Canada Wood Association releases five new environmental declarations for wood products to help upgrade China's green building supply chain

The Canadian Wood Association has released a full life cycle environmental statement for five major products including cork and OSB, which will significantly enhance the competitiveness of certified wood in China's green building market. It is expected that the proportion of certified OSB exported from Vancouver Port to China will increase from 23% to more than 65% within half a year.

Canada Wood releases new environmental claims for five wood products

Canadian Wood AssociationThe Canadian Wood Commodity Commission (CWC) officially released five new Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Canadian softwood lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, trusses and prefabricated I-beams last Friday.

According to the official statement of CWC, these declarations provide quantitative data on the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle from raw material acquisition to product disposal. As a regional industry-level B2B Type III environmental declaration, this EPD fully complies with the highest international standards. The environmental impact data verified by a third party will help designers, builders and policymakers make sustainable material choices.

“The launch of these new EPDs underscores our commitment to transparency and sustainability in the timber industry. By providing rigorous, science-based environmental data, we are giving the industry an effective tool to demonstrate the environmental benefits of timber and support low-carbon construction.”
— Peter Moonen, National Sustainability Manager, Canada Wood

LumberFlow Expert Interpretation

1. China market access impact：The EPD system complements China's green building evaluation standard (GB/T 50378). It is expected that starting from Q3 2025, the premium ability of Canadian SPF/Douglas fir boards with EPD certification in China's high-end building materials market will increase by 8-12%

2. Supply chain restructuring opportunities：Chinese prefabricated building developers can give priority to purchasing EPD-certified prefabricated I-beams (annual production capacity is expected to increase by 15%) to meet the carbon emission accounting requirements of the 2025 version of the "Green Building Creation Action Plan"

3. Trade data perspective: In 2024, only 23% of Canada's structural OSB imported by China came with environmental certification. After the implementation of the new EPD, it is expected that the proportion of certified products exported by Vancouver Port to China will jump to more than 65% within 6 months

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