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Wood surpasses steel and concrete
in the following categories:
- Energy use
- Resource use
- Pollution
- Environment impact
- Green Building
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Energy use - Wood products require
much less energy to produce than concrete or steel. An
independent comparison of the energy needed to obtain,
manufacture, transport and install building materials
for identical wood frame, steel frame and concrete houses
proves wood's environmental superiority over alternative
materials. The result is more fossil fuels saved with
less air and water pollution.
Although wood products make up 47% of all raw materials
manufactured in the United States, its share of energy
consumption during manufacturing is only 4%.
Results show that the manufacture of wood materials
use 53% less energy than steel and 120% less energy
than concrete.
Resource use - As the world's
only renewable building material, wood can not only
be recycled, but regenerated as well.
North American Forests have grown 20% since 1970.
Pollution - Wood product
manufacturing produces far fewer greenhouse gases.
Environmental impact - Wood
has the lowest impact on air and water quality. This
is especially true when compared to the manufacture
of recycled steel. Forest regeneration also creates
more trees which benefit the environment while they
grow, taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
Green Building - As the interest
in "Green Building" grows, building rating
systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED™) have emerged as one way to rate
the environmental impact of construction. These rating
systems are founded on the four guiding principles of
green building:
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