How Sustainable Is White Oak Wood?
White oak is a hardwood that is often used for cabinets, flooring, and other home furniture. It is strong, durable, and naturally water-resistant. Despite being a slow-growing tree, white oak can be a sustainable material for furniture. In this article, we break down the life-cycle of white oak wood used for furniture and other household items. We evaluate its sustainability, potentials, and shortfalls. And in the end, we’ll show you tips for buying sustainable white oak.
How Sustainable Is the Growing White Oak Wood?
Growing white oak, is sustainable thanks to its adaptation, abundance, and potential for carbon sequestration.
What Type of Wood is White Oak and What Does This Mean for Sustainability?
White oak is a hardwood native of North America, Europe and Asia. Oak trees are typically slow growers, climbing only 12 to 14 inches per year, compared to other trees such as Monterrey oak, which can grow 48 inches in one year. However, some white oak species grow faster than others. Fast growers included Mexican white oak, bur, swamp white, and English oak.
How Sustainable Does White Oak Wood Grow
Growing white oak for furniture is sustainable because of its potential for carbon sequestration, diverse land usage, and large growing stock. The following section zooms into three sustainable effects of growing white oak:
Carbon sequestration: Oak trees can reach 100 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter. Their large size means high carbon sequestration over their lifetime, which is average at 300 years (with some species living 600 years or longer).
Diverse land usage: White oaks grow well naturally in Europe, adapting to a broad range of land types from east to west. It means there is no need for fertilizer or irrigation to maintain a healthy population of white oaks.
Large growing stock: White oak accounts for 15,5% of all American hardwood growing stock. It takes 1.57 seconds to grow 1m³ of American white oak. In a quarter of a second, the U.S. forest can grow enough white oak needed for making a door. Yearly harvesting for domestic and export uses of white oak currently takes up only half of the growing stock in the U.S. Although there are no specific comparison studies for Europe it can be safely assumed these statistics are similar.
Where Is White Oak Wood Usually Grown?
White oak trees are native to North America, Europe and Asia. In general, oak is considered the most ecologically important species. It produces plenty of acorns – between 2,000-7,000 per tree per year – serving as a substantial food source for wildlife. Oak’s large canopy and flaky bark provide ideal habitat for many species, including moths and butterflies.
How Sustainable Is the Transportation of White Oak Wood
Transporting white oak wood is typically the least sustainable stage in the life-cycle due to the carbon emissions associated with operating hauling vehicles. The actual emission during this stage depends on the type of vehicles used, the fuel they need, and the distance the wood travels. Calculations made by the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute showed that smaller wood hauling trucks emitted more CO2 per transported cubic meters of timber: 1,25 times more than larger wood hauling trucks, 1,3 times more than sea vessels, and six times more than freight trains. The cost efficiency is higher when the distance increases and emissions are reduced when using biofuels. In one calculation, transporting a white oak door from the U.K. to the U.S. would account for 35% of the total CO2 emission. Typically, the sustainable options would be locally manufactured white oak furniture, transported by rail or large trucks using biofuel.
How Sustainable Is the Usage of White Oak Wood
Using white oak wood furniture can be sustainable thanks to the carbon capture during the products’ long life. White oak wood is strong, durable, and naturally water-resistant. It makes great indoor furniture and flooring. As oak takes a long time to grow, the wood is dense, and the products generally last for a long time, like century-long. When wood is decayed, either naturally in the forest or because of damage caused by usages at home, the carbon stored in the wood is released back to the atmosphere. Therefore, long-lasting furniture can be considered as a good way of keeping the carbon out of the atmosphere. If the wood is then reclaimed for making another piece of furniture, its positive carbon storage environmental impact is even higher.
How Sustainable Is the End-of-Life of White Oak Wood
Because white oak furniture can be fully recycled for bioenergy, also the end-of-life stage of white oak wood is sustainable. ... The impact of recycling depends on how much non-wood material is used in the product. On a calculation for a white oak door, the carbon offset amounts to 127 kilograms CO2 equivalent. It’s thanks to burning wood waste for energy that substitutes fossil fuels. Half of the amount comes from manufacturing waste, and the other half from end-of-life recycling. As the total footprint of the product is 155 kilograms CO2 equivalent, the final stage can offset a significant 40% of the product emissions. With smaller household items, like a doorknob or a small chair, the offset won’t be as high as there is much less waste for burning. However, if such products are made from manufacturing wood waste as by-products, their carbon footprint is minimal.
How Can You Buy White Oak Wood More Sustainably
The key to sustainably buying any wood is to check on relevant environmental and original certifications. Reliable certifications for sustainable woods are:
· An FSC certification ensures that the white oak wood comes from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
· PEFC’s approaches to sustainable forest management are in line with protecting the forests globally and locally and making the certificate working for everyone. Getting a PEFC certification is strict enough to ensure the sustainable management of a forest is socially just, ecologically sound, and economically viable but attainable not only by big but small forest owners.
Final Thoughts
Making furniture from white oak wood is sustainable as long as the material comes from sustainably managed forests. As white oak trees grow slowly while supporting a wide range of wildlife, logging needs to be properly planned to leave no big gaps between the supplies of wood for human activities and canopy for birds, butterflies, and more. A sustainable approach would be to use any white oak furniture for a long time, upcycle the material to extend its usage, and arrange for it to be recycled fully.
