10 WESTERN PALLET
For decades, the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA) has been touting the environmental attributes of wooden pallets. Last month's release of the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for U.S. wooden pallets was a significant breakthrough for our industry. This EPD establishes wooden pallets as a leader of environmental stewardship and provides a tool for pallet users to measure their impacts.
With a Biden administration already at work, businesses can expect an increased focus on sustainability goals and climate change in 2021. It is critical to establish with your customers that wooden pallets are a simple and renewable choice to make the supply chain more sustainable and efficient.
Three key messages illustrate the substantial impact of this announcement and the value it provides to customers, procurement officers, and policymakers:
Message #1: The U.S. Forest Service and UL environment developed and certified the research following an extensive process. It took over two years of surveys and number crunching by the U.S. Forest Service's research wing, U.S. Forest Product Lab to complete the life cycle assessment (LCA). This EPD was validated and certified by UL, a global leader in third-party EPD certification.
Message #2: Wooden pallets can have a potential net carbon positive impact. The EPD has a number for the global warming potential of wood pallets, and the EPD has a number for the carbon offsets. With this EPD, pallet companies can highlight the environmental attributes of using wooden pallets to their customers using data that covers the cradle to grave life cycle of the pallet.
Message #3: The EPD is the first-ever in the distribution packaging space. Last year, we worked alongside UL to develop a Product Category Rule for wooden pallets that was the first of its kind for shipping materials and standardized how environmental impacts are determined. The study analyzed nine factors, from ozone layer depletion to global warming and non-renewable energy.
Working hand-in-hand with eco-friendly warehouses, green logistics, and other emissions-reducing technologies, manufacturers can present wooden pallets as the clear standout to customers and policymakers.
Wood packaging is truly Nature's Packaging. Sharing the EPD document and critical points on wood, carbon offsets will help your customers make critical decisions regarding the sustainability of their supply chains.
The full wooden pallet EPD, including its methodology and data, along with the corresponding LCA, can be found at www.palletfoundation.org/portfolio-item/epd.
The Pallet Foundation
Environmental Product Declaration
Key Messages for Business
by Grace Johnson, Manager, Policy and Public Relations