Abstract
Wood is generally considered as a sustainable construction material. However, there are not sufficient wood resources in many countries or regions, especially those short of land resources. These countries and regions have to import wood from overseas. Therefore, it is imperative to determine how to choose sustainable importing sources in order to improve the sustainability performance of using wood in construction. This study compares the sustainability performance of wood imported from different regions by considering wood harvesting, manufacture, and transportation. A framework accounting energy consumption and CO2 emissions is developed for sustainability assessment. The results show that importing wood from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to Taiwan demands a relatively lower amount of energy than from other regions. Specifically, importing wood from Canada (West) demands the lowest amount of energy (2095 MJ/m3), while importing wood form Brazil consumes the highest amount of energy (5356 MJ/m3). In addition, findings showed that the CO2 emissions generated from importing wood from Sweden are significant lower than those from other regions, although the energy consumed during the importing process is relatively high. The study also revealed that the wood manufacturing process and marine transportation contribute to the most energy consumption and CO2 emissions among all importing processes analysed from most of studied regions.
Highlights
Sustainability in terms of the environment implies a natural resource balance [1]
It is interesting to note that the CO2 emissions generated from importing wood from Sweden are significantly lower than those from other regions, the energy consumed during the importing process is relatively high
For energy consumption, importing wood form Brazil consumes the highest amount of energy, because the wood that comes from Brazil is involved in longer routes by road and marine transportation when compared to other wood resources
Summary
Sustainability in terms of the environment implies a natural resource balance [1]. The core principle of “sustainability” is described as a “meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their needs”, indicating a precautionary approach to those activities that effect the environment to prevent irreparable damage [2]. Construction is not an environmentally friendly process by nature, and it has become one essential part of sustainable issues. The material manufacturing process, material transportation, and disposal of waste materials can potentially cause environmental problems. Greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and depletion of resources are important factors that influence our built-environment. Sustainable construction must meet the goals for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and using more renewable materials [3]
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