Assessing the Environmental Impacts of the Canadian Building Sector through Dynamic Life Cycle Analysis: Developing a Forward-looking Model for Greater Use of Wood Products
Project contact is Pierre Blanchet at Université Laval (Canada)
Summary
Several studies indicate that using wood from sustainable forest management in building construction both maintains or increases carbon sinks in the forest, temporarily captures carbon in buildings, and substitute more emitting materials or fuels. This strategy is interesting, but it is difficult to implement from a political point of view because its real benefits are complex to evaluate. There are several methods for evaluating the GHG impacts of a product over its entire life cycle, but there is no consensus on the method to be used to assess the impacts of GHGs from biogenic carbon - the carbon contained in living or dead biomass, such as wood. Many commonly used methods rely on simplifying assumptions that do not accurately assess the benefits that could accrue from increased use of wood products under construction. This PhD project will improve a promising method to evaluate the GHG impacts of biogenic carbon. Particular attention will be paid to the uncertainties of the method so that it provides all the information necessary for informed decision-making. The expected results could confirm that greater use of wood products reduces the environmental impacts of buildings, and that current methodologies are too simplified to inform policy making.