Environmental Statement

Nature's own material, timber, is used for manufacturing wood flooring. Harvesting the wood and processing it to pre-finished flooring consumes a tiny amount of energy per unit (GWP) Global Warming Potential. Compared to the manufacture of synthetic materials like plastic 4.2kg/m2 then compare it with 0.42kg/m2 for wood, which is TEN times less.
Timber and timber products are part of nature's regenerative cycle since, when no longer required for their original purpose, they can be recycled or returned as waste products to produce new forests and new timber.

As a raw material, timber and timber flooring today, has more significance than it has ever had. It has many benefits compared to concrete, plastic, steel, linoleum and man-made carpet, and its importance is likely to increase as the years go by. It is the most valuable and renewable natural resource. Wood flooring is made from timber originating from forests, which have well-established ecological programmes. The majority of raw material used for manufacturing our flooring, such as birch, pine, oak and ash species, come from Nordic countries and Central Europe where less timber is harvested than the forests produce.
Due to the rigorous quality requirements for the top layer lamina of our wood flooring, no raw material which contains fungal decay or insect damage can be used. Timber from ancient and protected forests satisfies this requirement.
Raw material for the middle and bottom ply layers of our wood flooring is genuine pure Scandinavian spruce. Suppliers of this material are required to observe strict environmental policies and are almost all ISO 14001 or EMAS certificated. Far Eastern producers do not comply with these regulations!

The cycle of forest and timber starts from assimilation, i.e. photosynthesis, which is the most important part of the life supporting process. The source of energy for this is the light of the sun itself. Photosynthesis takes place in green leaves, which convert the light of the sun into the energy the forest and wood require. This energy, together with water and minerals from the soil, encourages the natural process of timber growth. The fabulous result is a versatile forest, which regenerates itself every year and produces an abundance of new raw material, timber. If the forest is healthy, both you and the environment benefit.

An established tree locks in about 3 tons of carbon, when this tree is harvested the carbon is still locked in, for every tree lopped 6 new trees are planted, growing trees extract CO2 as they are growing. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies show plantation timber products have a far less harmful footprint than other materials in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and embodied energy. By this we mean for example “the emissions from wood are only released when burned”, they lock in all emissions until this happens, so if it is recycled the emissions are still locked away.
Further evidence of the benefits of plantation timber to greenhouse gas reduction.

World-first studies by the Australian CRC for Greenhouse Accounting show that timber and paper products could be significantly better carbon stores than previously thought. Until recently it was assumed that it took about 10 years in landfill for timber and paper products to decompose and release their carbon emissions. But the research by the CRC showed that timber that had been in landfill for 46 years had only lost between 1.4 to 3.5 per cent of its carbon. Paper, likewise, had lost very little of its carbon over 20–50 year periods in landfill, significantly altering the thinking on carbon storage times. Similarly, in the past, scientists have assumed that the rate of decomposition of leaf litter and the roots of felled trees was rapid, thus quickly releasing stored carbon. But, again the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting’s research shows that the actual rate of decomposition is orders of magnitude less than previously thought. These outcomes underline that further research is now needed on this critical carbon accounting issue by other nations, in order to establish whether the same results occur under different local conditions. They also reinforce how timber products from plantations can help to appreciably reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, sensible and sensitive environmental policies help us to monitor and manage the increasing consumption of renewable natural resources, such as timber. These require the forest to be capable of retaining huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The more timber that is harvested, the more the forest needs to be managed in accordance with the principles of renewal and development. This assists the preservation of the precious reservoir of carbon dioxide in the forests so that nature is protected from what is known as the greenhouse phenomena.

We, as a company, are striving to reach the demands and criteria of our clients which is why we recommend and specify products to help you achieve a lower Carbon Footprint.

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