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The world is changing faster than ever, and the built environment has the potential to play a critical role in climate change solutions. Between the housing availability crisis, global climate change and ambitious decarbonization goals, one thing remains clear: protecting the environment for the benefit of future generations has never been more important.
Wood construction is a sustainable solution to environmental challenges. In fact, maximizing the use of wood products in both residential and commercial construction could remove 21 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. That’s a significant positive impact from simply making a smarter and more sustainable building material choice. Building with southern pine and other wood products is a simple strategy for reducing carbon at every stage of the supply chain.
Sustainable Forest Management
As trees grow, they remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. Sustainable forest management increases carbon storage capabilities by harvesting mature trees that grow slowly and replacing them with younger trees. More softwood lumber is grown each year in the Southern United States than is harvested, making it a sustainable and reliable building material that minimizes environmental impacts.
Waste-Free Manufacturing
Producing wood products is essentially a waste-free endeavor; every part of the tree is used.
Instead of heading to the landfill, waste material like bark, trims and sawdust is used as an energy source to help power wood production facilities. Wood products also require less energy to create than other building materials, generating fewer greenhouse gasses and using less fossil fuel during the entire manufacturing process.
Decreased Transportation Costs
Domestically-harvested and processed timber incurs a fraction of the transportation costs and environmental impacts associated with imports. Traveling down the road or across the state takes far fewer resources and much less time than shipping in timber around the globe. Using locally sourced southern pine lumber simplifies the chain of custody, making it easier to trace building materials from the forest all the way to the finished product.
Carbon Sequestration
Building with wood products helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions through the carbon sequestration process. All wood products store carbon for the duration of their usable life—so everything from wood furniture to 2x4s to mass timber beams is a carbon sink, composed of approximately 50% carbon by weight.
A Trusted Resource for All Things Southern Pine
The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) represents southern pine lumber producers, and our team helps dealers boost sales with services the organization has provided since 1915. Both durable and versatile, southern pine is the natural, sustainable choice for any customer, and SFPA has abundant resources to help dealers sell more of it. Whether it’s a pocket span card or a brochure about wood preservative treatments, SFPA’s online library of resources is at the tips of your fingers.
Transform Outdoor Living Spaces with Southern Pine
Summer is fast approaching, which means outdoor living season is upon us all. Homeowners to the north can finally take advantage of the outdoor spaces southerners enjoy nearly all year round. Building outdoor living structures with southern pine creates a natural extension of any home, offering a restful, natural space to spend time with family and friends. Wood decks, pergolas and fencing add tremendous value to any home. The design opportunities are endless, and southern pine is the most cost-effective and durable solution for any outdoor living project.
Southern pine’s superior treatability makes it the preferred species when pressure treatment with wood preservatives is required. Today’s pressure-treated wood products are manufactured with preservatives that are safe for use around people, plants and pets. Pressure treatment provides long-term resistance to decay and termite attack, with no components that are considered hazardous under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Pressure-treated southern pine products are economical, sustainable and renewable—important selling points in today’s market.
SFPA is your source for detailed information about southern pine. Visit SouthernPine.com and download a free copy of Southern Pine Decks and Porches, a 12-page illustrated guide to building a safe, code-compliant deck. Check out American Wood Council’s Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide for detailed how-to guides geared to professional deck builders and handy do-it-yourselfers. In addition, SouthernPineDecks.com offers a virtual training module that covers deck and porch construction from start to finish.
Create Lasting, Flood-Protected Homes with Raised Wood Floors
In the South, concerns about flooding are always top of mind. A raised wood floor home provides homebuilding solutions for hurricane- and flood-prone areas, and durable southern pine lumber is the ideal construction material. A raised wood floor home moves the living space off the ground, isolating it from moisture and pests. Elevating a structure reduces flood insurance premiums and can enhance the home’s energy efficiency. In addition to offering flood protection by elevating the home, a raised wood floor foundation can also help manage a community’s risk of flooding in the first place. Unlike slab-fill developments that alter the natural floodplain, raised wood floor foundations do not displace rising water and support floodplain management.
SFPA’s Raised Wood Floor Foundations – Design & Construction Guide is available for free download from SouthernPine.com. This 16-page publication explains how to build to a higher standard with a raised wood floor foundation, outlining the many advantages of building a wood floor system above grade, including long-term durability and trouble-free performance.
An introductory section covers site conditions, soil prop-erties, design considerations and connections. Properly designed and constructed, a raised wood floor foundation accommodates all design loads and transfers those loads to the soil without excessive settlement.
Explore RaiseFloorLiving.com for detailed information on the advantages of building off grade for homebuyers and homebuilders. The homebuilder’s side of the website serves as a portal for building professionals, with extensive details on building raised wood floors. The homebuyer’s side explains the features and benefits of prioritizing the longevity of a home by starting with a raised wood floor.
Find More Resources at SouthernPine.com
Product Locator
Find the products you need quickly and easily. Access local dealers, distributors and manufacturers and specify size, length, grade and packaging preference for 400+ products.
Lumber Purchase Inquiry
Need to source a quantity of southern pine materials quickly? The Lumber Purchase Inquiry on the homepage of SouthernPine.com is your pathway to getting quotes from interested mills.
Board Foot Calculator
The perfect tool for dealers wanting to total up orders or the yard’s inventory.
Lumber Library Publications
Find dozens of informative pamphlets and brochures that cover a wide range of topics from sustainability to marine construction.
