West Fraser engineered wood panels help housebuilders lower Scope 3 emissions

As a pioneer in the industry, West Fraser UK has always been dedicated to producing board from sustainable sources of timber. All of the wood used in the manufacture of the company’s engineered panel ranges comes from responsibly managed forests, or from recycled material.

Young, fast-growing trees are the lungs of the world, breathing in carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen and, by replanting trees, sustainable forestry ensures that more oxygen-emitting woodlands are created every year. In addition, heat, steam, and gases that develop during the manufacturing processes are captured to provide energy for the mills.

75% of the energy used in the state-of-the-art production processes is derived from renewables which are residues. In the UK, West Fraser uses 1.5 million metric tons of biomass every year for energy which is the equivalent of about two million barrels of oil which helps reduce the company’s carbon footprint and lower Scope 3 emissions*.

The team monitors distribution networks and offers innovative and environmentally-sound alternatives to transport by road wherever possible. A substantial part of the round wood, from suppliers, reaches West Fraser’s mills via ocean and canal shipping supply lines, and, by striving to switch from road to rail we estimate, a saving of around 9,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

SterlingOSB Zero

The 100% renewable UK-made building products from West Fraser are net carbon negative and it is the only major building material that stores carbon for its useful lifetime, being 50% carbon by weight. At West Fraser, 1.1 million tonnes of CO2e in Europe are locked in every year, while the SterlingOSB Zero products achieve an A+ rating in the BRE green guide, the highest rating possible.

All of West Fraser’s UK wood panels can be recycled where wood recycling facilities are available and the circular economy, which is designed to eliminate waste and pollution and keep products and materials in use, is supported. With West Fraser, suppliers are offered a closed loop wood recycling option where board products are supplied to the marketplace and then a proportion of that material is re-used to produce more board or generate green energy.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit https://uk.westfraser.com/

*From The Carbon Trust report ‘An introductory guide to Scope 3 emissions’.