Environmental Benefits

Feeling pressured to go green? Relax. Pressure-treated wood like ProWood Micro CA use renewable resources. Over 1.7 billion trees are planted per year; that's five trees for every American. Steel, concrete, and plastic building materials are not renewable and take large amounts of energy to produce.

EPP Certified

The process used to treat ProWood Micro CA is the first to gain Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) status as certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). Scientific Certification Systems is a third-party certification services and standards development company. According to the EPA, to be EPP certified means that the product has a reduced impact on human health and the environment when compared to other products that serve the same purpose.

NAHB Research Center National Green Building Certification

ProWood Micro uses MicroPro wood preservative technology from Osmose, Inc. MicroPro earned Green Approved Product certification from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center under the National Green Building Standard™ Program. By using ProWood Micro products, architects, specifiers, homebuilders and contractors are eligible to receive points toward a building being certified under the National Green Building Standard.


GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certified

The MicroPro technology in ProWood Micro has been awarded the GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification.  GREENGUARD Children & Schools (SM) Certification program certifies products for low chemical emissions that are used in schools, offices and other sensitive environments.

Reduces Global Warming

Our pressure-treated lumber products are produced from plentiful, fast-growing species of trees from managed forestland, not old-growth or rainforests. Growing trees removes millions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year and give off oxygen in return.


Saves Petroleum

Using pressure-treated lumber instead of steel, concrete or plastic saves as much as 32 million barrels of petroleum each year–enough to drive a million cars around the world. In addition, steel, concrete and plastic products are made from non-renewable resources while trees are renewable, sustainable and abundant.

Saves Trees

Using pressure-treated wood extends the wood resource. In North America, using pressure-treated wood saves millions of trees each year.

Less Energy Consumption

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 actually use it–wood outshines its competitors. For example, steel wall studs require almost nine times more energy to produce than wood studs.


Forest Growth

The U.S. has far more trees today than it did in the 1920s–even though the population has increased by 143%. Since 1940, we have been growing more wood than we've been harvesting in America (today, growth exceeds harvest by 37%).


Earth-Friendly

Wood is renewable, sustainable, recyclable and durable. Steel, concrete and plastic, on the other hand, are made from non-renewable resources.


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.


No Environmental Impacts from Copper

The copper in wood products treated with the MicroPro preservative system bonds readily to organic matter in the soil. Result: the copper becomes biologically inactive, thus causing no eco-toxic or other environmental impacts.


Reduced Air Emissions

The solution containing the preservative formula is four times more concentrated than the industry standard. As a result, fewer trucks are required for transport. Fewer trucks, combined with the absence of monoethanolamine (MEA) in the production process, result in a reduction of air pollutants from tailpipe emissions and associated impacts, including: soot, nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), particulate matter, and reduced impacts of acid rain, smog, and oceanic acidification.


Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The absence of MEA in the production process, combined with the reduced use of fuel and fewer trucks, means that using the MicroPro preservative in lieu of standard wood treatment formulations reduces an estimated 20,000 tons or more of greenhouse gas emissions each year (this is equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 2,200 SUV’s).


Recyclable

Once taken out of service, treated lumber can be reused as landscaping, garden edging, steps or many other popular outdoor projects.