Enabling Landscapes: INTERHOLCO's Sustainability Report 2017

‘Made in Africa’ wood, Europe’s sea-door to trade
In June 2016, the King of Belgium
inaugurated Kieldrecht lock, the world’s
largest sea-gate, in the port of Antwerp.
The lock (or gate) allows large ships to
access the Waasland harbour and
consists of a water chamber with
sliding doors. For the sliding doors, we
provided Azobé (Lophira alata), an
African species that resists fungal
attack and decay. Azobé does not rot
although in permanent contact with sea
water, allowing the steel structure to
easily slide along the concrete walls
and then sink, as needed.
African wood products and LCA
Our African wood products perform
well in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
studies, which look at a material’s
cradle-to-cradle environmental
performance. We participated in a joint
FSC-STTC LCA looking at every aspect
of the journey, from sourcing, through
transport, processing, end-use,
maintenance, recycling, reparability
and final disposal. Azobé (Lophira
alata), one of the wood species growing
in our forest, scored very well at every
stage, with a low ‘Environmental Cost
Indicator’.
65 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2017 INTERHOLCO