Circular Transformation of the American Wood Packaging Industry

Abstract: Introduction: Wood packaging consumes over twenty percent of industrial timber harvests in the United States. Organised reuse of wood packaging can reduce timber consumption but is not widely practised. Existing research on circular wood packaging systems is limited in scope, focusing on individual design and process interventions at the firm level. This thesis constitutes a novel investigation of the circular transformation of the American wood packaging industry at a strategic level. Research Objectives: 1. Examine the case for circular transformation under an ecological modernisation framework. 2. Assess the degree of circularity of the industry as it operates today through the lens of the seven operational principles of a circular economy. 3. Generate practical recommendations and strategies to increase the circularity of the American wood packaging industry. Methods: The effects of circular practices on the economic and environmental performance of the industry were examined at firm and national scales using quantitative modelling and analysis techniques supported by secondary data. Information about the practices of American wood pallet businesses was obtained using a questionnaire. Case studies and a barriers and drivers analysis concerning circular transformation were constructed from interviews and document analysis. Results: The model demonstrates that a universal circular wood pallet scheme can reduce national timber consumption by up to 10% (25 million tonnes/year) while reducing annual costs by up to $20 billion. The economic competitiveness of circular pallet systems is sensitive to new manufacturing costs, loss and damage rates, and freight costs, suggesting a need for supporting economic policy incentives. Disparities in capacities for circular practices between small and large wood pallet producers are seen across all phases of the wood packaging life cycle. Conclusions: A producer responsibility model for the wood packaging industry supported by producers' participation in a common, decentralised reuse scheme and complementary economic policy incentives is proposed.