AR 2023 - AR Softwood Lumber Board 2023 Newsletter (English-Investor)

BOARD & TEAM

FINANCIALS

FEATURED PROJECTS

OPPORTUNITIES & TRENDS

2023 MTC

PARTNERSHIPS

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

SLB HIGHLIGHTS

LETTERS

Scroll to Read the Report

ANNUAL REPORT

ACCELERATING MOMENTUM

2023 HIGHLIGHTS

IN 2023 THE SLB GENERATED

BILLION BOARD FEET (BBF) OF INCREMENTAL DEMAND.

1.9

BY FACILITATING WOOD USE, PRODUCED A CARBON BENEFIT OF 5 MILLION METRIC TONS OF CO₂.

Which Is Equivalent to

NOT BURNING

27,570 rail
cars of coal.

OF EDUCATION TO ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, CONTRACTORS, AND
CODE OFFICIALS FROM SLB–FUNDED PROGRAMS.

Delivered More Than

156,300 HOURS

OF TOTAL NEW DEMAND
resulting FROM SLB
INVESTMENTS SINCE 2012.

Reached

13.7 BBF

1.39 billion

Seedlings are produced annually, or 36.8 per every MM BF Produced.

The U.S. Harvests Only

OF ITS NET
GROWTH
ANNUALLY.

ONE-
THIRD

$1 = 104 BF

of incremental demand from SLB investments.

The Average Incremental Demand is 86 BF/$1
Over the Lifetime of the SLB from 2012–2023.

adopted the IBC 2021 code provisions
in 2023 with AWC support bringing
the total states adopted to 29.

10 new states

of incremental lumber demand.

Code Adoption in Those States Represents

1.1 BBF

66% of the projects WoodWorks supports continued to be light-frame construction in 2023.

34% Used Mass Timber,
Up from 26% in 2022.

DIRECTLY CONVERTED

470

light-frame and
mass timber buildings.

1,700

INFLUENCED

projects to
choose wood

Resulting in 842 MM BF of
Incremental Lumber in 2023.

Produced

(SQLs)

352 Sales Qualified Leads

for project support or further nurturing in 2023, bringing the total number of leads produced
to 1,490 since 2019.

Think Wood and WoodWorks
Co-Nurtured Leads That Led To

Representing 73.6 MM BF.

PROJECTS breaking ground in 2023

Jerome Pelletier
Vice President | J.D. Irving
Program Chair

I'm very proud of what the team has accomplished in terms of market growth, generating 1.9 billion board feet of incremental demand in 2023. I’m particularly excited about the partnership developing between the lumber industry and the steel industry through joint projects with Constructsteel and CTBUH. Instead of fighting with the steel industry, we're building a bridge and working hard at developing areas where we can complement each other and grow market share.

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An Opportunity to Grow

Softwood Lumber Market Share

For many developers and design professionals, lumber’s sustainability story, biophilic benefits, and aesthetic appeal are key reasons to build their projects with wood. But economics are often paramount, and lumber-based building systems offer an attractive solution there as well. The SLB and our programs and initiatives are highlighting these benefits to grow market share even in declining markets to ensure that we not only reap the benefits in the short term but also transform how buildings are built in the future.

The SLB is capitalizing on the growing interest in wood construction and lumber solutions specifically by expanding its partnerships. The most recent example of this is our expanded network of university faculty integrating a focus on wood systems into their academic programs. We are fortunate and grateful to have received funding assistance from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities toward this effort.

In 2023, we continued our successful public-private partnerships. The most successful of these collaborations is with the USDA Forest Service on impactful initiatives such as the Mass Timber Competition, new mass timber accelerators, and the Think Wood communications program and Mobile Tour—each of which is not only supporting innovative projects built with wood, but also creating advocates that will go on to promote the use of wood in groundbreaking buildings to come. We also partnered with British Columbia’s Forestry Innovation Investment to research public perceptions of wood products. This project helped programs like Think Wood shape messaging.

For the first time, the SLB ventured beyond our industry to partner on research and market development initiatives with World Steel Association’s ConstructSteel program, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), and the Charles Pankow Foundation. These efforts focused on capturing market share for steel-wood hybrid systems where wood-only systems are not feasible. Typically, lumber-based systems are used for the floor plates while steel is used for the structural system. Steel and wood together is a true win-win.

As I reflect on another impactful year by the SLB, I’m appreciative of the leadership of our Board, the insights from our industry funders, and the dedication of our SLB team and the programs that make it possible for us to achieve our common goal of a stronger, more resilient softwood lumber industry. Thank you.

Please continue to share your perspective, insights, and guidance as we position the softwood lumber industry for further growth
and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Cees de Jager | President & CEO

Dear Investors,

Through its direct investments and the efforts of our funded programs—the American Wood Council (AWC), Think Wood, and WoodWorks—the SLB delivered another strong year for demand growth and impact for the softwood lumber industry, generating 1.9 billion board feet in incremental demand in 2023. Challenging markets, particularly in the non-residential segment, have required developers to differentiate their projects, and converting them to wood has enabled them to do so, allowing them to benefit from lumber’s economic and environmental value proposition. The impact of the increase in demand for wood and diversification away from other materials resulted in a total carbon benefit—stored and avoided—of 5 million metric tons of CO2 in 2023.

Dear Fellow Investors and Colleagues,

It is my privilege to share with you the Softwood Lumber Board’s 2023 Annual Report. It was a year of tremendous progress for the SLB and its funded programs and initiatives. The SLB continues to prove its impact for industry investors by protecting existing markets and generating more softwood lumber demand by expanding new and emerging markets.

Lumber and lumber-based building systems are a key to making non-residential and multifamily buildings more affordable, valuable, and sustainable, and there’s a growing consensus among the building design industry, developers, and their clients about the positive economic and environmental attributes of wood products. Based on the discussions I have had, our industry is recognizing the impact and value of the SLB’s investments over the last 12 years.

This positive momentum serves as a tailwind, amplifying the influence of the SLB’s work. When project teams begin their work already knowing that wood can differentiate their buildings from competitive offerings, our efforts to remove obstacles to using wood have more immediate impact. The results of this work over time are remarkable: The SLB’s investments have generated 13.7 billion board feet of incremental lumber demand since inception.

The SLB is a careful steward of our industry’s funding through the checkoff program. I’m proud to share that this year, the SLB’s return on investment was $42.79 for each dollar spent. Since inception, the SLB has generated $45.26 of revenue for every $1 invested by the lumber industry.

The success of the SLB is made possible by the strong industry leadership provided by its Board. As such, I would like to thank outgoing Directors Eric Cremers of PotlatchDeltic, Hugues Simon of Resolute Forest Products, and Caroline Dauzat of Rex Lumber for their service and contributions to the Board. Caroline deserves special recognition: She led the Board during the challenging times of the Covid era, restructured and formalized the SLB staff compensation process, and laid the groundwork for more and diverse voices to be added to the SLB’s governance structure. We are fortunate that she will continue to serve on the Executive Committee.

Thank you once again for the support you’ve provided, not only to me, but to the staff of the SLB’s programs, the employees in your workforce, and the people in your community by investing in the industry’s future. I look forward to working with you in the year ahead to continue building on this year’s accomplishments.

Sincerely,

Brian Luoma | SLB Board Chair

CAPITALIZING ON

ENTHUSIASM FOR WOOD

Data collection for the AWC’s Life Cycle Assessment Database—which collects environmental product declaration (EPD) and fiber sourcing data—saw stronger industry participation, setting the stage for the AWC to reach a key milestone in this multiyear project with the completion of an updated Softwood Lumber EPD.

The new U.S. regional EPDs will represent the U.S. West, Northeast, Southeast, and Central regions and will be completed by the end of 2024. Increased data collection means that the EPD will go from representing 9% of Inland Northwest, 15.3% of Pacific Northwest, and 26.6% of Southern volume in the current EPD to 49.4% of Inland Northwest, 53.9% of Pacific Northwest, and 53.4% of Southern volume in the new regional EPDs. These more precise EPDs mark a major step forward in providing the carbon impact data necessary to be credible with the design community. Providing data at this level of detail is becoming the standard in order for wood to be specified.

There is still room to improve data collection. Participation is expected to grow with an expansion project funded by a USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant that kicked off in January 2024.

STORY 2 of 3

AWC FEATURE

Updated softwood lumber life cycle assessments expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2024 represent a major step forward.

Robust Environmental Data to Protect Market Share for Wood Products

Mass timber construction continues to gain traction in the United States, with more states adopting the 2021 IBC provisions for tall mass timber as the AWC engages in education and outreach efforts across the country. Ten new states adopted the provisions in 2023, bringing the total to 29, and there is more to be done—states that have not yet adopted the code provisions represent an incremental opportunity of nearly 1 BBF annually.

The AWC also released the Florida Mass Timber Alternative Methods and Materials
(AMM) Guide, an approach that will be pursued to support permitting of mass timber in jurisdictions that have not yet adopted the latest I-Codes or mass timber code provisions. Looking ahead, the AWC has introduced a series of code change proposals to the 2027 ICC model code to ensure codes remain favorable to wood construction.

STORY 1 of 3

AWC FEATURE

Mississippi’s adoption of the 2021 IBC mass timber provisions brings the total number of states/jurisdictions to 29.

Mass Timber Code Adoption Continues With Education and Support

Fire Services Team Provides Proactive Engagement to Enhance Sentiment on Wood’s Safety

Robust Environmental Data to Protect Market Share for Wood Products

Mass Timber Code Adoption Continues With Education and Support

As the frequency and severity of wildfires grow, policymakers and code officials are scrutinizing buildings in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), the areas between wilderness and developed land that are at greatest risk for wildfires. With some advocates calling to prohibit wood decks and fences or, more drastically, wood-framed houses in WUI areas, the AWC is engaging in WUI-related code development and adapting its approach with new research showing how wood-framed homes can be protected from wildfires.
Those efforts include:

Fire testing a WUI-hardened wood-frame assembly, demonstrating successful performance and generating data to support AWC’s strategy for showing that wood framing can be used in WUI areas with proper protection.
Engagement in development of ICC-605, a new ICC standard on residential construction in regions with wildfire hazard that will provide a more complete set of requirements than those that exist in the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).
Participation in code development in California, a state that has seen some of the most severe
and damaging wildfires in the United States, and where the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) recently held hearings to help decide on California Code amendments, including WUI changes.

The AWC is also gearing up for the 2027 I-Code development cycle, which is expected to be more time-intensive, with activities taking place in all three years of the cycle rather than in two out of three years as in the past. The AWC’s staff is already preparing code change proposals due in January and participating in committee meetings.

To ensure the AWC is fully staffed for these priorities, the AWC recently filled two important positions. Cade Booth joins as Regional Manager, Codes & Standards, with responsibility for southern states in ICC Regions VIII and IX, bringing experience as a Certified Building Official for the city of Savannah, Georgia. Greg Womack will serve as Manager, Fire Service Relations for the Western region, where he will be increasing the reach of the AWC fire-service engagement program on issues related to WUI and construction fire safety.

STORY 1 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

The AWC is better positioning the industry for a defense of wood in wildland-urban interface zones, filling two important staff positions to engage with building codes and build awareness of wood’s fire safety record.

Fire Performance and Building
Codes Emerge as Priority Issues

Progress continues on the AWC’s expanded Lifecycle Assessment Database—which collects EPD and fiber sourcing data—to include non-AWC-member manufacturers without additional costs to these manufacturers. Funded in part by a USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant, the LCA database enhancement ensures that the wood industry offers EPDs with robust environmental impact information.
Demand for such data is expected to grow as more and more design teams
seek to measure the climate impacts of their buildings.

The second round of data collection closed December 21, amassing calendar year 2022 data. Moving forward, surveys will go to mills every August and close every December. Work has begun on updating the softwood lumber LCAs, which are expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2024. The updated Softwood Lumber EPD, which will represent U.S. West, Northeast, Southeast, and Central regions, will be completed by Q3 2024, helping to meet the growing market demand for more specific regional and mill-level EPDs.

The AWC is also close to finding a way to provide industrywide data for the “transport to site” phase of life cycle assessments known as A4. This data is currently not harmonized within environmental decision-making tools and often does not reflect actual shipping trends. The AWC is also seeking a multipart grant to improve EPD data and automate EPD generation after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $100 million available in funding for improving transparency and disclosure of construction materials’ embodied carbon emissions.

STORY 2 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

The AWC is gearing up to produce updated environmental product declarations for our industry’s primary products.

Robust EPD to Secure Competitive Advantage and Protect Market Share

Mass timber construction continues to gain traction in the United States, with more states adopting the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) provisions for tall mass timber as the AWC engages in education and outreach efforts across the country.

The latest states to join the movement are Ohio and Tennessee. The Ohio Board of Building Standards recently approved the code package to adopt the 2021 IBC, set to take effect next March. The AWC was a regular participant in the Ohio Building Codes Committee meetings supporting the development of the approved code package.

Nashville, Tennessee, went a step further and approved a new ordinance to adopt the 2021 IBC provisions for mass timber ahead of statewide adoption next year. Washington, D.C., is also making progress in adopting mass timber code provisions.

Continuing outreach to encourage more states and localities to adopt the tall mass timber provisions is vital to increasing the market opportunity for softwood lumber. Notably, states that have not yet adopted the code provisions represent an incremental opportunity of nearly 2 BBF annually.

In the meantime, the AWC’s staff is getting creative to make mass timber buildings easier to construct in areas that haven’t yet adopted the mass timber provisions. The Florida Mass Timber Alternative Materials and Methods (AMM) Guide is a resource to help code officials establish requirements for approval of mass timber buildings as AMM projects in Florida, which narrowly voted against approving mass timber provisions in its code. The AWC will develop additional versions of this resource for other states without mass timber provisions.

STORY 3 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

28 states/jurisdictions have adopted the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) mass timber provisions.

Mass Timber Code Adoption Grows
Through Outreach and Education

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL 2023 STATS

124% of Goal

Fire Service Trainings Held

173% of Goal

130

Events Held

Total Contact
Hours Logged

182% of Goal

47,423

107% of Goal

27,789

Total Attendees
Across All Events

After four years of service bringing a live, in-person campaign presence across the United States, the Think Wood Mobile Tour, co-founded in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Endowment, and APA – The Engineered Wood Association, made its final stops in 2023. The Mobile Tour made a total of 30 stops, reaching nearly 250,000 professionals, students, and educators.

In 2024, Think Wood unveiled a new trade show booth presence starting with the International Builders’ Show. The new experience can be scaled to accommodate multiple booth sizes—creating opportunities for a presence at a wider variety of trade shows—and association partners. The Think Wood booth also creates new educational opportunities, showing design industry professionals about the possibilities of sustainable hybrid and mass timber construction with a new virtual reality experience allowing users to digitally explore the lobby of a mass timber building based on a real project.

STORY 3 of 3

THINK WOOD FEATURE

More than 75,000 professionals, students, and educators engaged with the
Think Wood Mobile Tour during seven tour stops in 2023.

Reimagined Trade Show Exhibit to Educate Wider Audience

Throughout 2023, Think Wood focused on media partnerships and targeted sponsorships that continued to strengthen outreach to architects and uncovered new ways to reach developers and engineers, two audiences that are harder to target and that require market-specific and highly technical content. The program generated 5,694 new contacts (23% of annual total) from media partnerships and 6,228 (26%) from CEUs.

Think Wood has refined its ability to find new architects with trusted partners and, in 2023, worked with new partners that specialize in reaching the developer and engineer audiences to deepen its commitment to educating all decision-makers in a building project. For example, a content sponsorship with new partner Multifamily Dive netted 471 developer contacts (92% net new), and a content sponsorship with AC Business Media delivered 105 net new multifamily and commercial developer contacts—with both programs delivering highly efficient costs per lead.

STORY 2 of 3

THINK WOOD FEATURE

Think Wood is using strategic investments to reach architects and harder-to-reach engineers and developers.

Media Partnerships Deliver Harder-to-Find Audiences

Think Wood’s strong offerings, including project profiles, blogs, and downloadable resources, not only provides valuable education to professionals with lessons learned about incorporating wood into building designs, but also helps to generate valuable new design industry contacts and convert them to high engagement. Backed by the additional content, Think Wood added a record 9,354 marketing qualified leads (users showing very high interest in Think Wood content) in 2023 to reach a cumulative total of nearly 41,000 MQLs over the lifetime of the campaign. This incredible engagement led to a breakthrough year for both leads qualified and content produced, and in Q3, Think Wood took over the No. 1 spot for Google search results for “Mass Timber” in the United States.

These professional designers, developers, and contractors are nurtured with newsletters and social media engagements to keep them focused on wood solutions for their projects. Then, when they’re ready to build, the design professional can self-serve with resources from Think Wood or the Wood Institute, or they are introduced to experts at WoodWorks, who provide the support needed to specify or convert their projects to wood.

STORY 1 of 3

THINK WOOD FEATURE

Think Wood hit a new milestone in Q4 when the program published more content than in any quarter in three years.

Think Wood Content Production Intensifies, Pushing a Surge of Prospects

Think Wood and WoodWorks’ interaction with Basim Shamsuddin, senior associate at John Ronan Architects, is a great demonstration of how the programs collaborate to engage prospects, support their wood projects, and in this case, ensure they don’t switch to other building materials for cost purposes.

Reimagined Trade Show Exhibit to Educate Wider Audience

Media Partnerships Deliver Harder-to-Find Audiences

Think Wood Content Production Intensifies, Pushing a Surge of Prospects

Brad Thorlakson
President & CEO | Tolko Industries Ltd.
First Vice Chair

It’s vital for our industry to build interest among architects, engineers, and developers when designing and building with wood construction systems. Not only has Think Wood become a highly valued educational resource—delivering one of its strongest years ever for innovative wood construction content—but it also serves as a platform that’s generating new professional contacts across the construction industry.

Fire testing a WUI-hardened wood-frame assembly, demonstrating successful performance and generating data to support AWC’s strategy for showing that wood framing can be used in WUI areas with proper protection.
Engagement in development of ICC-605, a new ICC standard on residential construction in regions with wildfire hazard that will provide a more complete set of requirements than those that exist in the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).
Participation in code development in California, a state that has seen some of the most severe
and damaging wildfires in the United States, and where the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) recently held hearings to help decide on California Code amendments, including WUI changes.

STORY 1 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

Fire Performance and Building
Codes Emerge as Priority Issues

STORY 2 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

The AWC is gearing up to produce updated environmental product declarations for our industry’s primary products.

Robust EPD to Secure Competitive Advantage and Protect Market Share

STORY 3 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

28 states/jurisdictions have adopted the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) mass timber provisions.

Mass Timber Code Adoption Grows
Through Outreach and Education

THINK WOOD 2023 STATS

AND 31 NEW PROJECTS

Cumulative Total of

352

Qualified
Leads (SQLs)

REPRESENTING
73.6 MM BF
OF LUMBER

Touchpoint
Projects

CEUs Taken

140% of Goal

29,033

92% of Goal

24,297

New Contacts Gained

WoodWorks created the Mass Timber Installation Curriculum modules as a resource that can be used not only to establish training programs, but also to educate anyone unfamiliar with mass timber construction. Since their release in January 2023, the modules have been downloaded more than 6,000 times.

Direct engagement with GCs is also helping to clear up misconceptions about mass timber and create experienced construction teams at scale, working to overcome one primary barrier to designing with mass timber. For example, an introductory meeting with the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of a national general contractor led to a series of presentations and, ultimately, request for support of preconstruction efforts on four new projects: a university equestrian facility, a historic building vertical expansion, and two pharmaceutical/laboratory projects.

STORY 2 of 4

WOODWORKS FEATURE

Architects, developers, and engineers remain core audiences for WoodWorks outreach, but the program expanded its resources, training, education, and support efforts for general contractors in 2023.

Training and Educating General Contractors Will Remove Another Barrier to Mass Timber

New Study Better Equips the SLB and Programs to Overcome Mass Timber Obstacles

Encouraging Innovative Light-Frame Projects
with Education
and Support

Training and Educating General Contractors Will Remove Another Barrier to Mass Timber

WoodWorks
Show Growth in Project Support Despite Tight
Credit Conditions

Fire testing a WUI-hardened wood-frame assembly, demonstrating successful performance and generating data to support AWC’s strategy for showing that wood framing can be used in WUI areas with proper protection.
Engagement in development of ICC-605, a new ICC standard on residential construction in regions with wildfire hazard that will provide a more complete set of requirements than those that exist in the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).
Participation in code development in California, a state that has seen some of the most severe
and damaging wildfires in the United States, and where the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) recently held hearings to help decide on California Code amendments, including WUI changes.

STORY 1 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

Fire Performance and Building
Codes Emerge as Priority Issues

STORY 2 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

The AWC is gearing up to produce updated environmental product declarations for our industry’s primary products.

Robust EPD to Secure Competitive Advantage and Protect Market Share

STORY 3 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

28 states/jurisdictions have adopted the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) mass timber provisions.

Mass Timber Code Adoption Grows
Through Outreach and Education

of Incremental Wood
Structural Panels

493.8 MM SF

of Incremental EWP

165.9 MM SF

99% of Goal

of Incremental Lumber

842 MM SF

86% of Goal

of Wood Project ConstructioN

82 MM SF

WOODWORKS 2023 STATS

470

Projects Were Directly Influenced

1,700

Projects Were Directly + Indirectly Influenced

Through its sponsorship of the Mass Timber Student Design Competition—a collaboration with the CTBUH and Timber in the City, with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture—the SLB is inspiring a new generation of architecture students to improve our urban environments by building with wood. That work extends to the forest and mill, where SLB Education sponsored a field trip for Texas A&M students to visit a working wood products facility, allowing these budding architects to learn about sustainable practices in the construction industry—helping them develop an intrinsic preference for wood systems.

STORY 3 of 3

EDUCATION FEATURE

Engaging students to embrace and generate enthusiasm around wood solutions helps to shape the next wave of design and construction innovation.

Outreach and Partnerships Build Student Enthusiasm for Wood Products

The SLB’s online learning management system, The Wood Institute, was launched in 2020 as a comprehensive, one-stop shop for wood-related training and education. With a growing body of engaging content, the initiative has established itself as a go-to resource for courses about wood design, codes, and construction, with courses that guide project teams on how to avoid and overcome barriers related to wood construction.

New accounts on the site were up 23.7% on the year, with strong growth in key audiences including architects (+17.6%), engineers (+40.5%), and code officials (+25.3%).

STORY 2 of 3

EDUCATION FEATURE

The Wood Institute delivered record growth in 2023 across all key metrics and key audiences.

Online Learning Platform Caps Year of Growth with Key AEC Audiences

Outreach and Partnerships Build Student Enthusiasm for Wood Products

Online Learning Platform Caps Year of Growth with Key AEC Audiences

Faculty Workshops Address Undereducation of Wood Topics in Architecture Schools

Fire testing a WUI-hardened wood-frame assembly, demonstrating successful performance and generating data to support AWC’s strategy for showing that wood framing can be used in WUI areas with proper protection.
Engagement in development of ICC-605, a new ICC standard on residential construction in regions with wildfire hazard that will provide a more complete set of requirements than those that exist in the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).
Participation in code development in California, a state that has seen some of the most severe
and damaging wildfires in the United States, and where the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) recently held hearings to help decide on California Code amendments, including WUI changes.

STORY 1 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

Fire Performance and Building
Codes Emerge as Priority Issues

STORY 2 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

The AWC is gearing up to produce updated environmental product declarations for our industry’s primary products.

Robust EPD to Secure Competitive Advantage and Protect Market Share

STORY 3 of 3

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL STORIES

28 states/jurisdictions have adopted the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) mass timber provisions.

Mass Timber Code Adoption Grows
Through Outreach and Education

SLB EDUCATION 2023 STATS

89% of Goal

2,643

Engagements with Students and Emerging Professionals

137% of Goal

ON THE
WOOD INSTITUTE

7,067

Courses
Completed

115% of Goal

CREATED ON THE
WOOD INSTITUTE

3,298

New Accounts

Engagements with University Faculty

145% of Goal

398

J.D. Hankins
Owner | Hankins Inc.
Industry Relations and Governance Chair

The SLB is such an important part of our industry—I wish we could have created it 20 years earlier. The SLB has led to more cohesiveness in our industry than I ever thought could exist. I’ve been impressed with the diversity of perspectives coming from different regions and companies of different sizes, bringing up ideas that can change our industry for the better. It’s critical that we continue to get participation from investors to help guide the direction of the organization, so we can keep making headway on finding more opportunities to use lumber.

SEEDING INNOVATION AND
REACHING THOUGHT LEADERS

WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

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1 of 5

CODA Detroit

A 95,000-square-foot, five-story mixed-use mass timber residential project incorporating elements of historic preservation and new methods to address acoustical challenges. Its team comprises OOMBRA Architects, Brush Park Properties, IN Development Partners, JDH Engineering, Britt Peters and Associates, and AM Higley.

Working with strategic partners leverages the SLB’s investments in efforts to grow demand for softwood lumber, helping both to grow awareness with wider audiences and to seed innovation.

In 2023, the Chicago Architecture Center launched the SLB-sponsored exhibit REFRAMED: The Future of Cities in Wood, which showcases the sustainable, aesthetic, and biophilic benefits of building more cities with mass timber and tall wood construction. Reaching an influential audience of design industry thought leaders, and supplemented by a series of wood design–focused lectures, the exhibit established wood as a progressive, innovative material of choice that can help address some of the biggest challenges of our times. The success of REFRAMED, which concluded in January 2024, prompted the Skyscraper Museum in New York to launch its own exhibition—called TALL TIMBER: The Future of Cities in Wood—using elements from the Chicago program. TALL TIMBER is expected to run from February to April 2024.

Another SLB-funded interactive exhibit about wood products and building design in the Northeast, designed for the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, is now being repurposed at Maine’s Portland Museum of Art, raising wood products’ profile with the design community and general public.

The SLB is also helping fund a growing number of market-expanding innovations in partnership with the USDA Forest Service. New mass timber accelerator programs in Atlanta and New York City use matching funds from the Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grants and other programs, leveraging the impact of the SLB’s $50,000 investment for each against the $500,000 overall project. The accelerators will fund and support selected projects with technical assistance, removing barriers and streamlining code compliance to help build momentum in the cities.

In addition, several projects funded in previous years by Wood Innovations Grants and supported by matching funds from the SLB are making significant progress—opening up new market opportunities for the softwood lumber industry. These include:

Design and engineering analysis for two mass timber high-rise residential developments from The Neutral Project
An all-wood mixed-use building in Portland, Oregon, demonstrating the potential for exposed timber components
Blast testing research in reinforced CLT from engineering consultants Karagozian & Case
A CLT design tool developed by structural engineering firm Equilibrium

The SLB continued its work in 2023 with the CTBUH and Constructsteel, building on an audit that found market potential for wood-steel hybrid towers, with only 8% of the 84 tall mass timber towers built to date using mass timber and steel. After launching the Steel-Timber Hybrid Buildings Conference in 2022, CTBUH completed a draft in 2023 of a technical guide on the potential of steel-timber hybrid buildings featuring detailed case studies and data. The resource is set to publish in 2024.

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2023 Mass Timber Competition

Award Recipients

MASS TIMBER COMPETITION

EXPANDS MARKET INNOVATIONS

1 of 5

CODA Detroit

John Crockett
Deputy Chief of State and Private Forestry USDA Forest Service

One way to improve the health and resilience of forests is by sustainably harvesting trees to manufacture wood products like mass timber. As wildfires become more prevalent across the United States, a stronger supply chain for lumber and mass timber improves forest health and supports the construction of low carbon buildings—both effective ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

This year’s Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon creates new opportunities for broader adoption of mass timber.

The second consecutive competition, funded jointly by the Softwood Lumber Board and USDA Forest Service, showcases uses of mass timber, expands the building types that can be built from wood, and strengthens the supply chain for lumber from working forests. The competition supports multiple segments of the design and construction industry and assists project teams to solve challenges and overcome hurdles that often confront newer products and systems.

The award recipients were announced in Chicago in October at the REFRAMED exhibit at the Chicago Architecture Center. Over the two iterations, the softwood lumber industry invested $2 million for the prize funding, leveraging an additional $2 million from the USDA Forest Service. To advance the market, award recipients are sharing lessons learned during project phases—including cost analyses, life cycle assessments, and other research—with the broader design and construction community to promote faster adoption of mass timber as a structural material in similar projects across the country.

Winning projects from both the 2022 and 2023 competitions are making progress and already beginning to generate insights that can be used to solve long-term challenges for mass timber adoption. Evergreen Charter School, an 85,000-square-foot, five-story hybrid CLT education facility with biophilic design elements, broke ground in Q2 and is planned for completion in 2024. “When you look at the rendering for our classroom, and you see wood in the space, it’s a completely different environment. It looks so much more positive than a typical classroom,” architect Martin Hopp said in a WoodWorks case study. “Ultimately, if we can design better-quality environments for the same price, that equals better performance, lower rates of absenteeism, etc. That’s the key metric we’re designing for.”

The project team for 2022 winner Return to Form, a 12-story multifamily and retail project in Denver with affordable housing, completed a Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment, demonstrating the full carbon footprint benefits of mass timber construction with a real-world example. It is projected to be the tallest mass timber structure in Denver when completed, targeted in 2025.

ASSESSING NEW AVENUES

FOR GROWTH

SCROLL TO TOP

The SLB also used research and partnerships to explore opportunities in new markets this year, with FEA providing research on wood use in outdoor markets, an analysis of future machine stress rated lumber demand, and the potential impact of offsite construction practices on lumber demand. The studies assess trends driving lumber demand and identify growth opportunities, providing insights that guide the SLB’s investments in these market segments.

The SLB commissioned another market assessment to examine the potential for softwood lumber’s use in commercial interiors, finding a market opportunity of 1.22 BBF. Think Wood will expand its communications to reinforce softwood lumber’s strengths and benefits for commercial interiors and capture incremental market share.

Looking at broader consumer sentiment about wood products and the forest products industry, a survey commissioned by the SLB and conducted by Bully Pulpit Interactive found that the wood products industry is highly regarded, and as a material, wood is largely viewed as warm and welcoming, with older people and homeowners driving this trend. There is ample opportunity to shape people’s views of wood, and the report will offer valuable insights as the SLB and partners develop communications strategies and messaging.

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CODA Detroit

WoodWorks helped Jordan Janicki, Principal Structural Engineer with DCG/Watershed, realize a vision for a replicable 185,000-square-foot Type V-B mass timber warehouse and two-story office structure that features glulam and CLT, representing an average of 14.3 BF/SF in the project. Janicki and WoodWorks co-hosted a tour of the Janicki Industries warehouse for about 60 architecture, engineering, and construction professionals as part of WoodWorks’ educational programming, and WoodWorks published a case study on the project.

WoodWorks also hosted a webinar on mass timber warehouses featuring two builders with project experience, while Think Wood published a blog post examining the business case for developers turning to mass timber. By supporting developers’ need for examples and lessons learned from real-world projects, the SLB and its programs can help grow wood’s market share in a sector with sky-high potential.

To maximize market opportunities for softwood lumber, the SLB and its programs must continue to help grow market share, both in segments where it has made significant in-roads—such as multifamily, commercial, and educational buildings—and in building types that have not typically used wood

The warehouse and distribution facility sector is a prime example of this growth opportunity. According to Forest Economic Advisors’ 2024 U.S. Outlook for the SLB, this segment has experienced tremendous growth over the past six years, now accounting for 28% of the built area, second only to multifamily projects. Although the use of structural wood systems in warehouse projects has been limited, the SLB and its programs are supporting and promoting efforts by sustainability-focused developers to build with wood.

ACTIVATING GROWTH MARKETS

FOR SOFTWOOD LUMBER

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High Point | Fort Mills, South Carolina - Assisted Living

13.3 BF/SF

Light-Frame

Before 2021, Fort Myers, Florida–based architecture firm Studio+ specialized in building steel-and-concrete systems. Since then, the firm has used WoodWorks’ technical resources to design three light-frame assisted living developments in the Southeast. High Point was the second of the developments and required WoodWorks’ assistance with detailing. The program team met with the firm to address concerns from local building code officials, assist with firewall design, and grant access to a library of architectural details. The result was the completion of a 285,000-square-foot light-frame contemporary residence consisting of independent living, assisted living, and memory care facilities and featuring outdoor living areas for seniors.