A positive initiative but geolocation requirement needs adaptation to avoid discrimination against non-industrial forest operators supplying diverse hardwood products.

All products have an impact on the environment and this impact can occur at any time during the manufacture, usage or at end of life. All these stages are collectively called a life-cycle. Products have impacts from: material extraction and transport; processing, manufacture, distribution and installation; maintenance and refurbishment; to eventual end of life and disposal.

This briefing draws on information from a range of recent studies to show how a policy of active forest management including sustainable timber production can offer significant carbon benefits compared to a strategy that relies only on forest preservation.

It is increasingly important for buyers and users of forest products to understand the regulatory framework governing forest management in the countries from where timber is sourced. Laws like the EU Timber Regulation and U.S. Lacey Act require that traders and manufacturers demonstrate this knowledge to regulators so they are assured of a negligible risk of illegal harvest.

AHEC’s strategy is to demonstrate sustainability against environmental attributes identified in scientific life cycle assessment (LCA) as relevant to U.S. hardwood.