Helena Wessman, KCL (editor) Fernando Alvarado, STFI ... · Catharina Hohenthal, KCL Simo Kaila,...

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Land use in ecobalance and LCA of forest products

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Keywords: LCA, life cycle analysis, inventory, environmental effect, environmental assessment, land, forest management, certification, energy consumption, model, forestry, method, sustainable development

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1

Update: 9/16/2003 9:31:00 AM

Print date: 1/10/2007 4:14:00 PM

Author:

Helena Wessman, KCL (editor)

Fernando Alvarado, STFI

Birgit Backlund, STFI

Staffan Berg, SkogForsk

Catharina Hohenthal, KCL

Simo Kaila, Metsäteho

Eva-Lotta Lindholm, SkogForsk

Title:

Land use in Eco balance and LCA of Forest products



Foreword This report summarizes subprojects 2-5 in the Nordic Industrial Fund project “LCA: Mark och Geografi” (Land and Geography).

The project comprised the following subprojects:

Subproject 1. Review of criteria and indicators used for estimating environmental conditions and land use (Alvarado et al 2002).

Subproject 2. Development of indicators for relating land use to changes in biodiversity.

Subproject 3. Development of other indicators for sustainable development.

Subproject 4. Development of indicators for material and energy flows in forestry.

Subproject 5. Case study based on results from subprojects 2 and 4.

The following research institutes participated in the project:

• KCL (the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute), Finland

• Metsäteho, Finland

• SkogForsk, Sweden

• STFI (the Swedish Pulp and Paper Research Institute), Sweden

The project is financed by the Nordic Industrial Fund and the industries supporting the participating institutes.

The authors wish to thank the following for their contribution to the project:

Subproject 3:

Virpi Nieminen, KCL Tomi-Pekka Haapiainen, KCL

Subproject 4:

Jari Hynynen, Finnish Forest Research Institute Risto Ranta, Forestry Development Centre Tapio Seppo Kellomäki, University of Joensuu Sari Pitkänen, University of Joensuu Markus Strandström, Metsäteho



Contents Page

1 Summary 1

2 Introduction 2

3 Objectives 5

4 Material and energy flow indicators of wood raw material production for LCA of forest products 6

4.1 Introduction 6 4.2 Problem approach 6 4.3 Practical assessment 8 4.4 Results 9

5 Biodiversity indicators describing changes in land use 11 5.1 Introduction 11 5.2 Problem approach 11 5.3 Practical assessment 12

6 Socioeconomic indicators for sustainable development within the forest cluster 15

6.1 Introduction 15 6.2 Problem approach 15 6.3 Practical assessment 16

7 Energy use in forestry operations and its impacts on land use 21

7.1 Introduction 21 7.2 Problem approach 21 7.3 Practical assessment 22

8 Discussion on development aspects 23 8.1 Development of better functioning indicators for LCA of forest

products 23 8.1.1 Data collection methods and statistics of the environmental

reporting within the forestry sector 23 8.1.2 Forestry LCI and the associated modelling 23 8.2 Development of biodiversity indicators 24 8.3 Development of socio-economic indicators 25 8.4 Development of energy use in forestry as indicator 3

9 Abbreviations 4



10 References 5

STFI Database information 6

Appendix 1 Material and energy flow indicators of wood raw material production for LCA of forest products

Appendix 2 Forest landscape profiles − a tool for evaluation of land use in forestry (Executive summary in English) Skogslandskapsprofil – verktyg för bedömning av skogsbrukets markanvändning (In Swedish)

Appendix 3 Socioeconomic indicators for sustainable development within the forest cluster

Appendix 4 Contemporary energy use in forestry 1972-1997 and impacts on land use − a life-cycle approach

1 Summary Land use and forestry aspects in LCA (life cycle assessment) are a complicated issue because of the dynamic nature of the forest. Finding a suitable set of indicators able to describe the changes in the forest is difficult, due to this dynamic feature and also to a lack of data. Modeling carbon, nutrients and energy flows offers a solution that incorporates forestry operations and forest growth in a life-cycle inventory without using specific indicators. Modeling is under development, especially regarding carbon and nitrogen, but there is a lack of data describing other nutrient flows in the forest. However, this approach has not yet been applied to LCA. For biodiversity, landscape-related indicators are suggested. Monitoring systems for forest operations are the most important source of suitable data, and they are also a relevant way of following the development of these indicators in a repeatable way. Indicators describing social and economic values for Sustainable Forest Management, do not seem generally applicable to LCA calculations without further developments in LCA methodology. However, some of the forestry-specific indicators can be used in Corporate Sustainability Reporting. Data describing these indicators are of good quality and easy to find in public statistics in Finland, Sweden and Norway.


2 Land use in ecobalance and LCA of forest products

2 Introduction The commitment to sustainable development given by the member countries of the UN, together with the Kyoto Protocol, has raised the profile of matters concerning the sustainable use of natural resources, not only among communities at large but also in the deliberations of decision-makers in the world of commerce. The national requirements for nature conservation are embodied in legislation and directives. Similarly, under the ISO 14000 series of environmental-management standards, environmental issues and thus conservation are made an integral part of the management system of an organization. Yet another situation has arisen in the forestry sector, in that players even in remote markets are showing an interest in the way that the Nordic countries are managing such issues.

Forest-certification schemes, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Pan-European Forest Certification scheme (PEFC), are instruments for demonstrating to the market that forestry is being practiced with due consideration to conservation and the environment. Other approaches include life-cycle assessment (LCA), whereby the focus is on the product rather than on the tract in which it was grown.

An important aspect of environmental management is the documentation of all improvements, which means that organizations are obliged to keep their data both up to date and of a satisfactory quality.

In markets where the consumers are environmentally aware, products that do not carry relevant environmental information are, to an increasing extent, being rejected. Investment decisions are influenced by the way in which consumers perceive the products in a given sector; but it is also true that documentation of conservation work frequently results in thrifty management and the sustainable use of resources, which, in time, tends to secure a greater return on the invested capital.

So there is a clear need among players on the market – players that, in truth, are not really conversant with forestry – to have access to information that is readily comprehensible, relevant to the issue, generally available through the normal channels for obtaining official statistics, and reliable. This report describes procedures that can be based on public data, enabling individuals to monitor material flows, social values and biodiversity.

Different forms of land use influence biodiversity, the productivity of the soil, and aesthetic, cultural and recreational values. The resulting impact may be permanent, transitory or latent. For this reason, any assessment of the impact of land use (e.g. forestry, farming, industrial) should take into account the duration of the effect and the intensity of the damage or disruption caused. Even the type of production or exploitation is relevant; it can be assumed that the extraction of renewable raw materials is more sustainable than that of other raw materials that lead to the destruction of,

or a change in, the natural ecology, such as mining, quarrying, or the construction of roads or buildings.

Since the middle of the 1990’s, a global discussion is being held how to assess the environmental impacts of forest management. Plenty of research has been performed in order to find suitable indicators to describe the changes caused by land use. The importance of different land-use indicators and how they are emphasized varies between countries. At the moment, the focus is no longer merely on environmental impacts from forestry. A more holistic view including economic and social aspects and their relationship to environmental impacts is emerging.

From an industrial point of view, land-use topics are essential for the forest products industry since its raw material is wood. There is a need for indicators that describe changes caused by different forestry operations and indicators that describe which environmental or socioeconomic impact these changes lead to.

The question of land use has been discussed much in LCA methodology. Originally, LCA was used as a tool to describe material flows, but efforts have been made to include land use in LCA, mainly by impact analysis. In method development, land use has been established as an impact category, albeit not yet used. In inventory, current LCA theories stress the importance of making a clear distinction between land use change and land occupation. Forestry land use, however, does not seem to comply with the division presented; it does not easily fit into either category. Another complication is that too simple an inventory is unable to depict the relevant carbon and nutrient flows in the forest, and does not take into account the dynamic nature of the forest and differences in forest practices. This leads to a system lacking in integrity.

There are numerous projects under way on the development of indicators for use in the evaluation of land use. In Europe, for example, efforts are being made to develop methods for assessing land use within LCA, the two principal projects being COST E9 LCA of Forestry and Forest Products and the SETAC LCA working group on Resources and Land Use. A number of projects on the development of indicators for biodiversity are also in progress in the biological sector, examples of which are BEAR, which is a European collaboration, and BORNET, which is a collaboration involving Sweden, Finland and Canada (Angelstam et al 1999). Similar tools have been developed in the forestry sector, such as the Pan-European criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in 1998.

The use of indicators has been investigated in COST Action E9, Forestry and Forest Products (Schweinle et al 2002). These authors generally recommend a set of indicators divided into three types: generally applicable indicators, additional indicators specific to forestry, and indicators that do not presently fit into LCA. With regard to forestry-specific indicators and



their use in LCA calculations, forestry was seen as a part of the whole production chain and a forestry indicators should therefore be compatible with LCA methodology in general. However, because of the cross-sectoral needs in LCA calculations, choosing indicators for forestry use should not be oversimplified. The most important feature for a forestry indicator is its ability to measure the impacts of actions that are directed to the land and/or to the forest. Relevant and available data are a prerequisite for using these indicators in LCA. Different interactions in the forest may lead to decreasing land quality but, with some species, the effect can also be positive. A competent indicator set is capable of measuring these different aspects.

3 Objectives The goal of the project was to find suitable indicators for forest land use and to harmonize the assessment of forest land use in LCA calculations in the Nordic countries. The work has been performed by experts in forest management, life-cycle assessment and forest industry in the Nordic countries. Results from COST Action E9 (see chapter 2) have been utilized.

Initially, existing land-use methods were evaluated (Alvarado et al 2002). It was noticed that many of the methods reviewed aimed at measuring level rather than change, whereas in forestry development it would be essential to measure change. The results of the literature review raised the following questions:

1. How to define energy and material flow indicators of wood raw material production and include them in LCA.

2. How to deal with biodiversity and find usable indicators for describing the dynamics of nature and regional aspects.

3. How to include socio-economic indicators of forestry in LCA.

In the following, our approaches to these questions, as well as the results, are summarized. More detailed reports are attached as appendices.



4 Material and energy flow indicators of wood raw material production for LCA of forest products

4.1 Introduction The goal of the task was to develop serviceable indicators for determining the levels and changes in energy and material flows brought about by wood raw material acquisition.

Modelling in the inventory phase was found to be an indispensable tool in handling forestry in LCA.

Different options in handling time in the modelling of wood production were considered. An order of operations where forest regeneration is considered as a result of logging was adopted as conforming with the purpose of LCA.

The prospect for sophisticated ecosystem-oriented modelling, with the possibility to calculate versatile material-flow indicators, was discussed. A simplified modelling approach focusing on future wood production at the logging sites was found practicable. Indicators of wood production potential, with the decrease to be expected because of possible deviations from the optimum in logging and the consequent silvicultural operations, were proposed and demonstrated. In the context of LCA, they can be used in LCIA (life-cycle-impact assessment) as indicators of future biomass production of the product system, and also in the calculation of indicators of carbon flux from the atmosphere to the forest.

A more detailed report is attached as Appendix 1.

4.2 Problem approach LCA is basically a time-unspecific method, handling the unit processes of a product system without fixing the analysis on events explicitly located in place and time. In LCA of forest products, the totally different rate of the process of wood production compared to that of logging and transportation created a problem. The full environmental impacts of raw material extraction appear only gradually, and the process must be investigated on a decade-long time scale.

LCI (life cycle inventory) and LCIA, with their present notions in LCA development, do not comply very well with forestry in reality.

Defining forestry in LCI by the terms land occupation and land-use change, considered to be a matter of elemental importance, meets with difficulties. Forestry is under a continual development that is very rapid compared to the rate of wood production as a process. The terms imply that the environmental impacts could be static and compiled by direct observation,

but this is not the case. The overall situation of a forest is that it is a product of former forestry practices and intensities.

Regarding LCIA, it has been proposed that land use should be dealt with by its own specific impact category, divided into the subcategories “increase in land competition”, “degradation of life support functions”, and “biodiversity degradation”. However, by using proper modelling where wood production is included in the product system parallel with logging and transportation, many features of what is generally addressed as “land use” can be decomposed into material flows to be handled in LCI. It seems that the definitions of impact categories and indicators proposed by LCA developers should still be deliberated, taking into consideration the interface between LCI and LCIA.

Because of these problems, it seemed advisable regarding the LCA of forestry and forest products to concentrate on LCI, and to try to find workable applications for it. Modelling with a capacity to handle forestry’s various processes over time, based on research, seems to be a valid approach.

Forestry, considered as an active part in the forest industry's product system, comprises logging, transportation, and wood production. Logging and transportation have a short time scale and are readily subjected to LCI, but wood production, comprising forest regeneration and wood growth, operates on a time scale of several decades. A basic decision must be made defining how the space and time issues are to be handled in the analysis.

As a starting point for the modelling of the process of wood production, the following options were chosen:

• Specific logging sites instead of a forestry region.

• An order of operations where forest regeneration is considered to be a result of logging, instead of the reverse.

It is proposed that he processes of logging and transportation be dealt with as current processes by normal inventory. The treatment of wood production as a result of logging was considered to be best in accordance with the purpose of LCA. This starting point recognises the view of sustainability in raw material use.

The ideal LCI framework for wood production was concluded to comprise the biomass production of forest ecosystems with their energy, carbon, and nutrient flows and balances. Sophisticated modelling tools using a process-based carbon balance approach were discussed. However, the advanced ecosystem approach was considered to involve too much uncertainty for LCI use at the present stage of the model development.

A simplified approach modelling wood production alone was therefore adopted. In this approach, the modelling task is to produce LCI data



relating to the wood production potential on logging sites, and the decrease to be expected because of possible deviations from the optimum in logging and the ensuing silvicultural operations. In the context of LCA, the results are meant for use in LCIA as indicators of future biomass production, and also to serve as input data suitable for the calculation of carbon flux from the atmosphere to the forestry system. An established forest-stand simulator based on empirical growth models used for forest planning and forestry data meets this modelling task.

4.3 Practical assessment In defining the indicators, the fellings are chosen as analysis targets. They are classified and analysed as follows:

- Regeneration felling: potential wood production during the rotation succeeding the felling and the decrease due to possible shortcomings in regeneration.

- First thinning: potential wood production during the remainder of the rotation succeeding felling, and the decrease due to possible shortcomings in standing crop density.

- Other thinnings: potential wood production during the remainder of the rotation.

Since they are the most critical operations for the productivity of forests, special attention has been paid to final fellings with subsequent regeneration and first commercial thinnings. Later thinnings were left out of the calculations, because fellings at that stage of stand development do not greatly affect the future growth.

It is proposed that stand developments succeeded by these operations to be modelled to the end of the rotation, on the hypothesis that the operations in the later phases are properly performed. Modelling calls for data relating to fellings and forest regeneration.

It is proposed that the approach is realised by the following procedure:

i) In regeneration felling

- Specify the types of regeneration areas resulting from final fellings that serve as raw-material sources for different forest products industries.

- Select the regeneration areas accordingly from the database.

- Calculate the wood production potential over the subsequent rotation time and the decrease due to the actual state of the forest regeneration areas.

ii) In first thinning

- Specify the types of stands at first thinnings that serve as raw-material sources for different forest products industries.

- Select the logging sites accordingly from the database.

- Calculate the wood production potential over the remaining rotation time and the decrease due to the actual state of the forests.

iii) In other thinnings

- Specify the types of stands at other thinnings that serve as raw material sources for different forest products industries.

- Select the logging sites accordingly from the database.

- Calculate the wood production potential over the remaining rotation time.

iv) Calculate the results from the different fellings per logged unit

4.4 Results The assessment of the proposed indicators by modelling was tested as a case study with data from the Forestry Centre of Central Finland. The simulations were performed at the Finnish Forest Products Research Institute by a stand-simulation tool under development, involving up-to-date knowledge of growth and yield research performed by the institute.

Survey data from the monitoring of forest regeneration and thinning operations were used in the case study. The monitoring serves supervision purposes and the data are collected annually by the Forestry Centres, covering 2 - 3 per cent of regeneration areas and 3 - 5 per cent of thinning fellings. To obtain more data for the analysis it was decided to combine the measurements made in the years 1998 – 2001.

The case study showed that the data collected by regional forest authorities could basically be used for the regional and industry-specific assessment of indicators of the productivity of forests.

Some development aspects were noted. A general problem is the limited amount of data, if the model is applied on a scale covering only one region. The amounts of data on first thinnings and forest regeneration were low, even though data for four years were used. Only the most common conditions and the most common raw material uses could be dealt with. Moreover, the present forest regeneration data involve problems concerning the selection of those objects that should be fixed in LCA studies.

Applying a stand simulator to stands at an early development phase involves a problem ensuing from the data source. A procedure for estimating



the emergence of natural seedlings in the later phase should be developed based on research.

In Sweden and Norway, authorities collect − through annual measurements − data that are similar to that used in the demonstration. However, only data relating to forest regeneration are collected. The monitoring systems are used for versatile analyses concerning the regeneration fellings and subsequent operations, and it seems that they could also be used for assessing the kinds of indicators proposed. The Swedish and Norwegian data sources have the advantage that all the regeneration areas are sampled in a statistically competent way and represent a certain cutting year. In the Norwegian data, the stands are younger than in the Finnish and Swedish data, which means that the calculation results are more uncertain.

5 Biodiversity indicators describing changes in land use

5.1 Introduction The findings from the literature review (Alvarado et al 2002) were that none of the methods could meet the criteria that the project group had specified for determining land use as a basis for LCA. The main weakness was the way in which the impact on biodiversity was evaluated by the individual methods. The impact on flora and fauna is a very complex area, given that the ecosystem is changed both by the dynamics of the forest ecosystem itself and by outside influences. Another problem was that the methods were not based on quantitative, i.e. numerical, data. The standards on LCA (ISO 14040–43) state that LCA is a quantitative method for identifying objectively the environmental impact of a process (Anonymous 1998a).

A more detailed report is attached as Appendix 2.

5.2 Problem approach The purpose of the study was to produce indicators for the impact of land use on biodiversity in a forest or woodland landscape. Based on earlier method development in this particular area, the main problems in assessing these biodiversity indicators were:

• Oversimplification of biodiversity: the impact on flora and fauna is a very complex area, and changes in the ecosystem are caused both by the dynamics of the forest ecosystem itself and by outside influences.

• Data are generally not of a quantitative, numerical type. In order to include biodiversity as a part of life-cycle assessment, the standards on LCA (ISO 14040–43) state that LCA is a quantitative method for identifying objectively the environmental impact of a process.

• What would be a comprehensive and reproducible way to describe changes in biodiversity, influenced by forest practice, and which have occurred in a forest landscape during a given period of time?

Several case studies were carried out in Finland, Norway and Sweden to find out whether the same types of indicators could be used in all three countries, taking into account the available information and the differences in physical geography. The purpose was not to compare the impact of land use on the three forest landscapes but to present an example of how the approach can be used to assess land use and its impact on biodiversity.



5.3 Practical assessment A simplified form of gap analysis was conducted at the landscape level to determine whether a number of indicators could be used to reflect land use in forestry. Gap analysis uses critical threshold values for the survival of species. The analysis was based on the current composition of the woodland in the landscape and comparisons were made with the criteria specified in forest-certification standards, the various environmental threshold values used by the authorities, and the habitat requirements of the selected (umbrella) species. An umbrella species is defined as “a species that has such high requirements in terms of habitat, area and freedom from disruptive events that, if that species is protected, the same habitat will be capable of supporting many other species”. It is therefore a discriminating species that may serve as an umbrella species in a given landscape.

Known natural elements of a forest were in this study selected as missing or gap qualities; these are forest structures (wetland, hardwood and old-growth forest) that may have been reduced by an intensive clear-cutting regime:

• Down woody debris (DWD)

• Old coarse trees

• Old-growth stands

• Hardwood-dominated stands

To give an example of the method, three forest landscapes in Finland, Norway and Sweden were compared with respect to the criteria relating to the endangered (red-listed) white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) and the hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia). The compositions of the woodland in the three forest landscapes studied are illustrated in Figures 1-3.

0%

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2 10 20 30 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 160+ Age class

Area

Hardwood Mixed Mixed softwood

Spruce Pine

Figure 1. Trees-species and age-class distribution in Dalarna, Sweden 1999 (Anonymous 2002)

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Figure 2. Trees-species and age-class distribution in Hedmark, 1995 (Tomter, 2001)

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Figure 3. Trees-species and age-class distribution in Södra Österbotten, Finland 1998 (Anonymous 1998)



The balance between tree species and age class can be compared visually in Figure 4, which refers to a forest area in Norway that is considered to offer a favourable habitat for the white-backed woodpecker.

0% 5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

10 30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 Age class

Area (%)

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Figure 4. Trees-species and age-class distribution in natural forest in west Norway that satisfies the habitat requirements of the white-backed woodpecker (Angelstam and Mikusinski, 2001)

The present study includes only two species, but, with improved knowledge, multiple species within different groups could be used. A possible development would be to include a larger group of umbrella species, in which each species would represent a given habitat, such as a succession stage or a set of specific qualities. Thus, a group of species representing a landscape area or a disturbance regime could be included in a set. It is also vital that forestry activity be adapted to the natural conditions existing in each region.

With the aid of proposed indicators and simple charts, the changes in forest landscape can be followed over time. In this way, forest enterprises can demonstrate how well goals are accomplished to a market that is sensitive to environmental issues.

6 Socio-economic indicators for sustainable development within the forest cluster

6.1 Introduction Companies improve their business performance by measuring and reporting not only financial, but also non-financial indicators, which relate to issues such as health, safety, social responsibility and environmental management. In practice, this means broadening the environmental reporting towards sustainability reporting. Guidelines are already available for reporting social, economic and environmental performance, and socio-economic indicators are under development in different branches of industry. Socio-economic indicators are also seen as an essential part of Life-Cycle Management. There is clearly a need to include economic values and social indicators in LCA; indicators that can be incorporated easily into LCA software.

In the forestry sector, socio-economic indicators have been introduced in a study of criteria for sustainable forest management in Finland (Anonymous 2000a). The socio-economic indicators reviewed in the present work are from that investigation. The report suggests criteria and indicators for the forest cluster. In the present work, data from Norway, Sweden and Finland were collected from public statistics and legislation. Data availability and the suitability of the data for the suggested socio-economic indicators in LCA or environmental reporting are discussed.

6.2 Problem approach There are several socio-economic indicators, both descriptive and quantitative, to measure the development and importance of the different activities in the forest cluster. The forest cluster includes forestry, the forest products industry, the production of machinery and equipment for these sectors, the printing industry and furniture production, as well as research and education in these trades. Socio-economic indicators are an essential part of Corporate Sustainability Reporting, and they are also included in Life-Cycle Management thinking. Some attempts have been made to include them in direct LCA calculation. In this study, forestry-specific indicators were reviewed with data from the Nordic countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden) in order to assess the data availability. Whether and how this type of indicator could be utilized for industry purposes and/or in LCA is also discussed. Comparisons between different countries were not included in the work.

The socio-economic indicators for forestry reviewed in this report are mainly based on Criterion 6 in “Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest management in Finland” (Anonymous 2000a). The report suggests six



criteria and 20 indicators for the forest cluster. The six criteria are the following:

1. Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles.

2. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality.

3. Maintenance and encouragement of productive (wood and non-wood) functions of forests.

4. Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological diversity in forest ecosystems.

5. Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions in forest management (notably soil and water).

6. Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and conditions.

The sixth criterion includes 10 indicators that cover the following economical or sociological aspects:

• Preservation of economic actions in the forest sector.

• The forest sector’s share of the national and regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

• Importance of domestic and foreign trade in the forest sector.

• The forest sector’s impact on employment, education and development of income.

• Share of small and medium-sized companies.

• Social aspects of the forest work-force such as predisposition to accidents, obligation of social security payment.

• The possibilities for citizens to participate and influence.

• How the maintenance of cultural and forest diversity values is managed.

• The recreational use of forests.

6.3 Practical assessment The indicators described above are selected for specifically forestry. They handle both sociological and economic aspects from various and important points of view. Data that were found for the indicators give good background information for socio-economic issues for forest industry and for the whole forest cluster. There were differences in data availability and country-specific data modifications (how the data was expressed, what was included in the data). Nevertheless, this it can be seen that similar types of data are available from Finland, Norway and Sweden. Some data are lacking due to

the limited working time for this study, but data that were fairly easy to find from public statistics have been included.

Some indicators, such as those describing national GDP, consumption or export data on paper or forest products, or the forestry sector’s impact on employment or education, were quantitative and the data had been collected over a period of several years. Examples are presented in Figures 5 - 7. Some differences existed between the countries regarding the grouping or the calculation of the statistics. For example, the grouping of GDP data for the forest sector varied; data from Swedish sources were not divided between the different forest-sector branches as they were in Finland and Norway. Data on regional GDP in all three countries were either lacking or difficult to find. This kind of data is important for site-specific studies.

Export of forest industry. Finland 1970-1999.

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FIM

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Figure 5. Export of forest-industry products in Finland

Export of forest industry. Norway 1970-1999.

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Figure 6. Export of forest-industry products in Norway



Export of forest industry. Sweden 1980-1999.

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Figure 7. Export of forest-industry products in Sweden.

There were also differences in how the domestic consumption of wood products, paper and paperboard was assessed. In the Finnish data, domestic consumption was calculated as “domestic deliveries” minus “export of converted products” plus “import of paper”. Norwegian and Swedish data were named “Apparent consumption” and calculated by adding production to import and subtracting the export.

Similar data regarding employment were available in the three countries but the grouping of data differed in Norway and Sweden from how they were gathered in Finland. In Finland, unemployment data were divided between forestry, forest products industries, the forest sector and total unemployment. In Norway and Sweden, the unemployment rate was not divided within the forest sector (Figures 8 - 10). From these statistics, it was also unclear who were actually included in “employed” or “unemployed” persons (i.e. students for instance).

Unemployment in Finland 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

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Figure 8. Forest sector’s share of unemployment rate in Finland.

Unemployment rate in Norw ay 1972-2000.

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Figure 9. Forest sector’s share of unemployment rate in Norway.



U nemployment rate in Sw eden 1989-1999.

0.01.02.03.04.05.06.07.08.09.0

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

%

Figure 10. Forest sector’s share of unemployment rate in Sweden.

It was difficult to find data on the use of forests for recreational purposes like sports, or indicators like ‘ Predisposition to accidents’, ‘Obligation of social security payment’ or ‘Managing the possibility for citizens to participate and influence’. This type of data may be estimated by combining information from several sources. Data on cultural and forest diversity values were easily found. Descriptions of UNESCO’s World Heritages and Man and Biosphere Reserves are found on the Internet. Data on the recreational use of forests expresses the benefits of forest land use and could be used as an indicator in life-cycle assessment.

Most of the data are quantitative, updated and easily available, but the value of forestry-specified, socio-economic data is mainly as background information for forest industry LCA’s. They could also be used in environmental/sustainability reporting. Method development regarding socio-economic indicators has lately been concentrated on describing the causal links of the indicators with environmental issues, using balanced scorecard-type expression or indicators like those used in the Global Reporting Initiative (Anonymous 2002b).

7 Energy use in forestry operations and its impact on land use

7.1 Introduction The purpose of this study was to compare fully mechanised forest operations in Sweden at the end of the 1990´s with the situation in the early 1970´s.

Important aspects of timber production are the long production period and the many actions to be taken in the management. The production process includes several silvicultural measures that are performed during the lifetime of a tree or stand, starting with stand establishment, tending, thinning and final cutting. It is more or less impossible to evaluate the actual actions that have taken place for a harvested cubic metre of timber today; instead a modelling approach can be used.

The forest landscape can be looked upon as an entity that transforms carbon dioxide and water into glucose (timber) with the aid of biological processes and energy from the sun, and with oxygen and water as emissions. Timber is brought out of the forest with the aid of forest management; the inflow of energy results in harvested timber and emissions from the use of energy, predominantly fossil in origin. With this approach, all historic actions are regarded as equal to present-day actions, in terms of energy use.

The issue here is to evaluate the flows of energy from forestry operations compared to natural processes.

7.2 Problem approach Present (1997) and previous (1972) forest operations systems in forestry and secondary transport in Sweden are compared with regard to energy use and environmental impacts The study is performed with an LCA-approach. The results are related to the functional unit (reference flow) “one cubic metre solid wood inside bark (m3 solid i.b) delivered to the mill”. It is a comparison over time but also between different technological systems, as the forestry in the 1970´s was mainly motor-manual with traits of early harvesting mechanisation. The systems were evaluated by the assessment of:

• Energy use in the forestry systems.

• Potential impact from the impact categories Acidification, Eutrophication, Climate Change and Photo-oxidant formation.



7.3 Practical assessment The case study shows that forest operations in Sweden use about 140 to 240 MJ per harvested cubic metre. Regardless of the degree of mechanisation and of the point in time, the fossil-fuel use was around 200 MJ per m3 solid i.b. There are variations in time, depending on technological and operational changes between 1972 and 1997, and also between different regions. The results indicate that the technological system for forest operations and transport uses small amounts of energy compared to the natural influx of solar energy. Most of the energy used is fossil fuel, which causes some adverse environmental impacts. Modern technology in forestry has reduced the environmental load from forest operations on forest land for regional and local impact categories such as Acidification, Eutrophication (up to 50%) and Photo-oxidant formation (more than 50%). No such reduction is evident concerning the contribution to global warming (Figure 11). An anticipated increase in tree biomass because of forestry and timber production is deemed to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions related to forestry operations and also for some other emissions from human activities.

0

5

10

15

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NorthernSweden, 1997

CentralSweden, 1997

SouthernSweden, 1997

Large-scalemechanical,

1972

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manual, 1972

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manual, 1972

kg G

WP10

0 /m3 so

lid i.

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Seedling production Silviculture & Logging Secondary trp

Figure 11. Characterization results for Climate Change.

8 Discussion on development aspects

8.1 Development of better functioning indicators for LCA of forest products

8.1.1 Data collection methods and statistics of the environmental reporting within the forestry sector

Environmental information is collected by forestry organisations to satisfy the needs of their own development work, of interest groups, and of authorities. The information needs of the organisations’ environmental management systems and forest certification systems form an important use, and updating the systems means rethinking the contents and usability of the information. Environmental-performance efficiency involving material aspects can mainly be dealt with using the existing data systems, but the state of biodiversity is a problematic issue.

In the field of criteria and indicators of sustainable forestry there are several ongoing projects in Finland, e.g:

• Updating of the Criteria and Indicators (Anonymous 2000)

• The FFSC forest certification system

• Follow-up of the national forest programme

• Development of environmental reporting of regional Forestry Centres

• A follow-up system on sustainable forestry, financed by EU-Life

Some of the projects are international, and the situation is similar in other Nordic countries.

Some criteria/indicator development projects have rather wide frameworks, dealing with conceptual schemes, data collection, administration, and communication. The needs of LCA should be remembered in this development.

8.1.2 Forestry LCI and the associated modelling The issue of land use is a key interest in LCA methodology development. So far, the development has been focused mainly on LCIA. The LCA template as a whole, including the roles of goal and scope definition, the boundaries of the product system, and LCI, has not been discussed in this connection. The current notion of LCI and LCIA thus seems unable to deal with renewable, managed natural resources.



It seems further that the proposed definitions of impact categories and indicators should still be thought over, taking into consideration the interface between LCI and LCIA. Important points are:

• what can be calculated in LCI

• what should be required of the results to assure the semantic integrity and modularity of the whole structure

• utilisation of available information on relevant points related to renewable natural resources as a raw material.

The development of forestry LCI contains two aspects: the models themselves and the data collection. The ecosystem approach using sophisticated modelling that can produce direct results of the ecosystem’s material flows and balances will still demand much work in modelling as well as in data collection. The traditional modelling can, however, analyse regional carbon flows into wood, following from forestry operations specific to the management system applied.

Data for modelling forestry’s material issues can be found in published statistics, in operative information systems of planning and follow-up of wood procurement, and monitoring systems of forestry operations of authorities. To improve the data situation, the description of the silvicultural state of the stand and site conditions in logging information systems seems impractical. Instead, current monitoring systems on forestry operations and regeneration could be further developed into a sampling system useful in LCA.

8.2 Development of biodiversity indicators Biodiversity indicators are recommended to be used only within one specific area in order to identify relevant changes in the landscape. The set of indicators presented in Appendix 2 are not deemed to be suitable for comparison between different areas. Nowadays, data are often recorded and aggregated at several administrative levels. Modern information technology ought to make feasible a sharper presentation of indicators for areas that are relevant to forest or forest industry operations.

Developments in the landscape can thus be monitored over time. When land use has been included as an important conservation factor, organizations that have been certified against ISO 14001 are also bound to demonstrate a continuous improvement both in usage and in the monitoring system itself. The impact on the landscape must be recorded and the quality of the monitoring system must be assured. If this method were developed further and the recommended monitoring were undertaken, it would also be possible to use the method in LCA, by creating a link between the value of the changes and the land use, using a relative scale (better/worse).

A further benefit of this approach is the collaboration that will be necessary among the different players in compiling threshold values, stand data and the host of indicators or qualities existing in the landscape. This, in turn, will lead to a dialogue among all the interested parties and, in all probability, also to improved forestry practice and a greater mutual understanding. The forest-landscape profile will then function as a tool for adapting forest management to the range of interests involved. A quality-assured performance in respect of conservation can be linked to the economics economies of the landowners and the region, and the efforts made to preserve social values will be transparent. Similarly, tangible evidence of the conservation objective will be available to interested parties and also, through the statistics published by the authorities, to the general public as well. Thus will the forest-landscape profile become a crucial element in public participation.

8.3 Development of socio-economic indicators In Life-Cycle Management, the key issue regarding social indicators is how to include and quantify social influences into the value chain. In addition, social issues should be seen as site-specific, not as consistent differences. When developing applicable, quantitative socio-economic indicators for LCA calculation, suitable product and site-specific indicators together with their units of measurements should be harmonized. These indicators could be based on the Global Reporting Initiative or on other relevant indicators. As a conclusion, the type of socio-economic indicators in LCA expressed in the Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (see chapter 6), cannot be seen to begenerally applicable in direct LCA calculations without further development in LCA methodology.

Data, which include economic aspects could be usable and modified in such LCA calculations where costs have been taken into account. Recreational aspects or data on employment are applicable when describing social impacts. However, more development work is needed to create a framework for life-cycle inventory on social influences, or furthermore to use these indicators in life-cycle impact assessment

Within the present study, a short review was made of companies’ environmental or sustainability reporting, in order to see how different companies actually use socio-economic indicators in their reporting. Method development in socio-economic indicators is at the moment concentrated on describing the causal links of these indicators with environmental issues by using balanced scorecard-type expressions or indicators. Guidelines are available for reporting social, economic and environmental performance and for instance, according to Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (Anonymous 2002b), the following aspects should be reported:

26

According to STFI's Confidentiality Policy this report is assigned category 1 Land use in ecobalance and LCA of forest products

• Social performance: workplace issues, human rights, suppliers, products and services

• Economic performance: profit, investments, wages and benefits, labour productivity, taxes, community development, suppliers, products and services. Economic performance as indicators of economic value-added and wealth issues are still under development within GRI.

• Environmental performance: energy, materials, water, emissions, effluents, waste, transport, suppliers, products, services, land-use, biodiversity, compliance

The intention of the review was to investigate how socio-economic indicators are taken into account from a forestry point of view (if the report was prepared by forestry-related industry) and, furthermore, how the new parameters concerning social performance are included.



Table 1 Sustainability reporting from a socio-economic point of view in some companies in 2001 (Norske Skog 2000). Company Status of the report Social aspects Socio-economic forestry indicators

UPM-Kymmene

Environmental report including modified GRI reporting; Sustainability report coming in 2003

Ethical principles, health and educational issues in general, sustainability indicators under development. Activities with interest groups expressed.

Maintaining Verla Ground Wood and Board Mill (in UNESCO World Heritage list) and other similar activities specified. Activities in contributing areas for natural parks and nature reserve areas specified. Educational activities in environmental and forestry issues. Introduction on recreational values of forests in different countries.

Stora Enso Report on environment and resources. Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility listed in Annual Report.

Environmental management status (EMAS, ISO 14001) of suppliers. Principles for social responsibility include issues like diversity, child labour and working hours. These indicators are developed further.

Environmental research and educational issues specified. Actions for mapping natural values in forests and participating WWF forest projects are specified. Development work with national forestry indicators.

Norske Skog Environmental report Operations on social aspects are reported. Theme under further development

On a general level

M-real Sustainability report including environmental financial information

Well-being issues in corporate level are reported as well as environmental management status of suppliers.

On a general level. Country-specific deliveries of certified wood are listed.

Wärtsilä Sustainability Report based on GRI Training days, injuries and absence rate reported, customer satisfaction index, environmental management status of suppliers. Corporate-level definitions for occupational health and safety indicators are under preparation

Not forest industry related

Fortum Sustainability Report Occupational health care is specified. Support on research, culture and sport is reported. Corporate EHS (Environmental, Health and Safety) programme

Not forest industry related

Kesko Sustainability Report based on GRI GRI indicators Not forest industry related

Nokia Sustainability Report based on GRI GRI indicators Not forest industry related

SCA Annual Report, including issues on environmental and social responsibility

Ethics, health and educational issues in general in general level

8.4 Development of energy use in forestry as indicator Forestry’s contribution to climate change has entered the international agenda, due to the Kyoto process. Results from the case study (see chapter 7) show that the fossil fuels used in forestry operations give environmental impacts that are related to the land use and to the global warming. The energy use per cubic meter wood seems to be stable, and the environmental impact caused by emissions can be reduced through technical development or management.

As a result of forestry there is an annual growth of wood that, together with soil processes, sequesters certain amounts of carbon. This means that forestry actually can reduce the global warming. The size of this impact is unclear and should be further studied by including impacts from forestry operations.

ISO Technical Committee 207 deals with Climate Change issues. The purpose of the work is to develop a standard within the ISO 1400 Family of standards. At present the work within the task force is directed towards finding methods and models for measuring, reporting and verifying mitigation of greenhouse gases; also the effects of sinks. The standard should be applicable for entities, e.g. an industrial site, or projects, e.g. forest plantation.



9 Abbreviations

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GRI Global Reporting Initiative

GWP Global warming potential

i.b. Inside bark

LCA Life cycle assessment

LCI Life cycle inventory

LCIA Life cycle impact assessment

m3 solid i.b Cubic metre solid wood inside bark

10 References Alvarado F, Backlund B, Berg S, Hohenthal C, Kaila S, Lindholm E-L, Wessman H Evaluation of land-use-oriented LCA methods and associated indicators SCAN-Forsk rapport 739, STFI, 2002 Angelstam P, Gromtsev A, Niemelä J Monitoring and assessment of biodiversity in boreal forest (BORNET) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Grimsö, 1999 Angelstam P, Mikusinski G Hur mycket skog kräver mångfalden? En svensk bristanalys Världsnaturfonden (WWF), 2001 (In Swedish) Anonymous 1998a Environmental management – Life cycle assessment-Principles and framework (SS-EN ISO 14040:1997) Swedish Standards Institution, 1998. Anonymous 1998b Metsäntutkimuslaitos, Metsävarat Etelä-Pohjanmaa, Metsätieteen aikakauskirja 2B/1998, Folia Forestalia, ISSN 1455-2515, 1998 (In Finnish) Anonymous 2000 Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest management in Finland, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland, 2000 Anonymous 2002a National Forest Survey (Riksskogstaxeringen) 2002, Kopparbergs län 1996–2000. Arealen fördelad på beståndstyper och beståndsåldrar i 1 000-tals hektar samt volym död ved per hektar skogsmark. http://www.riksskogstaxeringen.slu.se (2002-03-20) (In Swedish) Anonymous 2002b Global Reporting Initiative. (http://www.globalreporting.org) 2002 Schweinle J (ed.), Doka G, Hillier W, Kaila S, Köllner T, Kreissig J, Muys B, Quijano J-G, Salpakivi-Salomaa P, Schweinle J, Swan G, Wessman H The Assessment of Environmental Impacts caused by Land Use in the Life Cycle Assessment of Forestry and Forest Products - Final Report Working Group 2 “Land use” of COST Action E9 Mitteilung der Bundesforschungsanstalt für Forst- und Holzwirtschaft Nr. 209, Hamburg, 2002 Tomter S. Data Ålder- Antal – Beståndstyp Hedmark 1995 samt Treantal på produktiv skogmark fordelt på diameterklasser og treslag Hedmark 1989. Personal communication, [email protected], NIJOS 2001,

http://www.globalreporting.org/



STFI Database information

Title Land use in ecobalance and LCA of forest products

Author(s) Wessman H (editor); Alvarado F, Backlund B, Berg S, Hohenthal C, Kaila S, Lindholm E-L

Abstract Land use and forestry aspects in LCA (life cycle assessment) are a complicated issue because of the dynamic nature of the forest. Finding a suitable set of indicators able to describe the changes in the forest is difficult, due to this dynamic feature and also to a lack of data. Modeling carbon, nutrients and energy flows offers a solution that incorporates forestry operations and forest growth in a life-cycle inventory without using specific indicators. Modeling is under development, especially regarding carbon and nitrogen, but there is a lack of data describing other nutrient flows in the forest. However, this approach has not yet been applied to LCA. For biodiversity, landscape-related indicators are suggested. Monitoring systems for forest operations are the most important source of suitable data, and they are also a relevant way of following the development of these indicators in a repeatable way. Indicators describing social and economic values for Sustainable Forest Management, do not seem generally applicable to LCA calculations without further developments in LCA methodology. However, some of the forestry-specific indicators can be used in Corporate Sustainability Reporting. Data describing these indicators are of good quality and easy to find in public statistics in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Keywords LCA, life cycle analysis, inventory, environmental effect, environmental assessment, land, forest management, certification, energy consumption, model, forestry, method, sustainable development

Classification

Type of publication SCAN-Forsk

Report number

Publication year 2002

Language English

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