Evaluation of the Environmental Burden of Cross-Laminated Timber Manufacturing in Japan Using the Input–Output Analysis

Japan is actively promoting the application of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in construction to utilize plantation forests efficiently and fulfil its climate commitments. Although CLT has unique structural properties and environmental advantages, understanding the environmental burden of CLT manufact...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests 2023-11, Vol.14 (11), p.2263
Main Authors: Liu, Mengyuan, Murano, Akito, Goh, Chun Sheng, Kayo, Chihiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Cement
Civil engineering
Climate change
Construction industry
Cross laminating
cross-laminated timber
Emission measurements
Emissions
Energy consumption
Environmental aspects
environmental burden
Evaluation
Expenditures
Forestry
Freight transportation
Greenhouse effect
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gases
Input output analysis
Japanese timber industry
Laminated wood
Manufacturers
Manufacturing
Paris Agreement
Production capacity
Production processes
Raw materials
Renewable energy
Renewable resources
Steel production
Supply chains
Timber
Timber construction
Wood laminates
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Japan is actively promoting the application of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in construction to utilize plantation forests efficiently and fulfil its climate commitments. Although CLT has unique structural properties and environmental advantages, understanding the environmental burden of CLT manufacturing remains scarce. This study uses input–output analysis to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from CLT manufacturing. An extended input–output table was created to measure the GHG emissions by investigating the revenue and expenditure data of the largest CLT manufacturers in Japan in 2020, combined with the energy and emission intensity data. The results showed that electricity, activities not elsewhere classified, road freight transportation (except self-transportation), timber, and logs were the main sectors contributing to GHG emissions from CLT manufacturing. In addition, the environmental burdens of the cement and steel sectors were evaluated for comparison with the same increase in the final demand. We found that CLT manufacturing emits significantly fewer GHGs than the cement and steel sectors. These findings highlight the potential of CLT in reducing environmental burden, particularly in construction and civil engineering, emphasizing the importance of renewable energy use and efficient raw material transportation.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f14112263