Abstract
The forest wood chain is affected by the current policy framework in context with environmental and energy related issues in many ways. But since policy instruments interfere with certain parts of the forest-wood chain separately, there is no holistic monitoring installed which follows the development of the complete chain. Especially the development of environmental aspects of the production of wood products is a rather black spot. To include the environmental impact of the woodworking industry in long term evaluations of political decisions taken today, the monitoring of its changes is indispensable. The article presents a monitoring approach which combines comprehensive life cycle inventory data on product level with historical data on sector level. The approach is confirmed to be feasible for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels. The results show that from 2003 until 2012 the sawmill industry increased its average greenhouse gas emissions from 35 to 43 kg CO\(_{2}\)-eq./m\(^{3}\) and the wood based panels industry decreased the emissions from 353 to 325 kg CO\(_{2}\)-eq./m\(^{3}\). In both cases, a change in the product mix of the two sectors was identified to be responsible. However, the results also indicate that both sectors gravely reduced their greenhouse gas efficiency due to a decreasing capacity utilization, which means that the environmental impacts for a specific type of wood product have changed distinctly over time. A comparison of the findings with displacement factors for wood products substitution was conducted to understand the relevance of the results. It showed that the development of environmental aspects of the woodworking industry needs to be taken into account for long term evaluations of political decisions affecting the forest wood chain.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CHP:
-
Combined heat and power
- EGHG:
-
Energy related greenhouse gas
- EPD:
-
Environmental product declarations
- FEC:
-
Final energy consumption
- GHG:
-
Greenhouse gas
- IOLCI:
-
Input-output life cycle inventory
- LCA:
-
Life cycle assessment
- LCI:
-
Life cycle inventory
- LULUCF:
-
Land use, land use change and forestry
- PEC:
-
Primary energy consumption
- PRODCOM:
-
Production communautaire
- SMI:
-
Sawmill industry
- WBPI:
-
Wood based panels industry
References
Barroso JMDA (2014) Statement by President Barroso on the 2030 energy and climate framework
BDEW (2013) Brutto-Stromerzeugung 2012 nach Energieträgern in Deutschland. English title: gross electricity production 2012 by energy carrier in Germany. http://www.bdew.de
BDI, BDEW, BMWI, BMU, BMF (2012) Vereinbarung zwischen der Regierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der deutschen Wirtschaft zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz vom 1. August 2012. English title: agreement between the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German industry to increase the energy efficiency from 1st August 2012
BMWi (2014) Zweiter Monitoring-Bericht Energie der Zukunft. English title: second monitoring report “energy of the future”. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi), Berlin
BMWi, BMU (2012a) Erster Monitoring-Bericht Energie der Zukunft. English title: first monitoring report “energy of the future”. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi), Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (BMU), Berlin
BMWi, BMU (2012b) Monitoring Energie der Zukunft. Vorbereitung des ersten Berichtes 2012 für das Berichtsjahr 2011—Indikatoren zur öffentlichen Diskussion. English title: monitoring energy of the future, preparation of the first report (2012) for the reporting year 2011—indicators for public consultation. Bundesnetzagentur für Elektrizität, Gas, Telekommunikation, Post und Eisenbahnen
Bouhaya L, Le Roy R, Feraille-Fresnet A (2009) Simplified environmental study on innovative bridge structure. Environ Sci Technol 43(6):2066–71
Collet P, Lardon L, Steyer JP, Hélias A (2013) How to take time into account in the inventory step: a selective introduction based on sensitivity analysis. Int J Life Cycle Assess 19(2):320–330
Destatis (2010) Rohholz und Holzhalbwaren, Arbeitsunterlage. English title: raw wood and semi finished wood products, procedure documentation. Statistische Bundesamt, Wiesbaden
Destatis (2012a) Erhebung über die Energieverwendung. Survey of energy use. Statistische Bundesamt, Wiesbaden. directly available at publisher, English title
Destatis (2012b) Fachserie 4 Reihe 3.1, Produzierendes Gewerbe, Produktion des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes sowie des Bergbaus und der Gewinnung von Steinen und Erden 2011. English title: Series 4, Tier 3.1, Industry, Production of the manufacturing sector and mining and quarrying. Statistische Bundesamt, Wiesbaden
Destatis (2012c) Fachserie 4 Reihe 4.3 Produzierendes Gewerbe - Kostenstruktur der Unternehmen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes sowie des Bergbaus und der Gewinnung von Steinen und Erden, 2010. English title: Series 4, Tier 4.1, Industry, Cost structure of the manufacturing sector and mining and quarrying. Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden
Destatis (2013) Erhebung über die Energieverwendung der Betriebe des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes sowie des Bergbaus und der Gewinnung von Steinen und Erden—Qualitätsbericht. English title: survey of the energy use of companies in the manufacturing sector and mining and quarrying—quality report. Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden
Destatis (2014) Energy use in the industry 2012. http://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/EconomicSectors/Energy/Use/Tables/EconomicBranch12.html. Accessed March 6. 2014
Diederichs S (2014a) 2010 Status quo for life-cycle inventory and environmental impact assessment of the core sawmill products in Germany. Wood Fiber Sci 46(1):65–84
Diederichs S (2014b) 2010 Status quo for life cycle inventory and environmental impact assessment of wood-based panel products in Germany. Wood Fiber Sci 46(3):1–16
EEA (2014) European PRTR and EPER Database. http://www.prtr.ec.europa.eu
EN 15804:2012–04 (2012) Sustainability of construction works. Environmental product declarations, Core rules for the product category of construction products
Energiebilanzen e.V. AG (2010) Auswertungstabellen zur Energiebilanz Deutschland. Daten für die Jahre 1990 bis 2009. English title: calculation tabels for energy balances Germany. Data for the years 1990–2009. http://www.ag-energiebilanzen.de
EN ISO 14044:2006 (2006) Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Requirements and guidelines
European Commission (2009) Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC
European Commission (2013) Progress towards achieving the Kyoto and EU 2020 objectives, COM (2013) 698
European Parliament (2012) Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC
European Parliament, Council of the European Union (2013) Decision No 529/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on accounting rules on greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from activities relating to land use, land-use change and forestry and… April 2002, Brussels
Fleischer G, Gerner K, Kunst H, Rebitzer G (2001) LCA methodology a semi-quantitative method for the impact assessment of emissions within a simplified life cycle assessment. Int J Life Cycle Assess 6(3):149–156
Fleiter T, Schlomann B, Eichhammer W (2013) Energieverbrauch und CO2-Emissionen industrieller Prozesstechnologien—Einsparpotenziale, Hemmnisse und Instrumente. English title: energy consumption and CO2 emissions from industrial process technologies - reduction potentials, constraints and instruments. Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISO, Karlsruhe
Frondel M, Janssen Timmen R, Ritter N (2013) Statusbericht 2011 und 2012 zur Umsetzung der Vereinbarung zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der deutschen Wirtschaft zur Klimavorsorge vom 9. November 2000. English title: status report of the implementation of the agreement between the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German industry in the context of climate protection from 9th November 2000. November 2000, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen
Heijungs R, Kleijn R (2001) Numerical approaches towards life cycle interpretation, five examples. Int J Life Cycle Assess 6(3):141–148
Höglmeier K, Weber-Blaschke G, Richter K (2014) Utilization of recovered wood in cascades versus utilization of primary wood - a comparison with life cycle assessment using system expansion. Int J Life Cycle Assess. doi:10.1007/s11367-014-0774-6
Lechtenböhme S, Knopf B, Bauer N, Durand A, Hanke T, Luhmann HJ, Samadi S, Schmid E, Schneider C (2014) Kosten- und Modellvergleich langfristiger Klimaschutzpfade bis 2050. English title: cost- and model comparison of long term climate protection-pathways unti 2050. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau-Rosslau, Germany
Mantau U, Saal U, Steierer F, Verkerk H, Lindner M, Anttila P, Asikainen A, Oldenburger J, Leek NKP (2010) Real potential for changes in growth and use of EU forests. Final Report, Hamburg, Germany
Merciai S, Heijungs R (2014) Balance issues in monetary input-output tables. Ecol Econ 102:69–74
Moberg A, Borggren C, Ambell C, Finnveden G, Guldbrandsson F, Bondesson A, Malmodin J, Bergmark P (2014) Simplifying a life cycle assessment of a mobile phone. Int J Life Cycle Assess. doi:10.1007/s11367-014-0721-6
Nabuurs G, Masera O, Andrasko K, Benitez-Ponce P, Boer R, Dutschke M, Elsiddig E, Ford-Robertson J, Frumhoff P, Karjalainen T, Krankina O, Kurz W, Matsumoto M, Oyhantcabal W, Ravindranath N, Sanchez MS, Zhang X (2007) Forestry. In: Metz B, Davidson OR, Bosch PR, Dave R, Meyer LA (eds.),Climate change 2007: mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Osterburg B, Rüter S, Freibauer A, De Witte T, Elsasser P, Kätsch S, Leischner B, Paulsen HM, Rock J, Röder N, Sanders J, Schweinle J, Steuk J, Stichnote H, Stürmer W, Welling J, Wolff A (2013) Handlungsoptionen für den Klimaschutz in der deutschen Agrar- und Forstwirtschaft. English title: fields of action for climate protection in the German agricultural and forestry economy. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Braunschweig. doi:10.3220/REP10.3220/REP
PE International (2012) GaBi 4 Software and GaBi Professional Database Version 4.131, Leinfelden-Echterdingen. http://www.gabi-software.com
Rentz O, Oertel D, Woodfield M, Stewart R, (2009) Manufacturing industries and construction (combustion). Chapter 1.A.2. In: EMEP, EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook (2009) European Environmental Agency. Denmark, Copenhagen, p 34
Rueter S, Diederichs S (2012) Ökobilanz-Basisdaten für Bauprodukte aus Holz. English title: life cyle assessment base data for wood contruction products. Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institut, Institut für Holztechnologie und Holzbiologie, Hamburg
Sathre R, Connor OJ (2010) Meta-analysis of greenhouse gas displacement factors of wood product substitution. Environ Sci Policy 13(2):104–114
Schlomann B, Eichhammer W, Fritzen P, Reuter M, Schrader T (2012) Energy Efficiency Policies and Measures in Germany, Odyssee Mure 2011. Monitoring of EU and national energy efficiency targets, Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISO, Karlsruhe
Schmidt H, Schmidt D (2005) Bauen mit trockenem Holz—Neue Normen sprechen eine klare Sprache. English title: contruction with wood—new standards speak a clear language. Holzbau 1:45–49
Seppäläa J, Melanen M, Mäenpää I, Koskela S, Tenhunen J, Hiltunen MR (2005) How can the eco-efficiency of a region be measured and monitored? J Ind Ecol 9(4):117–130
Sturm A, Mueller K, Upasena S (2002) A manual for preparers and users of eco-efficiency Indicators: conceptual framework and guidelines. United Nations conference on trade and development, Geneva
Suh S, Huppes G (2005) Methods for life cycle inventory of a product. J Clean Prod 13(7):687–697
UBA (2014) German PRTR and EPER Database. http://www.thru.de
UNECE, FAO (2012) Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2011–2012, ece/tim/sp edn. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Geneva
UNFCCC (2011) Land use, land-use change and forestry (Decision 2/CMP.7). March, United Nations Framwork Convention on Climate Change
United Nations (2012) Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol
Weidema BP, Ekvall T, Heijungs R (2009) Guidelines for application of deepened and broadened LCA. 037075, ENEA, The Italian National Agency on new Technologies, Energy and the Environment Project
Werner F, Althaus HJ, Künniger T, Richter K, Jungbluth N (2007) Life cycle inventories of wood as fuel and construction material, ecoinvent report No.9. EMPA, ESU, Dübendorf
Wilson JB, Sakimoto ET (2005) Gate-to-gate life-cycle inventory of softwood plywood production. Wood Fiber Sci 37:58–73
Wright HE, Zhang Q, Mihelcic JR (2008) Integrating economic input-output life cycle assessment with risk assessment for a screening-level analysis. Int J Life Cycle Assess 13(5):412–420
Wünsch M, Seefeld F, Schlomann B, Fleiter T, Gerspacher A, Rohde C, Geiger B, Kleeberger H,(2012) Datenbasis zur Bewertung von Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen, (2008) English title: database for the evaluation of energy efficiency measures 2008. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau-Rosslau, Germany
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all companies that supplied data via questionnaires and during on-site visits. Thanks also to Norbert Buddendick and Norbert Burkart Deutsche Säge- und Holzindustrie Bundesverband e.V. (sawmill association) and to Verband der Deutschen Holzwerkstoffindustrie e.V. (wood based panel association) for their invaluable assistance in organizing communication networks between science and the German wood industry. Financial assistance for this research was provided by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (22028808) and Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE/11/946/SI2). The author would also like to thank Anne Rödl and Sebastian Rüter for their thoughtful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Diederichs, S.K. Monitoring energy efficiency and environmental impact of the woodworking industry in Germany. Eur. J. Wood Prod. 73, 573–588 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-015-0934-9
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-015-0934-9