Month: September 2023

A few weeks ago, I spoke on a panel at the Georgia Forestry Association’s Annual Conference in Jekyll Island called “Seedlings to Solutions: Mass Timber’s Rise in Georgia” with leaders from Jamestown LP and SmartLam North America discussing the role of mass timber in the sustainability of Georgia’s lumber industry.

Mass timber, by definition, is a sustainable building material made from layers of wood, glued together into glulam beams and cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). The benefits of mass timber are numerous, and they include environmental sustainability, speed of construction, waste reduction, and economic advantages.

At Georgia-Pacific, we believe the potential for mass timber and Southern Yellow Pine in Georgia are exponential. We view mass timber as “the sexy calling card” of building with wood. And we’re seeing mass timber’s rise in popularity reverberate around the industry; because of mass timber promoting wood, the use of light frame construction is on the rise in commercial, non-residential building.

One of the most fascinating benefits of mass timber is its ability to sequester carbon. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, and when they are turned into mass timber, that carbon is stored in the building for its lifetime. This makes mass timber buildings a carbon sink, which gives it advantages compared with traditional construction materials.

Another advantage of mass timber is its speed of construction. Because the elements are prefabricated, on-site construction time is greatly reduced. For the 619 Ponce project, which is the largest Southern Yellow Pine mass timber construction in Georgia, we supported Jamestown LP and SmartLam by processing the lumber for the beams and panels at our Albany, Georgia, sawmill – which employs ~ 185 Georgians and contributes ~ $100 million to the Georgia economy.

After processing the logs, we shipped the lumber to Dothan, Alabama where it was fabricated into beams and panels by the team at SmartLam. This prefabbing process, alone, demonstrates the potential economic opportunity for mass timber – as the process included three communities across the southern states, known as the wood basket of the nation. As this construction process grows in popularity – so will its economic impact.

According to Forest Economic Advisors, mass timber construction can potentially expand the consumption of lumber ~ 5% over the next 10 years – which would be huge for Georgia, as we are home to more plantation acres, total timberland acreage and privately-owned timberland acreage than any other state in the nation.

That, along with the ongoing growth of light frame wood construction in non-residential and multi-family segments has the potential to grow the demand for lumber by over four billion board feet, consuming about 16 million tons of logs annually and supporting several million acres of working forest.

Overall, the benefits of mass timber are clear. It is a sustainable, efficient, and beautiful material that is changing the face of architecture and the economics of construction. As more companies and individuals become aware of its advantages, we hope to see a continued increase in the use of mass timber in building projects across the nation.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve partnered with the Georgia Forestry Foundation on their greater “Seedlings to Solutions” campaign, which is chronicling the story of the growth of mass timber in Georgia, this year. Georgia-Pacific has been a strong supporter of the development of modern mass timber construction through our involvement in the Georgia Forestry Association and Georgia Forestry Foundation, Softwood Lumber Board, WoodWorks and the American Wood Council.

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Eight-year power purchase agreement will help to achieve a reduction of 6.8 Kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, in line with the EU’s long-term climate action 2050 strategyAgreement follows companies’ 2021 memorandum of understanding to help Baker Hughes to meet 2030 target to reduce operational emissions by 50% The two companies also agreed on measures to preserve and enhance biodiversity

FLORENCE, Italy, September 20, 2023 /3BL/ – Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, announced Wednesday a new agreement with Shell Energy Italia – an eight-year-long power purchase agreement (PPA) that will see Shell Energy Italia supply seven of Baker Hughes’ Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) Italian facilities with renewable energy, sourced from Shell’s solar photovoltaic farm currently under construction in the Apulia region, in southern Italy.

The agreement aims to achieve a reduction of 6.8 Kilotonnes (Kton) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year across the sites, resulting in 13% less emissions – equivalent to 1,200 fewer light duty gasoline cars on the road per year.

The announcement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2021 to enhance collaboration between the two companies as they seek to achieve respective commitments for emissions reduction through advancing technology solutions that help to decarbonize the energy and industrial sectors.

“Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone both in Italy and globally. We’re working together with Shell to invest in vital renewable energy projects that will support both the decarbonization of our manufacturing facilities and create a cleaner, more sustainable energy system for the country,” said Davide Marrani, vice president of operations, Industrial & Energy Technology at Baker Hughes. “This agreement sets us on the right path to achieving our commitment to reduce our CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

“Shell Energy Italia is a major energy supplier, capable of responding to market demands by offering advanced energy commodity management solutions to over 700 major industrial customers,” said Gianluca Formenti, CEO of Shell Energy Italia. “The supply contract signed with Baker Hughes for the Zamboni plant is a tangible confirmation of our ability to create a direct link between our production and demand for energy from renewable sources positioning us as an integrated energy company.”

Sustainable progress is a major catalyst of the agreement, and several measures were implemented to protect and enhance local biodiversity where the new solar plant will be built, including restoration of a hitherto uncultivated area; designing structures for spawning and ecological corridors of native plant species to attract nesting sedentary birds and pollinating insects, and improve the health and quality of the soil.

The PPA complements a previous agreement Baker Hughes signed in 2019 to cover energy needs of its Texas facilities, as well as several other on-site renewable solutions, including the installation of solar across several Italian sites.

Baker Hughes’ 2022 corporate sustainability report showed a 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by its operating facilities in Scope 1 and 2 because of energy efficiency initiatives, which puts it on track to achieving the company’s net-zero commitments by 2050.

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About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

For more information, please contact:

Media Relations

Chiara Toniato  
+39 3463823419  
chiara.toniato@bakerhughes.com