In a report that was issued by Nelson Forests Ltd, Nelson details the carbon footprint of a New Zealand operations from “cradle to market”. One of the most eye opening findings is that ocean freight is 5 to 10 times more efficient than road transport in terms of carbon emissions. An example of this, a truck carting logs 900 km for instance - within NZ - would produce the same emissions as freighting the logs by sea to Asia. This coupled with NZ’s already low carbon footprint of its logging, makes NZ a top contender in terms of low carbon footprint. Using larger ships and keeping road transport from forest to port to a minimum could further lower the carbon footprint.
Programme manager of NZ Wood, Geoff Henley, says, the study shows that New Zealand plantation wood products compete well environmentally, as well as price-wise, on international markets. “This sort of information will be hugely valuable to companies selling internationally – and for the NZ Wood brand,” he says.
These finding may be of great interest to Southeast Asia where over-logging is seen as a serious environmental issue. If nations in the region could source at least some of their wood products from New Zealand, it could lessen the impact of over-logging and, at the same time, keep their carbon footprint to a minimum.
Source: Scoop.co.nz
Image: roadtransport.com
Tags: carbon footprint, emissions, logging, wood products
