Our Conservation Work Lowers Your Carbon Footprint.
All of Whole Forest's hardwood products are carbon-negative. We know you're motivated to fight climate change, but subscribing to an effective solution can be difficult. That's why we make it easy to lower your carbon footprint. The wood we harvest from the forest intrinsically represents the carbon value of the forest that's been able to remain intact. Though long-term conservation, we continue to prevent mass amounts of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere. Each purchase allows Whole Forest to expand its area of conservation. Based on the financial return to the forest, we can quantify the tons of carbon a purchase has helped us preserve in the forest. By transferring these carbon benefits to you, our products can largely reduce your carbon footprint and can lower the embodied energy of your project.
Globally, buildings contribute 40% of carbon emissions leading to climate change. Green building, estimated as 15% of the US construction market, is focused on reducing carbon emissions by reducing operating energies, such as heating, cooling, and powering electrical appliances. However, another large source of emissions is the embodied energy from the mining, manufacturing and transporting of building materials, and the construction of the building. Tropical deforestation alone contributes to an additional 15% of global carbon emissions. Once a building is built, you can’t change the embodied energy, which can be more than ten times the annual operating energy. By sourcing Whole Forest products, a green construction project can offset a large part of the embodied energy in both new buildings and in renovation projects.
In alliance with the Paris Climate Agreement, leaders in the green building industry have started to stress the necessity for lowering a project's embodied energy, in addition to its operational energy. We believe that having consideration for our product's entire life-cycle is imperative in the quest for keeping a livable climate. We also believe the best way to solve "wicked problems" is through dialogue. Contact us if you have any questions, or you'd like to have a conversation about this topic.