Sustainability

When discussing sustainability today, one soon realises that it is a complex issue with many opinions and hard debates. Questions that arise include: how should the forest be used? Who owns it, and how can it be used to capture carbon dioxide for everyone’s benefit? How will the forest be enough for all the different products and industries that want to use it? The EU has also introduced new laws and regulations in this area.

For sawmills like ours it is difficult to navigate, and even harder to know what is fact and what is opinion or self-interest.

Our emissions

At Boda Sawmill we are open about the fact that our impact on the environment today amounts to a CO₂ emission of 28 kg per cubic metre of sawn timber produced. This includes every step of the process, from forestry (harvesters, forwarders and transport) to sawing, internal logistics, additives and electricity use. We do not deduct the forest’s ability to capture CO₂ as it grows. The production process stands on its own calculation, and we regard the climate benefit of using wood instead of other materials as a separate matter.

Low electricity use

An energy survey of the plant shows that we consume on average 50 kWh of electricity per sawn cubic metre, which we believe is a very low average compared with larger sawmills. The faster motors and drives run during production, the more power and energy are used. As a smaller producer we do not need such large drives and motors to keep production going.

We have also invested in new control systems and technology for the saw line and the kilns, which allows us to monitor and reduce our total electricity use. If we can reduce consumption through energy efficiency, that energy can be used elsewhere in society and our electricity costs go down.

Short transport distances

In 2021–2022 we bought our raw timber from an average distance of about 81 km, and today the average is around 55–65 km, which is low for the industry and reduces our environmental impact. It is important not to confuse this with our catchment area, which is measured differently and refers to the maximum distance from which raw material is collected. Sometimes it is 5 km, sometimes up to 120 km. The average for 2021–2022 was 81 km. Since then the average distance has come down to about 55–65 km.

Because 90–95% of our carbon dioxide emissions come from forestry and the transport of heavy logs, we believe sawmills should be located where the raw material is, in order to minimise environmental impact. It is neither sustainable nor logical to use fossil fuels to haul heavy logs long distances when they can be processed locally into finished products.

Once we have sawn the logs and dried the timber, most of the water is gone and the weight is much lower. We pack the finished sawn products, the chips, the bark and the sawdust in a way that makes fossil-free transport possible. Roughly three loads of logs give one load of sawn timber and one of chips. Bark and dry chips are burned in our own boiler to dry the timber, while a smaller share is sold on to district heating plants.

Our life cycle assessment

We have commissioned a life cycle assessment (LCA) from the environmental consultancy Enviloop, on our own initiative, which accounts for our carbon dioxide emissions and shows clearly where our greenhouse gas emissions come from. Our goal is to become as close to climate neutral as we can, partly through smarter logistics and partly through smarter sawing technology.

Long-term, sustainable production

At Boda Sawmill we work continuously to improve our environmental performance and reduce our impact. We believe this matters not only for the environment, but also for our customers and for future generations.

Kind regards
Dan Törnberg
CEO, Boda Såg i Dalarna AB