Environmental attributes of wood products: context and relevance for U.S. architects

Changing specifier preferences regarding the use and function of construction materials may greatly affect the consumption of wood products. Since architects are often involved in the selection of materials, they were selected for this research. A national survey of 1,200 architect office owners was conducted in order to investigate their environmental concerns and other design criteria regarding wood products. The study also identified the different degrees of effectiveness of several environmental actions taken by wood products companies. According to architects, the design attribute environmentally sustainable is of medium importance, regardless of the product group (the study defined three product groups: structural; appearance; and engineered wood products). Third-party environmental certification proved to be the most effective environmental action. Communication campaigns are surprisingly effective, suggesting that additional environmental advertising efforts by wood products companies might be beneficial. The results of the study suggest that advertising tailored to architects should have a dual purpose, stressing both a quality or appearance feature and an environmental one. Importantly, the quality or appearance issue changes depending on the product group. In that respect, "uniform quality" of the material is an important quality feature in both the structural and the engineered wood product groups.