Did you know this about wood?
Earth-friendly
Strong insulation value
More abundant today
Wood products save petroleum
Manufacturing processes use less energy
Wood products help provide cleaner air and reduce global warming
Life-cycle analysis shows advantages
Earth-friendly
Wood is renewable, sustainable, recyclable, durable, and biodegradable. Steel and plastic, on the other hand, are made from non-renewable resources. As the industry leader in pressure-treated wood, Universal Forest Products is proud to offer ProWood® Micro, the first wood preservative to be Environmentally Preferable Product certified by Scientific Certification Systems.
Strong insulation value
As an insulator, wood is four times more efficient than an equivalent thickness of cinder block; six times more efficient than brick; 15 times more efficient than concrete, 206 times more efficient than steel, and 1,770 times more efficient than aluminum.
More abundant today
The U.S. has far more trees today than it did in the 1920s – even though the population has increased by 143%; 97% of all homes are framed with wood and wood products, and use of wood per capita in North America exceeds any place else in the world.
Wood products save petroleum
Using pressure-treated wood instead of steel, concrete, or plastic saves as much as 32 million barrels of petroleum each year.
Manufacturing processes use less energy
Wood products make up 47% of all industrial raw material manufactured in the U.S., yet consume only 4% of the energy needed to do that. Comparing total energy costs of other building materials – the costs to acquire the raw material, transport it, process it into a useful product and then use it - wood outshines its competitors. For example, steel wall studs require almost nine times more energy to produce than wood studs.
Wood products help provide cleaner air and reduce global warming
Our lumber products are produced from plentiful, fast-growing species of trees from managed forestland. Eight of our plants have met rigorous standards to earn Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification. FSC Chain of Custody Certification means the Universal plants meet strict tracking requirements for ensuring the lumber the company uses in the manufacturing of products comes from well-managed forests. Young-growth trees remove millions of tons of carbon each year, which helps reduce potential impacts of global warming.
Life-cycle analysis shows advantages
Environmentalists use life-cycle analysis to measure the environmental impact of a product. The life-cycle analysis of pressure-treated wood shows that it’s environmentally superior because it uses renewable resources and recycled material, requires little energy to produce and distribute, and produces little waste.
