Sustainability

Sustainable for
future generations

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Naturally abundant & responsibly harvested.

For centuries, Real American Hardwood products have been providing beauty and authenticity, warmth and integrity, lasting aesthetic and functional value to countless structures in a variety of applications. As a resource, they are naturally abundant, renewing and sustainable, and an excellent choice for eco-effective design.

A Natural Renewable Resource

More trees,
less carbon

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The Carbon Cycle

Growing trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and separate the carbon and oxygen atoms. They return the oxygen to the air, and use just the right amount of carbon to grow a trunk, branches, and leaves. This process reduces greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

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Carbon Cycle
Carbon Absorbed
Young, healthy forests absorb carbon more rapidly than older, dense forests.
Sustainably managing forests is a way to reduce carbon and produce oxygen that we all need.
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Carbon Cycle
Carbon Stored
As a tree grows, it stores carbon in its trunk, branches, and roots. In fact, about half the dry weight of wood is stored carbon.
When hardwood trees are harvested, the carbon continues to be stored in products made from it. Hardwood forests naturally regenerate and the cycle begins again.
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Carbon Cycle
Carbon Released
Catastrophic fires release carbon that has been stored in trees into the atmosphere. Manufacturing and automobiles also contribute carbon by burning fossil fuels.
Natural processes like volcanoes and decomposition also release carbon to the atmosphere.
Wood products make up 47% of all industrial raw materials manufactured in the U.S., but consume only 4% of the energy required to manufacture those materials.

Other materials cannot say the same. Their manufacturing processes not only produce great amounts of carbon, they require great amounts of energy. The following chart compares the amount of energy required to produce one ton of cement, glass, steel, or aluminum to the production of one ton of wood.

Cement
5x more energy
Glass
14x more energy
Steel
24x more energy
Aluminum
126x more energy
*Engineered Wood Association, www.apawood.org

Get the real hardwood facts

Let’s separate fact from fiction. Take the Sustainable Harvesting Quiz and test your knowledge.
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Sustainability Quiz
We're running out of trees!
Fact
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Fiction
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Sustainability Quiz

Fiction!

Data from the USDA Forest Service shows that the average annual net growth of hardwood stock on U.S. timberland exceeds removals by a ratio of 2.485:1. In fact, the net volume of hardwood in American forests has increased by 131% since 1953. And over the past 30 years, U.S. forestland has grown by nearly 33 million acres. That’s equal to 2,275 football fields of growth…every day!

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Sustainability Quiz
Cutting down trees is bad
Fact
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Fiction
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Sustainability Quiz

Fiction!

Some seedlings won't grow in the shade of mature trees, so removing mature trees opens up the forest canopy and allows light, water, and other resources to reach the forest floor so new trees can grow.

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Sustainability Quiz
Most forestland in the U.S. is privately owned
Fact
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Fiction
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Sustainability Quiz

Fact!

According to the USDA Forest Service, 58% of all U.S. forestland is privately owned by families (38%) and corporations (20%). National forests, as well as federal, state, and other public owners account for the remaining 42%.

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Sustainability Quiz
Hardwood trees need to be replanted once they are harvested.
Fact
OR
Fiction
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Sustainability Quiz

Fiction!

In healthy, managed forests, hardwood trees reproduce naturally and prolifically from fallen seeds and even cut stumps. Foresters work with nature to ensure a sustained supply and ongoing replenishment. For example, a single oak tree can drop as many as 10,000 acorns in a year. While most end up as food for wildlife, those that survive can grow into trees.

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Sustainability Quiz
Clear-cutting is a common practice in hardwood forestry
Fact
OR
Fiction
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Sustainability Quiz

Fiction!

In American hardwood forestry, the predominant harvesting method is single-tree selection. Foresters mark individual trees for removal based on a complex array of considerations. Clear-cutting is a common practice for softwood trees, because they are typically planted and farmed for specific purposes.

Reforestation

From seed
to sapling

In a hardwood forest, trees compete for the water and sunlight, that come through the forest canopy—the leafy “roof” over the forest floor. Single-tree selection reduces this competition. Carefully removing individual trees creates openings in the canopy, allowing more precipitation, sunlight and nutrients to reach the forest floor. No longer suppressed by larger trees, seedlings are free to grow vigorously and saplings sprout out of the tree stumps. A few years later, the forester returns to the site to remove the least-desirable saplings, allowing the hardiest to grow.

Did you know that harvesting trees reduces the amount of dead vegetation on the forest floor that can serve as fuel for forest fires?

Left unmanaged, forests are plagued with multiple problems that can cause catastrophic wildfires. Not only are they a threat to public safety, they also “impair” forest and ecosystem health and severely degrade air quality. And while fire is a natural part of the forest’s ecosystem, a raging wildfire is not. A “controlled burn” can help to make the land stronger and more resilient. But it must be combined with the proper application of land management.

American Made
Where in America is hardwood?

Most hardwood forestland in the continental United States is in the eastern half of the country; the equivalent of hardwood trees covering every square inch of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. It is the home of the oaks, maples, cherry, ash, poplar, and scores of other hardwood species, many of which grow nowhere else in the world.

Did you know?

Of all temperate forests in the world, North American forests have the most diverse hardwood species. They vary in appearance and durability, with some species more plentiful than others because of their natural occurrence.

Responsible Manufacturing
Making materials matter

Once trees are harvested and taken to the sawmill for primary processing, advanced manufacturing technology ensures the least wood waste and greatest yield of lumber. More than 3 million products are made from trees and every part of the log is utilized.

Tree bark is processed into mulch and soil conditioners.

Saw dust fuels the boilers that operate dry kilns or is sold for animal bedding.

Trimmings are chipped and processed into fuel pellets, paper and other products.

Small pieces of wood are recovered and processed into wood components.