Third-party forest certification based on standards developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the best way to ensure that wood products come from well-managed forests. Wood products must go through a chain-of-custody certification process to carry an FSC stamp.
Manufactured wood products can meet the FSC certification requirements with less than 100% certified wood content through percentage-based claims (30% certified content is required if only virgin wood fiber is used; certified-wood content as low as 17.5% is allowable if the rest of the fiber content is from recycled sources).
With a few special-case exceptions, FSC-based certification is a requirement for GreenSpec inclusion of any nonsalvaged solid-wood product and most other wood products. A few manufactured wood products, including engineered lumber and particleboard/MDF, can be included if they have other environmental advantages--such as absence of formaldehyde binders. Engineered wood products in GreenSpec do not qualify by virtue of their resource efficiency benefits alone (for more on this, see EBN, Vol. 8, No. 11).
PureKor Panel Products
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Just how low the VOC level needs to be for a given product to qualify for inclusion in GreenSpec depends on the product category. For most products, we require certification to California’s health-based emissions standard, CDPH Std Method v1.1 standard (also referred to as California Section 01350), which tests a product’s resultant VOC concentrations in the space after a given period of time. For wet-applied products like paints, caulks, and adhesives, we still also look for VOC content instead of, or in addition to, verified low emissions; this is because emissions testing doesn’t adequately test initial offgassing, and VOC content is currently the only widely available proxy.
Panel Source International manufacturers MDF, OSB, particleboard, and plywood panels with various finishes applicable to a variety of applications, including structural applications, wall and ceiling paneling, furniture, shelving or cabinetry. The PureKor Plus grade products have no added urea-formaldehyde (NAUF), while the PureKor Platinum grade products are both NAUF and FSC-certified. Panel Source uses PF and MDI binders with PVA also used to adhere face veneer to their hardwood plywood. The MDF and particleboard are made of 100% pre-consumer recycled content (as is standard industry practice); the company's OSB uses 100% FSC-certified fiber. Fire-retardant panels are also available as PyroBlock.
Sheathing comprises a significant portion of the materials used with many building types. Careful consideration of product selection and use can reduce the environmental impacts of a project.
Wall sheathing is often used only as an additional layer of weather protection, although it may also be required for racking resistance. When let-in diagonal bracing is used to provide racking resistance, wood-panel sheathing can sometimes be eliminated or replaced with more resource-efficient or insulative products.
Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) binders are used in plywood, while OSB can be made with PF or the non-formaldehyde-emitting methyl diisocyanate (MDI), a polyurethane binder. Ironically, exterior-rated products using PF binders are less of an offgassing concern than interior-grade panels made with urea-formaldehyde.
Oriented-strand board (OSB) can be an efficient use of forest resources because it can be produced from small-diameter or low-grade tree species. Wood products can carry the “FSC Mixed” label under a percentage-based standard based on the average certified and non-certified throughput of the facility at which they are made.
Products listed here have one or more of the following attributes: FSC-certification; nonformaldehyde binders; relatively nontoxic borate preservative treatments; or other environmental advantages over conventional OSB and plywood.
Subflooring creates the structural plane of the floor, over which the finish flooring layers are applied. Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) binders are used in plywood, while OSB can be made with PF or the non-formaldehyde-emitting methyl diisocyanate (MDI), a polyurethane binder. Formaldehyde emissions from these structural products are exempt from major North American emissions standards, including those from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Oriented-strand board (OSB) can be an efficient use of forest resources because it can be produced from small-diameter or low-grade tree species. Some subflooring products combine the function of a subfloor and underlayment, reducing material use. Products listed here contain no-added formaldehyde (NAF) or are available with FSC-certified content. Magnesium oxide panels, which are particularly insect and moisture resistant, are also listed here.
GreenSpec lists here prefinished panels made with recycled content, agricultural waste fiber such as straw, rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo, or FSC-certified wood, that all reduce pressure on forest resources. Some of the products we list also use low-emitting, non-urea-formaldehyde binders.
Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard are manufactured from sawmill waste that is typically held together with urea-formaldehyde (UF) or phenol-formaldehyde (PF) binder. Particleboard is made from larger wood fiber particles than MDF, has a lower density, and doesn't mill as cleanly.
Most manufacturers offer MDF and particleboard with UF and PF options, but formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, offgases from UF products significantly more than those that use PF. These emissions are regulated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which established formaldehyde emissions limits of 0.09 and 0.11 parts per million for MDF and particleboard, respectively, in January 2011.
Products listed in GreenSpec contain no-added-urea-formaldehyde (NAUF) or no-added-formaldehyde (NAF) and are CARB Phase 2 compliant; they may also contain FSC-certified wood content or recovered waste fiber.
Wood veneer panels are made with veneers that can be laminated to a variety of cores, including plywood and medium density fiberboard (MDF).
These cores once used urea formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, as a binder, but no-added urea formaldehyde (NAUF) and no-added formaldehyde (NAF) cores that use low-emitting phenol formaldehyde and methyl diisocyanate (MDI) binders, respectively, are now readily available.
Products listed in GreenSpec use cores that contain no-added-urea-formaldehyde (NAUF) or no-added-formaldehyde (NAF) binders and meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Phase 2 emission standards for formaldehyde; they may also contain FSC-certified wood content or recovered waste fiber.
LEED Credits
EQc4.4: Low-Emitting Materials—Composite Wood&Agrifiber Products
IEQc4.4: Low-Emitting Materials—Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products
MRc6: Certified Wood
MRc7: Certified Wood
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