Prospects for Appearance Wood Products Ecodesign in the Context of Nonresidential Applications

Abstract

Abstract As environmental awareness grows, societal demand for more environmentally friendly products increases. Demand for environmental responsibility also reached the building material and construction sector. Green building has become more widespread over the past decade and can be considered a challenge for specifiers and building products manufacturers. Ecodesign, an application of the sustainable development concept, is one of the available tools to address this challenge. This article aims at proposing an ecodesign pathway for appearance wood products in the nonresidential building sector. Through extrapolating results from a previous interior wood door case study, it has been possible to obtain environmental profiles for the main segments of the appearance wood products family for nonresidential buildings. These profiles have allowed devising ecodesign solutions. Results show that for this whole family of products, raw materials are what cause the most environmental impacts, followed by shipping ...