Engineered wood expert witnesses may opine on wood manufacturing, building materials, engineered wood, and more. In Green Building and Life Cycle Assessment, APA-The Engineered Wood Association writes:
What makes a building program green? The complexity of modern products makes it difficult to measure sustainability. In scientific circles, life cycle assessment (LCA) is emerging as the accepted way to determine the true environmental impact of any product. A measurement from “cradle to grave” of the product, including raw material extraction, manufacture, distribution, use, maintenance, and destruction, LCA examines pollution, human health, and energy efficiency over the lifespan of the product. This eliminates biased rankings that occur in an evaluation of a product based on one criterion. Because LCA examines the entire picture of a material’s impact, it is an objective means to determine environmental impact and thus a focal point for accurately measuring green building attributes. Download the Wood Promotion Network’s Wood and Green Building fact sheet, The Role of Life Cycle Assessment, for more information.