Production
Certified wood sourcing
Wood from well managed sources is a natural, renewable solution for global environmental problems such as climate change, ecosystem destruction and landscape deterioration caused by increasing consumption. Besides forming a natural ecological habitat, forests are actually an important carbon sink by filtering CO2 out of the air and absorbing this in the biomass of the tree. In the case of responsible management, it is actually advised to harvest as much wood as sustainable for production of durable products such as furniture or construction products, which act as additional carbon stores while providing the forest the opportunity to regenerate and produce new biomass (acting as new carbon sink).
However, supplies of certified slow growing tropical hardwoods suitable for outdoor use are limited, resulting in illegal logging which, in turn, leads to the deforestation of tropical rainforests. While in the tropical regions deforestation is still continuing, in temperate regions such as in Europe and North America the net forest area has been increasing steadily for several decades.
To produce Accoya, only abundantly available wood species are being used from certified, sustainably managed forests and plantations, including FSC® and other regionally certified woods. Therefore all Accoya is compliant with the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) as well as the Lacey Act, and therefore responsible production is guaranteed.
Fast growing softwood species such as Radiata Pine are primarily used to produce Accoya®. Considering the increasing pressure on available resources, the use of wood species that produce larger volumes of wood over the same time span for the same area of land offers obvious environmental advantages.
Annual Yield
[m3 / ha / yr]
- FAO (2006). Global Planted forests thematic study: results and analysis, by A. Del Lungo, J. Ball and J. Carle. Planted Forests and Trees Working Paper 38, Rome.
- USDA Forest Service (2013), Silvics manuals, available online via http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_1/thuja/plicata.htm
- MAF – New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2008). Afforestation Grant Scheme Guidelines
Corporate Social Responsibility
The acetylation plant of Accsys Technologies is located in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and uses acetic anhydride in the production of Accoya® wood and generates acetic acid as a by-product of acetylation which is sold for reuse in a wide range of industries including the food industry (the Accsys acetylation plant is even halal and kosher approved).
Besides the responsible sourcing of timber (see above), Accsys only works with suppliers with a clear and transparent Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Accsys itself is founding member of the Social Stock Exchange (SSE), which is a leading platform to showcase publicly listed social and environmental impact businesses. Accsys has fulfilled the robust admission criteria set by SSE, based on several CSR parameters, published in the SSE Social Impact Report (see below).
Furthermore, Accsys Technologies operates under a management system that addresses all issues regarding quality, safety, health and environmental aspects (QSHE) in order to comply with local Western manufacturing legislation and beyond. The plant is subject to regular inspections, certifications and quality assurance undertaken by Accsys’ staff and accredited certification bodies and even meets the strict manufacturing criteria of Cradle to Cradle certification, at the rigorous Gold level including 50% use of renewable energy during manufacturing.
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