LCA results & interpretation

LCA results & interpretation STRUCTODEK HD

LCA results & interpretation EPD additional content

Scope and summary

Cradle to gate
Cradle to gate with options
Cradle to grave

Application

STRUCTODEK HD is a non-asphaltic fiberboard for roofing. It can be used as an insulation board, cover board, or re-roof/recover board. The product is a high-density roofing board designed for low-slope single-ply and traditional roof system applications. The coating enhances adhesion with single-ply membranes like PVC, TPO, EPDM, and CSPE. It is compatible with low VOC, water-based, foam, and traditional adhesives. It supports peel-and-stick and BUR systems with proprietary coating, minimizing adhesive absorption and ensuring strong bonds. Moisture-resistant components protect edges during use and cutting. It provides sound-deadening and thermal insulation (R-value of 1.3 per ½”). Its compressive strength is 25 psi at 10% deformation. Panels are fiberglass-free, easy to cut, and come in 4'x4' or 4'x8' sizes.

Declared unit

One cubic meter weighs 266 kg (266 kg/m³). To fulfill the declared unit, 78.7 individual 1 m2 panels at ½” (12.7 mm) thickness are needed. The panel's moisture content is 0.5% max.

Manufacturing data

Reporting period: January 2023 – December 2023
Location: Danville, VA

Sensitivity analysis

Sensitivity analyses were performed to check the robustness of the results where the highest potential environmental impacts are occurring. As the bulk of impacts are attributed to manufacturing activities, electricity usage was selected for sensitivity analysis.

Global warming potential was evaluated for sensitivity since BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD is interested in the potential CO₂-equivalent emissions of its products. By increasing the renewable energy percentage from 7%, reflecting the residual mix for the manufacturing facility subregion, to approximately 50%, potential CO₂-equivalent emissions could be reduced by approximately 20.0%. This shows that global warming potential is sensitive to increases in electricity from renewable energy sources.

Embodied carbon

Embodied carbon can be defined as the cradle-to-gate (A1-A3) global warming potential impacts. The total embodied carbon per declared unit of STRUCTODEK HD is 2.08E+02 kg CO₂-eq.

What’s causing the greatest impacts

All life cycle stages

The raw material acquisition stage dominates the results, accounting for over 54% of the total impacts for seven life cycle impact categories, followed by the manufacturing stage. For smog, global warming, ozone depletion, and fossil fuel depletion, manufacturing accounted for over 50% of the total results. The biobased binder was the largest contributor to total results among the raw materials.

Raw material acquisition

The raw material acquisition (A1) stage has the most significant contribution to most impact categories, primarily due to the biobased binder. While the wood chips account for a much larger share by weight of the raw materials, the use of post-industrial wood chips reduces its contribution to the potential impacts. The starch component in the binder contributed to over 50% of impacts for seven out of ten impact categories.

Transportation

The transportation (A2) of raw materials is the least impactful contributor to the total results. Materials are sourced from within America and transported via semi-truck to the manufacturing facility.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing (A3) is the second highest contributor to most impact categories. The primary driver of environmental impacts within the manufacturing stage is the energy required to produce the panels. However, impacts from the manufacturing stage dominate the results for global warming, ozone depletion, and fossil fuel depletion, stemming primarily from the use of electricity and natural gas. Activities in this stage also include final product packaging and manufacturing waste disposal.

How we're making it greener

BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD is committed to producing products and systems to reduce our energy usage, material resource consumption, and environmental impact. Products are composed primarily of all-natural, earth-friendly carbon-sequestering wood chips and use a biobased binder.

WOOD IS A CARBON-SMART BUILDING MATERIAL CHOICE

Reducing and reversing the acceleration of global warming happens by making carbon-smart choices. The wood in BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD products captures and stores the CO₂ inherent in wood fibers, which locks up this carbon for the installation's lifetime.
Trees take up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store it in wood fibers. Softwood chips used as the source material for our products, lock in carbon for the life of the building installation.
As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis, emitting oxygen and utilizing the carbon to create the tree's very roots, trunk, branches, and leaves. This process is called carbon sequestration, which captures and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. One cubic meter of wood can trap approximately 1 ton of carbon dioxide. To put this concept in perspective, the EPA states an average car emits about 4.6 metric tons of CO₂ per year.
UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) emphasizes that the use of wood in the construction industry reduces CO₂ emission by 30% when used instead of steel. Throughout the life of a wooden structure, its wood components store and restrict the release of carbon dioxide.

RESPONSIBLE WOOD SOURCING
BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD responsibly sources 100% of its wood. We work with suppliers adhering to responsible sourcing principles. Wood supplied to us comes from a known source, is legally harvested and traded, and does not threaten high conservation value. It does not come from deforestation or other ecosystem conversion, which leads to biodiversity loss, including that of rare, threatened, and endangered species, and it is not endangered. It is harvested and produced, ensuring that human and worker rights are protected, including decent and humane working conditions and no forced labor.

See how we make it greener

LCA results

Life cycle stage	A1 Raw material acquisition	A2 Transport	A3 Manufacturing
Information modules: Included (X) \| Excluded (MND)* *Modules A4, A5, B, C, and D are excluded.	(X) A1 Raw material acquisition	(X) A2 Transport	(X) A3 Manufacturing

SM Single Score

Learn about SM Single Score results

Impacts per declared unit	1.72E+01 mPts	2.77E-01 mPts	5.44E+00 mPts
Materials or processes contributing >20% to total impacts in each life cycle stage	Extraction and preprocessing of starch component in biobased binder.	Truck transportation to manufacturing facility.	Electricity and natural gas consumption during manufacturing process.

Life cycle impact results per declared unit

Life cycle stage	A1 Raw material supply	A2 Transport	A3 Manufacturing

Ecological damage

Impact category	Unit
GWP, IPCC _TOTAL	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming potential is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GWP leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCtotal is calculated based on IPCC 2013 AR5, inclusive of fossil and biogenic CO2eq.	5.43E+00	4.77E+00	1.94E+02
GWP, IPCC _BIOGENIC	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCbiogenic reflects the biogenic carbon removals and emissions from products and packaging.	-3.58E+01	0.00E+00	3.58E+01
GWP, IPCC _FOSSIL	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCfossil excludes effects from biogenic carbon.	4.12E+01	4.77E+00	1.58E+02
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _TOTAL	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. The TRACI 2.1 total is the sum of TRACI 2.1 biogenic and TRACI 2.1 fossil results.	9.40E+00	4.71E+00	1.94E+02
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _BIOGENIC	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. TRACI 2.1 biogenic results reflect the biogenic carbon removals and emissions from products and packaging.	-3.58E+01	0.00E+00	3.58E+01
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _FOSSIL	kg CO ₂ eq Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. The TRACI 2.1 fossil value reflects the default GWP value generated using the EPA methodology which excludes biogenic carbon by default.	5.86E-01	1.83E-02	1.91E+00
Ozone depletion	kg CFC-11 eq Kilograms of Trichlorofluoromethane equivalent Ozone depletion is the reduction of ozone in the stratosphere caused by the release of ozone depleting chemicals. Ozone depletion can increases ultraviolet B radiation to the earth which can adversely affect human health (skin cancer and cataracts and immune-system suppression) and other systems (marine life, agricultural crops, and other vegetation) and causes damage to human-built materials.	1.74E-06	7.31E-08	8.02E-06
Acidification	kg SO ₂ eq Kilograms of Sulfur Dioxide equivalent Acidification processes increase the acidity of water and soil systems and causes damage to lakes, streams, rivers, and various plants and animals, as well as building materials, paints, and other human-built structures.	5.19E-01	5.60E-03	3.44E-01
Eutrophication	kg N eq Kilograms of Nitrogen equivalent Eutrophication is the enrichment of an aquatic ecosystem with nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) that accelerate biological productivity (growth of algae and weeds) and an undesirable accumulation of algal biomass which impacts industry, agriculture, drinking, fishing, and recreation and causes death of fish and shellfish, toxicity to humans, marine mammals and livestock, and reduces biodiversity.	4.41E-01	4.09E-04	3.45E-02

Human health damage

Impact category	Unit
Smog	kg O ₃ eq Kilograms of Ozone equivalent Smog formation (photochemical oxidant formation) is the formation of ozone molecules in the troposphere by complex chemical reactions which are influenced by ambient concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the mix of organic compounds (OCs), temperature, sunlight, and convective flows. Ozone concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere above the natural trace amounts lead to detrimental impacts on human health and ecosystems.	4.03E+00	8.61E-02	4.18E+00
Respiratory effects	kg PM _2.5 eq Kilograms of Particulate Matter equivalent which are smaller than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter Particulate matter concentrations have a strong influence on chronic and acute respiratory symptoms and mortality rates.	3.85E-02	1.47E-03	2.34E-02

Additional environmental information

Impact category	Unit
Carcinogenics	CTU _h Comparative Toxic Units of Human cancerous toxicity Carcinogens have the potential to form cancers in humans.	91.79%	0.13%	8.08%
Non-carcinogenics	CTU _h Comparative Toxic Units of Human non-cancerous toxicity Non-Carcinogens have the potential to causes non-cancerous adverse impacts to human health.	94.92%	0.73%	4.35%
Ecotoxicity	CTU _e Comparative Toxic Units of Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity causes negative impacts to ecological receptors and, indirectly, to human receptors through the impacts to the ecosystem.	97.12%	1.58%	1.29%
Fossil fuel depletion	MJ surplus Mega Joule, lower heating value Fossil fuel depletion is the surplus energy to extract minerals and fossil fuels.	8.41E+01	9.00E+00	2.93E+02

References

LCA Background Report
LCA of W. R. Meadows BLUE RIDGE FIBERBOARD products (public version), 2025. Developed using the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) 100-year time, TRACI v2.1, CML, and Cumulative Energy Demand (LHV) impact assessment methodologies, SimaPro Analyst 9.6 software, and ecoinvent v3.10 and US-EI 2.2 databases.

ISO 14025: 2006 Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and procedures.

ISO 21930: 2017, Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works -- Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services serves as the core PCR.

UL Part A: Life Cycle Assessment Calculation Rules and Report Requirements v4.0
March 2022. PCR review conducted by Lindita Bushi, PhD, Senior Research Associate (Athena Sustainable Materials Institute), [email protected]; Hugues Imbeault-Tétreault (Group AGECO); and Jack Geibig (Ecoform).

UL Part B: Structural and Architectural Wood Products EPD Requirements, v1.1
May 2020. PCR review conducted by Dr. Thomas Gloria, Chair (Industrial Ecology Consultants), [email protected]; Dr. Indro Ganguly (University of Washington); and Dr. Sahoo (University of Georgia).

UL Environment General Program Instructions v2.5, March 2020 (available upon request)

Download PDF SM Transparency Report [EPD]™

SM Transparency Reports (TR) are ISO 14025 Type III environmental declarations (EPD) that enable purchasers and users to compare the potential environmental performance of products on a life cycle basis. Environmental declarations from different programs (ISO 14025) may not be comparable. Comparison of the environmental performance using EPD information shall consider all relevant information modules over the full life cycle of the products within the building. This PCR allows EPD comparability only when the same functional requirements between products are ensured and the requirements of ISO 21930:2017 §5.5 are met. It should be noted that different LCA software and background LCI datasets may lead to differences results for upstream or downstream of the life cycle stages declared. LCIA results are relative expressions and do not predict impacts on category endpoints, the exceeding of thresholds, safety margins or risks. These six impact categories are globally deemed mature enough to be included in Type III environmental declarations. Other categories are being developed and defined and LCA should continue making advances in their development. However, the EPD users shall not use additional measures for comparative purposes. Comparison of the environmental performance of structural and architectural wood products using EPD information shall be based on the product’s use and impacts at the construction works level, and therefore EPDs may not be used for comparability purposes when not considering the construction works energy use phase as instructed under this PCR. Full conformance with the PCR for structural and architectural wood products allows EPD comparability only when all stages of a life cycle have been considered, when they comply with all referenced standards, use the same sub-category Part B PCR, and use equivalent scenarios with respect to construction works. However, variations and deviations are possible. Example of variations: Different LCA software and background LCI datasets may lead to differences results for upstream or downstream of the life cycle stages declared.

Rating systems

The intent is to reward project teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified life-cycle environmental performance.

LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4 - LEED v4

Building product disclosure and optimization

Environmental product declarations

Industry-wide (generic) EPD ½ product
Product-specific Type III EPD 1 product

LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4.1 - LEED v4.1

Building product disclosure and optimization

Environmental product declarations

Industry-wide (generic) EPD 1 product
Product-specific Type III EPD 1.5 products

Collaborative for High Performance Schools National Criteria

MW C5.1 – Environmental Product Declarations

Third-party certified type III EPD 2 points

Green Globes for New Construction and Sustainable Interiors

Materials and resources

NC 3.5.1.2 Path B: Prescriptive Path for Building Core and Shell
NC 3.5.2.2 and SI 4.1.2 Path B: Prescriptive Path for Interior Fit-outs

BREEAM New Construction 2018

Mat 02 - Environmental impacts from construction products

Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)

Industry-average EPD .5 points
Multi-product specific EPD .75 points
Product-specific EPD 1 point