Smith & Fong complete EPD and LCA on bamboo plywood product range
Smith & Fong Plyboo
SAN FRANCISO - Smith & Fong Co. has announced that it has completed an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for its bamboo plywood range, including LinearSound, Fractal, Reveal, and other carved design panels.
 
“Having an EPD and LCA for our panel products is incredibly important to the architectural and design community we service,” said Dan Smith, founder and CEO of Smith & Fong. “We are very proud to have them available.”
 
The EDP and LCA, granted by ASTM International and in accordance with ISO 14025 is applicable to both the North American and European marketplaces.
 
ASTM International is globally recognized for the development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards with more than 12,000 ASTM standards being used around the world to improve product quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market access and trade, and build consumer confidence.
 
EPDs provide quantifiable environmental data to compare various products and their environmental impacts. To create comparable EPDs, they must follow the same rules and guidelines, called product category rules.
 
Designers use the LCA process, which is a technique to qualify environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, disposal, and/or recycling, to help critique the products they specify.
 
LCAs compile an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases, evaluate the potential impacts associated with identified inputs and releases, and interpret the results to help make a more informed decision about environmental concerns.
 
“We continue to strive for absolute transparency in our manufacturing process, and we have manufactured to ASTM standards for years without seeking certification,” said Smith. “We believe this will push the panel industry in a positive direction, and we’re proud to be one of the few manufacturer/suppliers to make this commitment.” 
 
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Francisco, Smith & Fong Co. is a manufacturer of Plyboo bamboo architectural panels and flooring products. The company’s products are distributed throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

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Angeleen Kipfer

Angel Kipfer is an editorial intern at the Woodworking Network.