Forest Products Industry Footprint

NCASI provides resources that cover topics associated with forest products industry carbon footprinting. These resources range from NCASI webcasts and Technical Bulletins / Special Reports to articles by NCASI staff in peer-reviewed journals.

Available from NCASI

• NCASI summary of WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol Standards guidance on forest carbon accounting. (July 2016) NCASI prepared this summary of the GHG Protocol Standards as they apply to forest carbon and biogenic CO₂ reporting.
• Greenhouse Gas and Non-Renewable Energy Benefits of Black Liquor Recovery. NCASI Technical Bulletin No. 984 (April 2011).
• Greenhouse Gas and Resource Conservation Benefits of Using Black Liquor for Energy Production. On December 20, 2010, NCASI made this presentation to US EPA on the life cycle GHG and non-renewable energy benefits of using kraft black liquor solids in the kraft recovery system.
• NCASI comments on draft GHG Protocol Carbon Footprint Standards were submitted to the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) on December 3, 2010. One of these standards is for developing carbon footprints of products while the other is for developing carbon footprints of companies. Background material on the standards is available on the  GHG Protocol website.
• The Footprint Estimator for Forest Products™ (FEFPro™) was developed by NCASI to assist member companies in developing carbon footprints of paper products. The tool is also available to companies that provided funding to the LCA studies that supplied data for FEFPro. (If you do not work for an NCASI member company, please contact Pam Bruns at  gro.isacn@snurbp  to learn whether you may have access to FEFPro.)
• The Forest Industry Carbon Assessment Tool™ (FICAT™) was developed by NCASI for the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. Based on the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) Carbon Footprint Framework, FICAT is primarily designed to help characterize the life cycle greenhouse gas impacts of the activities associated with mills or companies producing forest products. To demonstrate the use of FICAT and to field questions from member companies about the tool, NCASI conducted a webcast on Thursday, May 28, 2009.
• Monitoring Progress Toward the AF&PA Climate VISION Commitment – Report on progress 2000-2006. NCASI report (May 2008).
• The Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Profile of the Canadian Forest Products Industry. NCASI Special Report No. 07-09 (October 2007).
• The Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Profile of the Global Forest Products Industry. NCASI Special Report No. 07-02 (February 2007).
• Energy and Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Substituting Wood Products for Non-Wood Alternatives in Residential Construction in the United States. NCASI Technical Bulletin No. 925 (November 2006).
• An Analysis of the Methods Used to Address the Carbon Cycle in Wood and Paper Product LCA Studies. NCASI Special Report No. 04-03 (August 2004).
• Critical Review of Forest Products Decomposition in Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. NCASI Technical Bulletin No. 872 (March 2004).
• Carbon Sequestration in Forest Products Along the Value Chain. NCASI Report (December 2003).
• Technologies for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Resource Manual for Pulp, Paper, and Wood Products Manufacturers. NCASI Special Report No. 01-05 (December 2001).
• Evaluation of the EPA-Recommended Approach to Predicting Air Emissions from Pulp and Paper Industry Landfills. NCASI Technical Bulletin No. 790 (January 1999).
• Estimated Costs for the U.S. Forest Products Industry to Meet the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target in the Kyoto Protocol. NCASI Special Report No. 99-02 (January 1999).
• Estimated CO₂ Emissions Resulting from Compliance with U.S. Federal Environmental Regulations in the Forest Products Industry. NCASI Special Report No. 98-02 (January 1998).

Relevant work published elsewhere

• Gaudreault, C. and R. Miner. 2015. Temporal aspects in evaluating the greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of using residues from forest products manufacturing facilities for energy production. Journal of Industrial Ecology 19: 994–1007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12225
• Gaudreault, C., B. Malmberg, B. Upton, and R. Miner. 2012. Life cycle greenhouse gases and non-renewable energy benefits of kraft black liquor recovery. Biomass and Bioenergy 46: 683–692. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.06.027
• Parigiani, Jacopo, Aman Desai, Roselyne Mariki, and Reid Miner. 2011. The carbon footprint of an East African forestry enterprise. Journal of Sustainable Development 4(3): 152-162.
• Miner, Reid. 2010.  Impact of the global forest industry on atmospheric greenhouse gases. FAO Forestry Paper 159. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• Heath, Linda, Van Maltby, Reid Miner, Kenneth Skog, James Smith, Jay Unwin, and Brad Upton. 2010. Greenhouse gas and carbon profile of the U.S. forest products industry value chain. Environmental Science & Technology 44:3999-4005.
• Miner, Reid. 2009. Carbon footprints hit the ground running. Paper 360^o Spring Bonus Issue:22-23.
• Upton, Brad, Reid Miner, Mike Spinney, and Linda Heath. 2008. The greenhouse gas and energy impacts of using wood instead of alternatives in residential construction in the United States. Biomass and Bioenergy 32(1): 1-10.
• Miner, R., and J. Perez-Garcia. 2007. The greenhouse gas and carbon profile of the global forest products industry. Forest Products Journal 57(10): 80-90.
• Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). 2007. Framework for the development of carbon footprints for paper and board products. Brussels: Confederation of European Paper Industries.  Appendices
• Miner, R. 2007. Clearing the air about biomass carbon neutrality: An argument about biomass fuels is coming, but is it the right argument? Paper 360^oMarch: 12-14.
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 2005. The sustainable forest products industry, carbon and climate change: Key messages for policy-makers . Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
• Miner, R. and A. Lucier. 2004.  A value chain assessment of climate change and energy issues affecting the global forest-based industry . Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Geneva, Switzerland.
• Sauer, B., W. Franklin, R. Miner, D. Word, and B. Upton. 2002. Environmental tradeoffs: Life cycle approach to evaluate the burdens and benefits of emission control systems in the wood panel industry. Forest Products Journal 52(3) 50-59.
• Stratton, S., R. Miner, D. Word, E. Mannisto, and H. Mannisto. 2001. Estimated U.S. forest and paper industry CO₂ emissions resulting from compliance with federal environmental regulations. Forest Products Journal 51(5): 25-31.
• Winjum, J., S. Brown, and B. Schlamadinger. 1998. Forest harvests and wood products: sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Forest Science 44(2): 272-284.