ISO/TR 25078:2025
(Main)Wood and wood-based products — Examples of calculating displacement potentials for wood-based products and considerations for further analyses
Wood and wood-based products — Examples of calculating displacement potentials for wood-based products and considerations for further analyses
This document provides examples and background literature for identifying and calculating greenhouse gas displacement potential for wood-based products as defined in ISO 13391-3:2025, including the calculation of displacement factors. This document also provides a review of considerations for further analyses that address the impact of these potentials over time in a broader economy setting.
Bois et produits à base de bois — Exemples de calcul des potentiels de déplacement pour les produits à base de bois et considérations pour d'autres analyses
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
Technical
Report
ISO/TR 25078
First edition
Wood and wood-based products —
2025-05
Examples of calculating
displacement potentials for wood-
based products and considerations
for further analyses
Bois et produits à base de bois — Exemples de calcul des
potentiels de déplacement pour les produits à base de bois et
considérations pour d'autres analyses
Reference number
© ISO 2025
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Establishing alternative products . 1
5 Establishing displacement factors for wood-based products. 2
5.1 General .2
5.2 Types of data sources .4
5.3 Calculation approaches to determine value chain emissions of wood-based and
alternative products .5
5.4 Calculation examples, including data sources .5
5.4.1 Example 1 – Wooden pallet vs. Plastic pallet .5
5.4.2 Example 2 – Wood-based bioenergy displacing fossil energy sources .6
5.4.3 Example 3 – Cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor to displace concrete floor. .7
5.4.4 Example 4 - Packaging of beverages .8
5.4.5 Example 5 - Building structure .8
5.5 Literature review .10
6 Examples of tier 1 displacement factors for selected products and product categories .12
7 Factors that can influence realisation of displacement potential . 14
7.1 General .14
7.2 Market effects .14
7.3 The time dimension. 15
7.4 Biases and choice of product system . 15
Bibliography . 17
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 287, Sustainable processes for wood and wood-
based products.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
ISO 13391-1 defines a framework for calculating greenhouse gas dynamics of wood and wood-based products,
see Figure 1. The framework identifies the displacement potential relating to displacing alternative products
by using wood and wood-based products. This includes quantification of the value chain emissions of both
the wood-based product and the alternative product, as shown in Figure 1. Displacement is composed of two
parts, the greenhouse gas emissions related to the wood-based product(s) and the potentially prevented
greenhouse gas emissions related to the alternative product(s), see Figure 1.
ISO 13391-1 provides calculation guidance for all aspects of the greenhouse gas emissions related to the
wood-based product’s value chain. ISO 13391-3 considers the emissions of alternative products and further
elaborates on the calculation of displacement potentials. This document provides additional background and
examples to users of ISO 13391-1 and ISO 13391-3. It includes aspects of the calculations as such, and also
the wider context of analysing factors that can affect to what extent the displacement potential is realised.
Figure 1 — Illustration of the components of the greenhouse gas dynamics of wood and wood-based
products
This document provides background and examples in the following areas:
— Clause 4: Approaches for identifying alternative products, i.e. products with similar functionality but
with different material origins that can be displaced by wood-based products. This pairing of alternatives
is a basis for the calculation of displacement potentials.
— Clause 5: Examples of how to establish displacement factors, i.e. the quantity of greenhouse gas
emissions avoided through displacement (in carbon dioxide equivalents) per unit of biogenic carbon (in
carbon dioxide equivalents) contained in the wood-based product(s). The displacement factors are thus
expressed in t CO e/t CO e and are as such unitless.
2 2
— Clause 6: Examples of tier 1 displacement factors for broad product categories based on the literature.
— Clause 7: Review of factors that can influence realisation of displacement potentials in society, including
the development of the wider economy and consumption patterns.
v
Technical Report ISO/TR 25078:2025(en)
Wood and wood-based products — Examples of calculating
displacement potentials for wood-based products and
considerations for further analyses
1 Scope
This document provides examples and background literature for identifying and calculating greenhouse gas
displacement potential for wood-based products as defined in ISO 13391-3:2025, including the calculation of
displacement factors.
This document also provides a review of considerations for further analyses that address the impact of these
potentials over time in a broader economy setting.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 13391-1:2025, Wood and wood-based products — Greenhouse gas dynamics — Part 1: Framework for value
chain calculations
ISO 13391-3:2025, Wood and wood-based products — Greenhouse gas dynamics — Part 3: Displacement of
greenhouse gas emissions
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 13391-1 and ISO 13391-3 apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
4 Establishing alternative products
Defining the functional unit is fundamental when calculating displacement factors and working with value
chain emissions estimates for alternative products. This is in order to allow for an objective comparison
between the alternative product and the wood or wood-based product. As per ISO 14040:2006, a
functional unit is defined as the “quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit”.
It is best practice to apply expert judgement when establishing the alternative product to ensure functional
equivalence. However, it is important to recognize that a specific material can fulfil more than one function.
For instance, in the case of a concrete shear wall, the wall provides structural capacity, a barrier to sound
transmission, as well as fire protection. In comparison, a wood-framed wall might only provide structural
capacity, and additional materials such as acoustic insulation and gypsum board are needed to meet the
sound transmission and fire protection requirements, respectively. Therefore, when establishing the
alternative product to a wood-based product to evaluate the displacement potential, it is best practice to
examine the functional unit from a system perspective.
Functional units for construction products can be based on building components providing a specific
function (e.g. 9 m × 9 m floor plate that supports an office space) or a complete building system (e.g. 4-storey
residential building). A life cycle assessment (LCA) can then be performed to determine the emissions of
both the wood-based product and alternative options in order to determine the displacement potential.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) can be used to perform the assessment. However, a direct
comparison of the EPD results between the wood-based product and an alternative product can only be
performed when the EPD is based on the same declared unit with functional equivalency, and the conditions
for comparing EPDs in ISO 14025 are met.
Similarities between the wood-based product and the alternative product can be defined to simplify the
analysis. For instance, when the functional unit is defined as a building, it can sometimes be assumed
that the operational energy use for the wood building is the same as the operational energy use for the
...
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