Lathams moves to address lack of carbon understanding in industry
5 November 2021UK timber products distributor James Latham has launched a new carbon initiative which gives its wood products a combined score based on carbon footprint and “locked in” carbon.
Built in partnership with the BioComposites Department at the University of Bangor, the initiative is based upon detailed research into the embodied and biogenic carbon impacts of the products that they supply.
The new “carbon calculator” is designed to direct customers towards more sustainable products, with carbon data added to company documents to increase visibility of carbon impacts.
The calculator covers just over 70% of the total Lathams range and focuses on timber products. In time, it will also incorporate composite materials that were out of scope for the first phase.
“Reducing the environmental impact of our buildings is one of the key issues of our time,” said Ewa Bazydlo, environmental manager at Lathams.
“However, the understanding around sustainability is not consistent across the industry. We’ve developed the calculator to help our customers to better understand the sustainability of the materials they choose as well as the expected performance levels that they offer.”
The tool calculates environmental impact by looking at the carbon footprint of products, from production through to delivery to Lathams depots. It also looks at how much carbon is stored within the wood’s structure, known as biogenic carbon.
Each product then receives a rating from 1 – 4 (one being the highest, four being the lowest), based on the confidence that Lathams has in the data used for the calculations. The higher the score, the higher the quality of the data points that have been reviewed, for example an audited and published EPD (Environmental Performance Declaration).
Lathams will be adding the carbon data to all invoices, delivery notes, and other key documentation to increase visibility around this issue.
To complement the calculator and share some of the insights from their research, Lathams will be publishing a “Think You Know Carbon?” guide. It will include an overview of the main issues ins sustainability, a glossary of key terminology and steps that architects and specifiers can take to be more sustainable in their designs.
Find out more at: CarbonCalculator
TTJ will feature an in-depth article on the new initiative in the next issue of TTJ.
