The Climate-Positive Kitchen
Our outdoor kitchens and living solutions crafted by CUBIC Outdoor Living utilize Accoya® to extend the life of the wood. All sustainably harvested wood used in construction creates a carbon sink. Accoya makes that sink last much longer and provides three times the duration to enable forests to grow to replace the more durable wood.
When installing CUBIC cabinetry and furniture, not only do your outdoor rooms provide more years of enjoyment, but they also store carbon longer as wood decay is delayed.
Natural Carbon Sequestration in Wood
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis where light energy is converted into food for the trees. Trees store carbon in their trunks, limbs, leaves, and roots as well as in the soil it is growing in.
After harvesting, the wood continues to store this carbon as cellulose, lignin, and other organic compounds in its structure until it is burned or decays.
Wood biomass is about 50% carbon by dry weight. Globally, forests absorb nearly 16 billion metric tonnes of CO2 annually and when transformed into furniture, cabinetry, and buildings, the wood continues to store the carbon. The longer the wood lasts, the longer the carbon remains sequestered.
Acetylated Wood Extends Sequestration
Untreated wood in outdoor applications lasts 5-15 years depending on species and conditions before needing replacement due to rotting or warping. Consider bird houses, decks, and fences that many of us have around our homes. You will replace them several times in your lifetime.
The decaying process, increase of decay when discarding wood, and the need to harvest more wood to use in replacement all increase release of carbon back into the atmosphere contributing to unwanted climate change. Plus, associated carbon emissions from manufacturing and transportation of replacement wood construction materials increase the negative impact.
But acetylated wood such as Accoya lasts 50+ years in outdoor applications locking up carbon much longer.
The life extension of the wood not only increases the environmental protection value of that wood, but also provides more time for replanted forests to mature and capture more carbon before being harvested to replace an outdoor installation.
The longer duration the acetylated wood’s life also gives more time to develop improvements in sustainable forest management practices and future wood preservation methods.
What is Acetylation?
Acetylation is a non-toxic chemical modification of wood that enhances carbon storage by increasing wood’s durability and lifespan. Wood modification through acetylation involves reacting wood with acetic anhydride working at a molecular level to change the structure of the wood itself.
The process has low energy requirements and the changes in the wood make it less susceptible to moisture absorption and fungal attack which improves its durability and dimensional stability.
Why Choose CUBIC for Your Home?
Accoya’s longer life reduces the need for replacement which is good for your investment as well as for the environment as it extends the time carbon remains sequestered in the wood. Acetylated wood, like Accoya, has a lower carbon footprint than many conventional building materials such as steel, concrete, or plastic. When the wood is sourced from sustainable forests, carbon sequestration is maximized.
But the most important reasons to choose CUBIC for your outdoor kitchen and living solutions are:
- Luxury style suitable for indoors, but built for outdoor durability
- Custom design of your outdoor spaces
- All-weather engineering to preserve stored items and your cabinetry
- Exceptional choices in finishes
- Design and build once to last a lifetime.
