Monthly Update: October 2018

Following the industry’s supermajority mandate for the Softwood Lumber Board and direction from the SLB’s Board of Directors, in August the SLB staff launched a funded-program review in order to refine, align, and optimize the organization’s investment strategy, tactics, and funded initiatives and to bring expenditures in line with revenues.

In September, SLB-funded programs submitted responses regarding their objectives, strategy, measurement assessment, tactics, and budgets, broken down by target audience, as well as their outlook for the next seven years. The staff has reviewed and analyzed the responses with the intent to improve program delivery, enhance the target audience experience, and create incremental demand for wood in the built environment. Funded programs will be presenting 2019 budgets and plans for approval at the November 28, 2018, SLB Board meeting in Washington, D.C.

The conditions and needs in 2018 are very different and more advantageous for lumber than they were when the SLB was established in 2011; therefore, the approach to delivering on its objectives needs to evolve in order to establish softwood lumber as the preferred choice for the built environment by 2024.

Softwood lumber’s competitors are growing bolder in their efforts to discredit wood as they attempt to regain real or perceived lost market share. The impact of their misleading messaging has been negligible to date, thanks in part to the fast and thorough rebuttals of Think Wood, which confronts false information and corrects the record on behalf of the softwood lumber industry.

For example, in early 2018, Construction Executive published an article titled “Five Benefits of Using Steel Instead of Wood for Construction,” which was written by an employee of a pre-engineered steel building and component company. The article includes the misleading and unsupported claim that “building with steel is the epitome of sustainable construction” and argues against using softwood lumber, stating that “few forests in the United States are certified for lumber.”

Think Wood aggressively pushed for an opportunity to present a follow-up article to offer a counter perspective. That piece, “Attain Full Life Cycle Benefits by Building With Wood,” went live in September and provides referenced arguments for wood’s advantages compared with steel or concrete. The article integrates data and learning found in Think Wood’s continuing education units, developed and/or reviewed in conjunction with experts at the American Wood Council (AWC) and WoodWorks, and leaves viewers with little doubt over which material best supports sustainable construction.

Although competitors’ misleading claims are not consistently directed at nor necessarily resonate with those who specify structural materials, research shows that specifiers regularly engage with Construction Executive and similar platforms. This means that however egregious competitors’ statements or selective use of data may be, Think Wood will make every effort to present evidence-based, well-supported counterpoints to set the record straight.

Wood, Naturally partnered with HGTV personality and DIY influencer Brian Patrick Flynn over the course of the deck season to lend credibility to the campaign’s pro-wood messaging while expanding its reach among target audiences. Wood, Naturally worked with Flynn to develop content and step-by-step guides for two common projects undertaken by homeowners and contractors—How to extend an existing deck and How to build a tiered-wood deck.

Content included blog posts, styled deck photography, and video content, and it was promoted across Wood, Naturally’s Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube channels, generating more than 657,000 impressions, 17,300 clicks, and 2,700 user engagements in the form of comments, reactions, and shares.

Social media audiences were particularly moved by video and still images that captured the beauty and natural essence of wood. For example, a tiered entry deck blog received responses such as: “That’s the outside I’d love,” “Beautiful,” and “See how easy this is!” Partnerships like this one with Flynn are a proven way for Wood, Naturally to generate positive engagement from professional and homeowner audiences.

AWC recently revamped ConstructionFireSafety.org, which provides a variety of educational content for fire-service and code professionals, builders, developers, and others involved in large-area construction. The site’s content now features the following:

• Risks & Hazards: Helpful information to assess on-site risks and safety practices for activities such as welding and hot work.
• Building Standards: National building standards from the International Codes Council and National Fire Protection Association and requirements to avoid construction fires, such as fire-lane layout plans and fire-watch policies.
• Best Practices: Practical resources on how to avoid construction fires, ideal for use when reviewing construction projects or providing safety trainings.
• Fire-Service Resources: Sample fire safety plans and checklists, Hot Work program templates, fire-suppression strategy and tactics, evacuation plans, and more.

AWC maintains the site on behalf of the Construction Fire Safety Coalition, which since its launch in 2017 has grown from six charter members to include over 40 partners, including the National Association of State Fire Marshals, the Fire Equipment Manufacturers Association, private companies, and local jurisdictions and fire departments.

From 2010-2014 construction fires accounted for less than 1% of all building fires nationwide; however, they often attract significant media coverage that can hurt the perception and future use of wood. The coalition is committed to reducing the number of fires to ensure that wood remains a viable option for larger buildings. Please refer a local building or fire official to ConstructionFireSafety.org today!

The Mass Timber Code Coalition, supported by the American Wood Council, published a new infographic to highlight tall wood buildings’ fire resistance, structural integrity, environmental attributes, and cost efficiency ahead of the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings’ decision on code proposals that will allow wood buildings up to 18 stories. Key evidence in support of the proposals includes the following:

• Mass timber panels lasted 3 hours and 6 minutes during fire-resistance testing, exceeding the two-hour rating required by code.
• Mass timber buildings weigh approximately one-fifth as much as comparable concrete buildings, yielding a high strength-to-weight ratio that performs well during seismic activity.

• Replacing steel with mass timber can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15-20% with the same emissions-control effect as taking more than 2 million cars off the road for a year.
• Mass timber buildings are roughly 25% faster to build than concrete buildings.

The mass timber code coalition, which is made up of building officials, architects, engineers, builders, former fire-services officials, and materials providers, is constantly fending off false statements by the concrete industry, which seeks to strike down the proposals in order to protect its market share. Products like the infographic, which highlights independent, third-party research findings as well as quantitative outputs of testing done as part of the code-compliance process, are designed to help those in and outside of the building industry separate fact from fiction when it comes to evaluating the benefits of tall wood buildings.