Report on environmental impact assessment of selected wood products relative to the products they substitute

This deliverable addresses the critical question of how the different use cases of wood, starting from the current supply, can be shifted to optimize environmental performance. The transition to an optimized use of wood requires a thorough understanding of the current supply chain and the ecological implications of various
applications. To provide a comprehensive analysis, this study will focus on the wood supply at NUTS1 level in the region of Flanders. Using a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA), the analysis followed four key steps: 1) outlining the wood processing chain and associated sectors (i.e., constructions, furniture, packaging, bioenergy, and paper and cardboard) as well as the replacement products for wood within these sectors, 2) identifying relevant alternative wood use scenarios for consideration in the LCA, 3) modeling the existing wood processing and usage market as a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, and 4) modeling the wood processing and usage markets for the alternative use scenarios to calculate the environmental impact of wood utilization in reference to the BAU. We find that scenarios typified by a diversion of wood towards use in long-lived products (scenarios 1 and 3) result in the largest environmental improvements across the impact categories. Scenario 1 is defined by a 20% reduction in wood allocated to bioenergy, diverting this wood instead to construction and furniture. Likewise, scenario 3 is defined by a reallocation of wood to panel materials and furniture as a result of a decrease in demand for paper products. Simultaneously, we find limited improvements relative to the BAU for scenario 2, which is defined by a reallocation of wood within the bioenergy sector. Our results demonstrate that increasing
the share of wood destined for long-lived wood products may hold significant potential for improving environmental performance and sustainable resource management in Flanders; more so than diverting wood use within short-lived use cases such as bioenergy.

Tim Rowe, Kato Van Ruymbeke, Liesbet Vranken (KU Leuven)