The employment of lightweight boards of engineered wood is being discussed in the wood industry for years, and, meanwhile, this is possible as far as processing technology is concerned. Thereby, advantages of lightweight boards of engineered wood are expected in terms of the environmental performance of production and manufacturing processes as well as in logistics when being compared with conventional timber materials.

In this project, the question is pursued whether under ecological aspects, i.e. regarding the greenhouse gas effecting emissions in production and manufacturing processes, significant changes will arise as a result of using lightweight boards of engineered wood of different designs, and, if so, where these changes occur and why.

While aiming at identifying and quantifying in particular variations of the greenhouse gas effecting emissions, a macroeconomic model of the use of wood as an energy source and as a raw material in Germany will be examined on the basis of suitable scenarios.

The project will be performed in two steps:

1. Process based analysis of selected lightweight boards of engineered wood regarding the ecological effects referring to a functional unit (e.g. 1 m² board). The lightweight boards of engineered wood under examination will be specified within the project.
2. Macroeconomic analysis of the replacement of a determined quantity of wood-based panels by different designs of lightweight boards of engineered wood in view of the effects on resource requirements and selected greenhouse gas emissions. This step is using the results of the former one. . The macroeconomic effects depend on the commercial success of the lightweight boards which will be evaluated in consultation with the project partners.