Stricter green standard for composite panels

tT"u Corrlposrre PnNEr- AssocrArroN is rolling out a new I voluntary eco-certification standard for composite wood panels and finished products made with particleboard, MDF, hardboard, and engineered wood siding and trim.

The Eco-Certified Composite Standard (CPA 4-11), or ECC Sustainability Standard, is a more rigorous successor to CPA's Environmentally Preferable Product specification and certification program. The EPP program was established in 20O2 and is currently in wide use throughout North America.

The basis of the ECC standard includes the "CPA Carbon Calculator," a tool developed by a third-party expert to assess the life cycle and carbon footprint of composite wood panels made at a particular manufacturing plant.

The first ECC-certified wood products were introduced in recent months, while the EPP program will be sunset on

March 31,2012.

The North American composite panel industry is predicated on the optimal use of forestry byproducts and residuals-turning this raw material into higher value products so it's not bumed or landfilled. Some consider composite wood panels, by their very nature, to be among the greenest products available for architectural, construction and consumer products.

It's a great green story, says CPA, but it's not enough. Today's architects, designers, retailers and consumers want verifiable evidence of greenness, and the ECC certification program offers that assurance. Only products carrying the ECC seal are produced in a manufacturing plant or other facility that is audited and certified by the CPA.

ECC certification is granted on an individual manufacturing plant basis, and is subject to an on-site qualification audit and subsequent annual on-site audits by CPA. Composite panel products must first comply with the stringent California Air Resources Board (CARB) formaldehyde emission regulation. In addition, the panel manufacturing facility must meet at least three of the following requirements:

. Carbon Footprint - The plant must demonstrate that the panel's carbon store offsets its carbon footprint cradleto-gate as determined in kg-CO': equivalents of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Each plant must use the CPA Carbon Calculator to determine if its panels perform as a carbon sink, resulting in overall net carbon storage.

Local and Renewable Resource - At least 857o of wood fiber must be sourced within 250 miles of the panel plant.

Recycled/Recovered - At least 75Vo of wood fiber must be recycled or recovered or at least 507o recycled or recovered wood fiber plus a minimum of 570 post-consumer wood fiber.

. Sustainability - At least 97Vo of wood fiber is converted to panels or re-utilized as a valued product. Non-valued products include wood residuals shipped to a landfill, material hauled away for a tipping fee as waste material, and boiler ash waste.

. Wood Sourcing - Conformity with FSC Controlled Wood Standard (2008), FSC Chain of Custody Standard (2008), or SFI Fiber Sourcing Requirements (2011).

ECC panels may help achieve LEED credits for recycled content, regional materials, certified wood, and lowemittine material.