Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Southern Yellow Pine ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.2 Summary of Findings
This study compared two scenarios: Business-­‐As-­‐Usual (BAU) and Steel Pole Replacement (SPR),
comparing the implications of the use of wood and galvanized steel utility poles in the Southeast. Of
the thirty-­‐five independent category indicators that were assessed and quantified:
• 21 indicators show a clear benefit (a difference of 25% or more) in terms of lower impact
levels associated with the use of galvanized steel utility poles under the SPR scenario. For 12
of these indicators, the difference was 100% or greater.
• 4 indicators do not show a clear advantage toward either the SPR or BAU scenario, differing
by less than 25%. For these indicators, results are within the margin of error, considering the
uncertainties in the inventory and environmental characterization data used in the
assessment.
• 10 show a clear benefit in terms of lower impact levels associated with the use of wood
utility poles under the BAU scenario. For 5 of these indicators, the difference was 100% or
greater.
Five additional impact categories were identified as environmentally relevant but could not be
quantified due to insufficient data. However, impact reductions of 100% or greater favoring the SPR
scenario would be anticipated if measurements were possible, based on available information. This
categories include: the exposure of humans, flora, and fauna to toxic substances, resulting from
arsenic ore extraction and refining in China; the exposure of workers to toxic herbicides in the
Southeastern US as a result of herbicide application associated with forestry operations in this region;
disturbance to wetland and freshwater biomes in the Southeastern US, resulting from forestry in this
region; disturbance to suitable freshwater and wetland habitats for species in the Southeastern US,
resulting from forestry in this region.
The findings are summarized in Table 1 below. In the table, Indicator results are reported by Impact
category. If there are multiple indicators per impact category, these are bulleted and listed
separately. For indicators measuring net impacts, breakout data are provided in italics. Negative
results indicate cooling effects from greenhouse gases and black carbon, or avoided depletion as a
secondary consequence related to reduced extraction of metal ores.
The study findings should not be interpreted to imply that all environmental indicators should be
“weighted” equally, but rather, that individual indicators should be considered separately in their
appropriate context.
Further discussion of the scenarios studied and the key findings are found in the remainder of the
Executive Summary.
April 2013 | ©SCS Global Services
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