BIOGENIC CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR FOR HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS USER MANUAL

The manual describes a tool for calculating the biogenic carbon footprint of wood-based products, measured in kg CO2eq. It explains two usage levels: a 'BASIC' mode for quick checks and an 'ADVANCED' mode for detailed analysis of up to 10 products. The calculator incorporates dynamic methods to assess the 'forest carbon gap' (the time until harvested biomass is regrown) and 'storage time benefits' (delayed emissions). It provides reference values for various forest species and climate zones based on IPCC 2006 classifications, as well as default lifespans for product categories ranging from energy combustion (0 years) to building materials (50 years). The tool also allows for the customization of wood processing efficiency, allocation methods, and end-of-life scenarios such as incineration, recycling, and landfill.

• The biogenic carbon footprint is calculated by adding the amount of biogenic CO2 emissions multiplied by the GWPbio (Global Warming Potential bio) to the conventional carbon footprint.
• The calculator uses a dynamic approach to account for the 'forest carbon gap,' which is the period from when a tree is harvested until the emissions are matched by regrowth, considering carbon pools including above-ground biomass (AGB), below-ground biomass (BGB), dead organic matter (DOM), and soil organic carbon (SOC).
• The tool provides default carbon storage lifetimes based on product categories, such as 50 years for building materials, 16 years for furnishing and other building materials, and 1 year for packing materials and short-life paper products.
• The calculator's forest biomass source parameters are based on IPCC 2006 classifications for climate zones and include 36 specific climate/species combinations, such as Boreal Norway Spruce and Tropical moist/wet Bamboo.
• End-of-life treatments are modeled with different assumptions: incineration assumes immediate release, recycling assumes no benefits beyond the product lifespan, and landfills involve a decay process where a non-degradable pool is permanently sequestered.
• The tool allows for different wood extraction allocation methods, including a default mass balance approach, economic allocation based on ecoinvent v3.5, and a cut-off approach for recycled or waste biomass where no extraction burden is assigned.

APA

Gmünder, S., Zollinger, M., & Dettling, J. (2020). BIOGENIC CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR FOR HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS USER MANUAL. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/432/4f39kysq67_Biogenic_Carbon_Footprint_Calculator_User_Manual_July2020_Quantis.pdf

Chicago

Gmünder, Simon, Michele Zollinger, and Jon Dettling. BIOGENIC CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR FOR HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS USER MANUAL. WWF International, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/432/4f39kysq67_Biogenic_Carbon_Footprint_Calculator_User_Manual_July2020_Quantis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gmünder |first1=Simon |last2=Zollinger |first2=Michele |last3=Dettling |first3=Jon |title=BIOGENIC CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR FOR HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS USER MANUAL |publisher=WWF International |date=July 2020 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/432/4f39kysq67_Biogenic_Carbon_Footprint_Calculator_User_Manual_July2020_Quantis.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gmnder2020biogenic, author = {Gmünder, Simon and Zollinger, Michele and Dettling, Jon}, title = {{BIOGENIC CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR FOR HARVESTED WOOD PRODUCTS USER MANUAL}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/432/4f39kysq67_Biogenic_Carbon_Footprint_Calculator_User_Manual_July2020_Quantis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }