LP Shows Carbon Negativity for Major Building Products Line

LP Building Solutions leverages EPDs to validate carbon-negative claims and showcase its dedication to green solutions.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and that's especially true for monitoring progress on sustainability initiatives. LP Building Solutions has conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) on eight of its products to evaluate their environmental impact and obtain Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that attest to the environmental footprint of these products.

Quick Stats

• Number of LP products with an EPD: 8
• What homeowners will pay for EPD-supported products: 10% more
• Percentage of renewable source thermal energy used in product manufacturing: 80%

Notably, LP recently completed EPDs for nearly all of its LP Structural Solutions products. These EPDs show carbon negativity for all five evaluated products, which together represented
92 percent of LP’s Structural Solutions net sales in North America in 2023 (excluding LP LongLength and LongLength XL OSB Sheathing).

LCA and EPD, serving as a baseline metric, provide transparency into the environmental footprint of the products across their full manufacturing value chain, from raw materials to product end-of-life.

The company focused its efforts on selecting more sustainable raw materials, such as sourcing wood fibers certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). This initiative minimizes manufacturing waste by ensuring that 99 percent of wood fibers are incorporated into products or used as an alternative thermal energy source to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

EPDs showcase the environmental footprint of LP’s supply chain and manufacturing processes, ensuring the delivery of a sustainable, high-quality, and durable product that aligns with the company’s "Building a Better World" initiative and helps it meet its ESG initiatives.

In 2022, LP was awarded the SFI President’s Award in recognition of its commitment to leading the forest community on important issues related to sustainability, education and collaboration.

LP extensively communicates the existence of its EPDs for their carbon-negative sheathing and siding products—one of the only product lines of its kind on the market—to showcase its commitment to sustainable innovation.

For example, over the lifetime of LP SmartSide Trim & Siding, it can store up to 10 times more carbon than fiber cement siding options.

Undergoing the rigorous third-party attestation process by ASTM International for EPD documentation—a lengthy and difficult process—set LP up for success by allowing the company and others to assess and compare the environmental impact of LP products in line with internationally recognized standards, including ISO standards.

LP recently expanded its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory for 2020-23 to include Scope 3 emissions in addition to Scope 1 and 2, data which will be released later this year.

Expanding to include Scope 3 emissions is monumental, as they typically account for about 75 percent of a company’s total emissions, enabling LP to more accurately assess its environmental footprint.

While EPDs may seem useful only at the product level to some, LP has shown that it can spark larger conversations about acquiring the necessary environmental data to develop robust strategies and continue optimizing the manufacturing process.

EPDs for LP’s Structural Solutions products show carbon negativity as of 2023. The product line represents 92 percent of LP’s Structural Solutions net sales in North America. Courtesy LP Building Solutions

LP is well underway with its Climate Risk Integration Roadmap, a series of actions designed to help the company respond to climate change. Source: LP