Wood, wood, wood - we love wood! There are so many benefits to using wood, and here at Postsaver, we are big advocates of timber fencing products. Whether you enjoy the aesthetics that frame your garden, the ease of use from an installation point of view, or you're environmentally conscious; it's an excellent material for reducing your carbon footprint and doing your part for the planet.
In our current era, we face several critical environmental challenges. Identifying areas in which we can minimise our impact on the environment is fundamental to our ecological success. As post producers, fencing contractors and homeowners alike, we all have a part to play in minimising our carbon footprint for the benefit of the planet. It has long been known that wooden fencing provides more than just pleasing aesthetics.
Wood has been known for its environmental benefits for some time now. As a natural material, it can be produced sustainably with minimal processing impacts, and at the end of its life cycle, it will decompose naturally. Minimising the effects across the entire lifecycle is vital to making any material sustainable.
How are my environmental impacts minimised with wood?
To understand why wood is the most environmentally friendly fencing option, we need to consider the resources used to produce it. Unlike steel, concrete or composite, wood uses far less water in production and minimises eutrophication and fossil fuel use.
Wood also produces minimal CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison, the global steel industry as a whole is responsible for 7.2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions (ourworldindata.org). To quantify, that is an estimated 3.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year as of 2016. Global greenhouse emissions for concrete production are an estimated at 1.4 billion tonnes a year. These industries and their materials, such as concrete and steel posts, are highly damaging to the environment.
Although wooden post-production is not perfect, the trees used in production harvest CO2 over their average 40-year lifespan. When you consider that roughly half of the dry fibrous mass of wood is carbon, wooden posts strike an environmental balance by outweighing their production emissions.
Wood is a fantastic option for doing your bit for the environment, and with a Postsaver Pro-Sleeve, you're going one step further by preserving the life of your fence and minimising your use of timber.
As a manufacturer of dual-layer barrier sleeves, we aim to eradicate premature fence post-failure by offering a solution that provides a guaranteed 20-year lifespan to timber posts in contact with the ground.
By increasing the lifespan of a fence post, we're minimising future replacements, reducing the number of trees that need to be harvested, and encouraging the use of a sustainable material.
Last year, Postsaver, in partnership with our sister company Polesaver, saved 270,000 tonnes of CO2 by minimising the number of trees needing to be harvested.
As well as producing long-life fencing products, we also advocate the use of FSC-certified timber. The Forest Stewardship Council brings both economic, social and environmental benefits by implementing sustainable forestry practices. One of the most significant benefits is the increased biodiversity encouraged by their planting schemes, which see forest plantations growing rather than shrinking, alongside the natural regeneration of woodland areas.
It's simple, make sure you use timber fencing products and always look for the FSC-certified label. Don't forget to protect your timber with Postsaver products. As well as doing your bit for the environment, you can also save money in the long run by not having to replace your fence posts for at least 20 years. It's a win-win!
