Upcoming SDL Discussion - Missing the Forest: How forest practices impact the carbon embodied in mass timber projects

RoseAnn Grimes

Sustainability Leaders Engagement Enthusiast

BuildingGreen, Inc.

LEEDuser Premium Member

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May 20, 2020

Hello Sustainable Design Leaders,

Mark your calendars for an exciting webinar next Wednesday, May 27th, at 2:30pm ET and REGISTER HERE!

Missing the Forest: How forest practices impact the carbon embodied in mass timber projects is a follow-up to last month’s conversation on embodied carbon and mass timber. The presenters will be David Diaz, the Ecotrust forester doing the research referenced in that conversation, and Brie Jones from Miller Hull. Their bios are included at the bottom of this post. There will be a presentation as well as time for a Q&A session.

We apologize for the short notice! David and Brie are both busy people in high demand, and we feel lucky that we were able to get them on the schedule. A full description will be available soon, watch this space!

About the Presenters

David Diaz is Director of Forestry Technology & Analytics at the nonprofit Ecotrust and a PhD Candidate in Forestry at the University of Washington. He has worked at the intersection of ecology, conservation finance, and data science for the past 12 years. He brings diverse experience in carbon markets and policy from working as a reporter, offset purchaser and portfolio manager, and contributor to several carbon accounting standards. He joined Ecotrust in 2013 to focus more directly on developing the tools and actionable science to enable broader adoption of Ecological Forestry.

Brie Jones is an architectural staff member working within the sustainability group and embassy studio at the Miller Hull Partnership. She is actively involved in the Seattle Embodied Carbon Network and has led multiple training and education sessions on embodied carbon and analysis software tools available to architects. Brie is dedicated to demystifying the world of carbon research by teaching project teams how to extract actionable data from Life Cycle Analysis and implement climate-smart strategies into their design workflow.

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Jennifer Zakrzewski

BuildingGreen, Inc.

LEEDuser Premium Member

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Tue, 05/26/2020 - 20:22

Here is some more information on the webinar happening TOMORROW, Wednesday May 27th at 2:30pm ET. The drive to advance sustainability in the built environment is fueling demand for greater transparency and rigorous documentation of environmental impacts of materials and their supply chains, specifically around carbon. Despite significant and growing interest among green builders in using wood, and mass timber products in particular, supply chain traceability and the embodied carbon impacts attributable to wood products generated from different regions, forest management systems, and certifications remains a black box. Research in Pacific Northwest Douglas-fir forests from Ecotrust and the University of Washington that debuted at Carbon Friendly Forestry in 2017 clearly illustrated how forest practices that go above-and-beyond minimum Oregon and Washington regulations deliver additional carbon storage which can be directly translated into an “upstream” embodied carbon benefit associated with the wood produced from these alternative management approaches.   David Diaz and Brie Jones will share new research from Ecotrust and The Miller Hull Partnership exploring the impact that the inclusion of forest practices brings to estimates of the embodied carbon of mass timber products and whole-building Life Cycle Assessments. The scale of “upstream” forest carbon storage factors from alternative sourcing options will be compared to the other stages in the wood product life cycle and rolled up into real-world buildings to compare the impact of wood sourcing decisions with those of alternative non-wood designs employing concrete and steel.  David and Brie will present this research and then answer your questions about their work. Register here to be part of the conversation!

Jennifer Zakrzewski

BuildingGreen, Inc.

LEEDuser Premium Member

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Wed, 05/27/2020 - 17:42

Hi everyone, One more hour until the Missing the Forest: How forest practices impact the carbon embodied in mass timber projects. Register here to participate in this webinar! About the Webinar The drive to advance sustainability in the built environment is fueling demand for greater transparency and rigorous documentation of environmental impacts of materials and their supply chains, specifically around carbon. Despite significant and growing interest among green builders in using wood, and mass timber products in particular, supply chain traceability and the embodied carbon impacts attributable to wood products generated from different regions, forest management systems, and certifications remains a black box. Research in Pacific Northwest Douglas-fir forests from Ecotrust and the University of Washington that debuted at Carbon Friendly Forestry in 2017 clearly illustrated how forest practices that go above-and-beyond minimum Oregon and Washington regulations deliver additional carbon storage which can be directly translated into an “upstream” embodied carbon benefit associated with the wood produced from these alternative management approaches.   David Diaz and Brie Jones will share new research from Ecotrust and The Miller Hull Partnership exploring the impact that the inclusion of forest practices brings to estimates of the embodied carbon of mass timber products and whole-building Life Cycle Assessments. The scale of “upstream” forest carbon storage factors from alternative sourcing options will be compared to the other stages in the wood product life cycle and rolled up into real-world buildings to compare the impact of wood sourcing decisions with those of alternative non-wood designs employing concrete and steel.  About the Presenters David Diaz is Director of Forestry Technology & Analytics at the nonprofit Ecotrust and a PhD Candidate in Forestry at the University of Washington. He has worked at the intersection of ecology, conservation finance, and data science for the past 12 years. He brings diverse experience in carbon markets and policy from working as a reporter, offset purchaser and portfolio manager, and contributor to several carbon accounting standards. He joined Ecotrust in 2013 to focus more directly on developing the tools and actionable science to enable broader adoption of Ecological Forestry. Brie Jones is an architectural staff member working within the sustainability group and embassy studio at the Miller Hull Partnership. She is actively involved in the Seattle Embodied Carbon Network and has led multiple training and education sessions on embodied carbon and analysis software tools available to architects. Brie is dedicated to demystifying the world of carbon research by teaching project teams how to extract actionable data from Life Cycle Analysis and implement climate-smart strategies into their design workflow.