Western Red Cedar is more sustainable than you think

Western Red Cedar is a popular building material due to its incredible versatility – it can be used for a variety of uses including decking, siding, fencing, construction, and more. Cedar is known for it’s beauty, durability, and consistency, but what you may not know is that it’s also the most environmentally conscious choice for your next project. Yes, in fact, cedar is sustainable. Here’s how cedar stacks up against other building materials regarding sustainability.

Cedar is a renewable resource. Canada’s forests have been harvested for over 150 years, and they remain as lush and abundant as ever. This may surprise people outside of the lumber industry, but those in the know understand that wood is the only major building material that is renewable. For example, did you know that for every Western Red Cedar that’s harvested, at least 3 are planted in its place? This has led to a 20% increase in North American forest growth since 1970! This is achieved through careful forest management. Fewer than 1% of British Columbia’s harvestable area – where most Western Red Cedar comes from –  is logged each year, and more than 85% of these forests are certified by internally recognized, independent forest certification agencies, so you can rest easy knowing that through responsible harvesting, there’s a focus on preserving our beautiful forests for the generations to come.

Cedar reduces material consumption compared to other building materials. Civilizations have used lumber to build and grow societies for centuries. From ancient temples in Japan that have stood for a thousand years, to historic wood buildings built by colonial Europeans when first coming to North America in the 16th century, there is evidence of the durability of cedar all around us.

In addition, older cedar structures aren’t just beauty to admire. When it is eventually time to move on, their wood can be reclaimed, and reused for new structures. If the cedar isn’t deemed to be recyclable, it can be discarded easily since it’s biodegradable – unlike man-made materials such as brick, cement, and composite products.

How Western Red Cedar stacks up against other building materials.

Reduced energy consumption. When taking production, manufacturing, transportation, and installation into account, cedar products require much less energy to produce than concrete or steel products in a similar context (i.e. framing). In fact, the carbon dioxide intensity of lumber production is 50% less than steel, and 25% less than cement. That’s big.

Cedar’s production also leaves no waste – 100% of harvested logs are used, from making lumber for houses and furniture, to using sawdust to produce clean energy. In addition, once installed, cedar’s natural thermal properties make it perfect for conducting heat and insulating better than steel or concrete. This directly translates to energy and financial savings when it comes to heating and cooling homes.

Cedar reduces atmospheric greenhouse gases. Cedar helps reduce greenhouse gases at every point of its lifecycle. As cedar trees grow, they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Once harvested, forests regenerate and even more trees are planted. In fact, younger forests absorb more carbon than older trees.

Since the early 1990s, Canada’s forest sector has reduced its GHG emissions by close to 70%.

During the manufacturing stage, cedar products produce far fewer toxins and greenhouse gases than the leading man-made materials. Finally, once installed, cedar products continue to store carbon until their eventual decay. Because cedar products are extremely durable and long-lasting, you won’t need to spend any energy about replacing the product for a long, long time, allowing time for forests to regrow and the cycle of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to continue

With longer lasting materials, reuse opportunities, and little-to-no maintenance required, cedar grades as the most sustainable of all building materials.