Search

Towards a bio-economy: the role of the forest Biomass has an increasingly important role in replacing fossil and mineral resources, and it is central in environmental impact-reduction strategies in companies and governments, locally, nationally and internationally. The European Union (EU) has recently taken action to strengthen the bio-economy, defined as “…the sustainable production and conversion of biomass into a range of food, health, fibre and industrial products and energy”. Two thirds of the land area in Sweden is covered by forests, and forestry has been an important industry for centuries. Increased and/or more efficient use of forest biomass thus has a great potential for replacing the use of fossil and mineral resources in Sweden. There are two main reasons for why forest- and other bio-based products are seen as environmentally beneficial. Biomass is (most often) a renewable resource, in contrast to finite fossil and mineral resources, and there is often a balance between CO2 captured when the biomass grows, and CO2 released when the bio-based product is incinerated. The challenge: calculate carbon footprints Moving towards a bio-economy means replacing non-renewable fuels and materials with bio-based fuels and materials. This is a transition on many levels: technology, business models, infrastructure, political priorities, etc. To guide such a grand transition, there is a need to understand the environmental implications of new bio-based products. This includes assessing their climate impact, so-called carbon footprinting. Carbon footprinting of forest products is not as simple as saying that forest products are carbon and climate neutral by definition. Fossil energy used for producing and transporting the products has a carbon footprint. Also, the carbon balance can differ between forest products, which can influence their carbon footprint. For example, carbon stored in products, while CO2 is captured in the re-growing forest, can mitigate climate chan, The method’s influence on climate impact assessment of biofuels and other uses of forest biomass

The prospect of reducing environmental impacts is a key driver for the research and development (R&D) of new forest products. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is often used for assessing the environmental impact of such products, e.g. for the purpose of guiding R&D. The aim of this thesis is to improve the methods and practices of LCA work carried out in the R&D of forest products. Six research questions were formulated from research needs identified in LCA work in five technical inter-organisational R&D projects. These projects also provided contexts for the case studies that were used to address the research questions. The main contributions of the research are as follows: Regarding the planning of LCA work in inter-organisational R&D projects, the research identified four characteristics that appear to be important to consider when selecting the roles of LCAs in such projects: (i) the project’s potential influence on environmental impacts, (ii) the degrees of freedom available for the technical direction of the project, (iii) the project’s potential to provide required input to the LCA, and (iv) access to relevant audiences for the LCA results. Regarding the modelling of future forest product systems, it was found that (i) it is important to capture uncertainties related to the technologies of end-of-life processes, the location of processes and the occurrence of land use change; and (ii) the choice of method for handling multi-functionality can strongly influence results in LCAs of forest products, particularly in consequential studies and in studies of relatively small co-product flows. Regarding the assessment of environmental impacts of particular relevance for forest products, it was found that using established climate impact assessment practices can cause LCA practitioners to miss environmental hot-spots and make erroneous conclusions about the performance of forest products vis-à-vis non-forest alternatives, particularly in studies aimed at

Towards a bio-economy: the role of the forest Biomass has an increasingly important role in replacing fossil and mineral resources, and it is central in environmental impact-reduction strategies in companies and governments, locally, nationally and internationally. The European Union (EU) has recently taken action to strengthen the bio-economy, defined as “…the sustainable production and conversion of biomass into a range of food, health, fibre and industrial products and energy”. Two thirds of the land area in Sweden is covered by forests, and forestry has been an important industry for centuries. Increased and/or more efficient use of forest biomass thus has a great potential for replacing the use of fossil and mineral resources in Sweden. There are two main reasons for why forest- and other bio-based products are seen as environmentally beneficial. Biomass is (most often) a renewable resource, in contrast to finite fossil and mineral resources, and there is often a balance between CO2 captured when the biomass grows, and CO2 released when the bio-based product is incinerated. The challenge: calculate carbon footprints Moving towards a bio-economy means replacing non-renewable fuels and materials with bio-based fuels and materials. This is a transition on many levels: technology, business models, infrastructure, political priorities, etc. To guide such a grand transition, there is a need to understand the environmental implications of new bio-based products. This includes assessing their climate impact, so-called carbon footprinting. Carbon footprinting of forest products is not as simple as saying that forest products are carbon and climate neutral by definition. Fossil energy used for producing and transporting the products has a carbon footprint. Also, the carbon balance can differ between forest products, which can influence their carbon footprint. For example, carbon stored in products, while CO2 is captured in the re-growing forest, can mitigate climate chan, The method’s influence on climate impact assessment of biofuels and other uses of forest biomass

In Brazil, forest certification turned out to management improvement of planted forests, with social, economic and environment benefits, in fact, multiplying, it has the main certifier the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). This work angles for making clear, through the pillar of social responsibility and in attendance the five principles of FSC (Forest Benefits), the result of a social coin project in association between community and company of forest base embedded in Capão Bonito city – SP, which created during a long time, how non-wood product, the organic honey. It has realized interviews with the Association of Capão Bonito’s Apiculturist (AAPICAB) in order to get a evaluation of the actual state of the Hive Project (Projeto Colmeias) and with envolved institutions during the time of the project execution. Nowadays, Capão Bonito became one of greatest producer eucalyptus honey of the Sao Paulo state and by means of organic certification the apiarist product is apt to be exported, mainly to North American market., No Brasil, a certificação florestal resultou no aperfeiçoamento do manejo das florestas plantadas, com benefícios sociais, econômicos e ambientais, tendo como principal certificadora o FSC - Forest Stewardship Council. Este trabalho visa evidenciar, através do pilar responsabilidade social e em atendimento aos princípios da FSC, o resultado de um projeto de cunho social de parceria entre comunidade e empresa de base florestal inserida no Município de Capão Bonito/SP/Brasil, a qual gerou ao longo do tempo, como produto não-madeireiro, o mel com certificação orgânica. Foram realizadas entrevistas com a Associação de Apicultores de Capão Bonito a fim de obter uma avaliação do estado atual do projeto e com as instituições envolvidas na execução do mesmo. Atualmente, Capão Bonito tornou-se um dos maiores produtores de mel de eucalipto do Estado de São Paulo e por meio da certificação orgânica o produto apícola está sendo exportado, principalmente para o mercado norte- americano.

In Brazil, forest certification turned out to management improvement of planted forests, with social, economic and environment benefits, in fact, multiplying, it has the main certifier the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). This work angles for making clear, through the pillar of social responsibility and in attendance the five principles of FSC (Forest Benefits), the result of a social coin project in association between community and company of forest base embedded in Capão Bonito city – SP, which created during a long time, how non-wood product, the organic honey. It has realized interviews with the Association of Capão Bonito’s Apiculturist (AAPICAB) in order to get a evaluation of the actual state of the Hive Project (Projeto Colmeias) and with envolved institutions during the time of the project execution. Nowadays, Capão Bonito became one of greatest producer eucalyptus honey of the Sao Paulo state and by means of organic certification the apiarist product is apt to be exported, mainly to North American market., No Brasil, a certificação florestal resultou no aperfeiçoamento do manejo das florestas plantadas, com benefícios sociais, econômicos e ambientais, tendo como principal certificadora o FSC - Forest Stewardship Council. Este trabalho visa evidenciar, através do pilar responsabilidade social e em atendimento aos princípios da FSC, o resultado de um projeto de cunho social de parceria entre comunidade e empresa de base florestal inserida no Município de Capão Bonito/SP/Brasil, a qual gerou ao longo do tempo, como produto não-madeireiro, o mel com certificação orgânica. Foram realizadas entrevistas com a Associação de Apicultores de Capão Bonito a fim de obter uma avaliação do estado atual do projeto e com as instituições envolvidas na execução do mesmo. Atualmente, Capão Bonito tornou-se um dos maiores produtores de mel de eucalipto do Estado de São Paulo e por meio da certificação orgânica o produto apícola está sendo exportado, principalmente para o mercado norte- americano.