specifying a certification can lead to a better understanding of where our materials come from (farm forest to table building anyone?), create lasting relationships across the supply chain for better collaboration, and open up access to sustainable timber projects to a wider range of suppliers. There are companies doing the hard, extra work of defining the word “sustainable” in their context and acting on it, and setting a great example for all of us to keep asking one more question when we think we have the solution. What does “sustainable” mean beyond carbon? How can I connect people doing good work with manufacturers to fabricate it? Who is already doing great work that I don’t know about? I encourage everyone to keep learning, improving, and connecting, because ultimately we are all just trying to do the best we can, and it is usually better when we do it together.