Greenhouse Gas Dynamics of Forests and Wood Products

Practical Solutions: Guidelines for practitioners to avoid oversimplification when analyzing the GHG dynamics of forests and wood products. The paper emphasizes transparency and provides specific recommendations to improve the accuracy and credibility of such assessments.
Key Insights: A critical examination of the ISO 13391 standard’s potential flaws, particularly in its treatment of carbon storage, displacement calculations, and forest ecosystem health.
Data and Case Studies: The document discusses scientific uncertainties and gaps in understanding, with a focus on how the standard could be applied to support corporate and policy-level decision-making.

This document helps professionals understand how to accurately assess the climate impacts of wood products and forests. It provides:

A review of ISO 13391 and how it can be applied responsibly to avoid greenwashing.
Insight into the complex GHG dynamics of wood products, including emissions, carbon storage, and displacement effects.
Practical recommendations to ensure data transparency, improve forest management practices, and integrate wider sustainability considerations.

GHG dynamics in forestry and wood products are complex and should not be oversimplified for the sake of marketing or reporting.
Displacement calculations, which claim that wood products reduce emissions by replacing other materials, often lack scientific backing and can lead to misleading claims.
Sustainability assessments must include not only GHG metrics but also considerations of forest ecosystem health, biodiversity, and soil dynamics.

Date: June 2024