Here’s What ‘Renewable’ & Other Environmental Buzzwords Actually Mean

Every industry has its fair share of jargon and there are plenty of buzzwords flying around when it comes to all things environmental. (So many, in fact, that a few years ago the Macmillan Dictionary compiled a list.)

But as new studies continue to highlight, the effects of climate change are worsening and we’re all feeling desperate to take action in some way to help our planet. Whether you identify as a lovocore, off-gridder, or are just a confused individual desperately trying to remember where you put your reusable coffee cup, you’ve probably heard of the following words. But what do they actually mean?

“Renewable”

This term has been around a lot in the past few years, but do you really know what renewables are? (It’s okay to not know, this is a safe space.)

Basically, renewable energy sources are natural resources: things like solar energy, hydropower, and wind power. They harness natural resources that won’t run out and don’t harm the earth. Conversely, non-renewable energy sources are things like fossil fuel, coal, gas, and oil. Things that will run out one day unless we develop alternatives.

As well as renewable energy, we can use renewable materials, and here’s where wood comes in to the picture. It’s renewable in the sense that, once trees are harvested, more are planted to replace them, and has other environmental benefits, too.

Compared to concrete or steel, using wood leaves a smaller or even negative carbon footprint. This is because wood stores carbon (half of the weight of dry wood is carbon, absorbed from the atmosphere and stored for life by a growing tree) and has low embodied energy (this refers to the energy used during production and transport – usually greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels). Trees provide the most environmentally-friendly building material at our disposal.

If you’re wondering what happens if trees run out, don’t stress! The Australian Forest Industry plants approximately 70 million trees every year – which works out to be around the size of 136, 000 footy fields. As it takes no energy to grow trees, switching to wood products is an easy and significant way to take action. (No actual tree-hugging required.)

“Eco-Friendly”

Here’s a buzzword used constantly in relation to… pretty much anything. You’ve probably noticed “eco” appearing in front of all sorts of words – including wedding dresses for the “eco-bride”. It might be used in an email footer of a small business that wants you to know they have recycling practices in place or it might be a term someone identifies as on a dating site.

Eco-friendly essentially means being conscious of – and not having consequences that are harmful to – the environment. There are no real regulations around which products can be labelled as “eco-friendly” if it can be backed up by some inkling of environmental awareness. When deciding where to splash your cash or spend your time, it’s worth investigating what actions that label actually translates to: does the business have minimum requirements or targets to meet? Is there a dedicated action plan in place? Are they signed up to some formal eco-labelling or auditing system? For wood and wood products, this means either Responsible Wood or the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), both of these should have logos on products or materials. If you can’t get answers from an employee, answers can often be found on websites or within official reports (if you’re looking for some light reading).

“Sustainable”

Sustainability can be broadly defined as maintaining a healthy environmental, social, and economic system – essentially, sustaining our planet and everything on it. James Cook University put together this handy diagram showing how all of those subsets interact. This can apply to relatively straightforward things like plastic bag bans or larger government initiatives to address long-term impacts of any number of things.

When you’re choosing a service provider or buying a product, it’s worth taking some time to research what will be the most sustainable option. It doesn’t have to be complicated: let’s say your friend is having a baby shower. Resist the urge to swing by a chain store for a piece of plastic and consider gifting the little bundle of joy a wooden toy set instead. The environment (and your friend, whose home is probably fast filling with colourful rubbish) will thank you.

“Green”

Here’s a fun fact: did you know whacking a green label on something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s eco-friendly? A survey from 2014 found that 30 percent of millennials believe that simple or green-coloured packaging indicates the product is made sustainably. You might laugh at first, but we’re visual creatures and our brains are wired to categorise things as quickly as possible. At first glance, a furniture store decked out with earth-friendly tones and minimalist aesthetics might lure you in… but it turns out they’re churning out flat-pack polymer nightmares. If you’re wanting a less disposable and better quality option, think renewable and sustainable, then consider wood and other alternatives.

“Free-Range”

More and more of us cringe when we see the “cage” label on a carton of eggs and reach swiftly for the free-range option instead. But what’s the real difference? In 2016, a definition was proposed that means these hens must have access to “meaningful and regular access to the outdoors” and, unfortunately, some companies have been found to alter this definition to suit their less-than-ethical practices.

To combat these creative interpretations, the CSIRO published a code of conduct that recommends farmers should have no more than 1500 chooks per hectare. (That said, free-range farms are sometimes still found to be guilty of other animal welfare issues.) It’s recommended you take a few minutes to fully research where your eggs are coming from, and not just grab a box of the shelf.

So what’s the bottom line? Words matter! A lot of power is expressed through the use of certain terms and these terms are used to influence policy, funding, and our individual choices. To truly make a difference we need to understand what these words mean. Environmental impact is an increasingly important issue and if you want to take action, ensure you’ve done your research.

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Find out why they call wood The Ultimate Renewable™ at makeitwood.org

Brought to you by Planet Ark’s Make it Wood.

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(Lead image: Raw Film / Unsplash)