Wooden SignsWooden Signs


Welcome to Shelley Signs.  We are a leading supplier of external signs and panels with a particular expertise in Wooden Signs.  Please explore the website – the Showcase Section has a large library of photographs illustrating signs, panels, framing structures and graphics.  For a chat about the options phone Robert Shelley on 01952 541483.

Wooden Signs

Why are signs produced in wood better for the environment?

 Compared with other sign substrates wood has the lowest energy consumption and the lowest C02 emission.   Using wood signs and products encourages forestry to expand, increasing the carbon sink effect and reducing the CO2 in the atmosphere.

  The best way to use forests as carbon sinks is to harvest the timber and convert it into products (which continue to store carbon) while replanting more trees than before.   As wood is created by photosynthesis, it can be considered an efficient way of storing solar energy. Recovering the energy from wood products at the end of their life, as a substitute for fossil fuels, increases wood's positive carbon effect.

Wood can be continually regrown and replaced, which leads to a sustainable and dependable supply, though proper forest management must be practiced to ensure that growing conditions are not degraded during biomass production

 Wood is also protected under the convention on the Trade in Endangered Species and companies such as Premier Forest Products will not trade in timber species prohibited by the body.

 

The benefits of wood compared to other materials.

Using wood means you aren't using less environmentally friendly alternatives like plastic, steel or aluminium.   Timber is renewable unlike fossil fuels or mineral based products.

  Across the product lifecycle, wood and timber products achieve negative CO2 emissions and also require very little non-renewable energy for their manufacture.

 The amount of energy used to harvest, transport, convert and recycle wood is minimal compared with other sign materials

  The use of timber and wood in signs leads to the protection of the forest biome, as traders promote sustainable trade in timber and timber products from well-managed forests.


What is the carbon cycle of wood?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken from the atmosphere and used by trees to grow. When these trees die and decay or are burned, this CO2 is released back into the atmosphere.    In a mature, unmanaged forest the amount of carbon being absorbed by growing trees is the same as the amount being given off by decaying dead trees, and by the animals, microbes etc. that live off the trees as they live and die.

 For sustainably managed woodland, or energy crops, the process is similar. On balance, wood is never removed faster than it is added by new growth. Therefore the CO2 released when the wood fuel is burned is never more than the CO2 being taken up by new growth. It is therefore termed 'carbon neutral'.


What are the effects of CO2 on climate change?

 According to the International Panel on Climate Change, the 20th Century was the warmest century since records began, with the 90's the warmest decade and 1998 breaking all previous annual reports.   Since 1850 atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 30% and every year we are adding a further burden of 3.3 billion tonnes of this ‘greenhouse gases' into the atmosphere.   Some sources say that global temperatures are set to increase during the next 100 years by 1.4-5.8 centigrade, leading to predictions of widespread flooding, drought, storms and famine.   Using timber and wood for signs and panels can only be beneficial when compared with other possible substrates for outdoor signs.

    

 

How can I find sustainable sources of wood?

    * Over 97% of European softwoods consumption (and over 90% of all European wood consumption) is sourced from within Europe. For additional reassurance look for credible independent third party certification schemes, like PEFC or FSC.

What are the industry certifications and what do they mean?

    * Forestry Stewardship Scheme - The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global forest accreditation body offering independent third party verification of forest management and timber products. It does not itself conduct the certification, but instead accredits certification bodies to undertake the assessment of forests, timber and timber product processing operations and licences them to register organisations to the FSC schemes.

    * PEFC Certification - PEFC is a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national or regional forest certification schemes which have been developed to meet internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management.

    * PEFC is a single-issue certification scheme. That is why its claims concern only sustainable forest management and the wood or fibre chain from the forest to the consumer. The verification of the chain of custody of wood is required for all processing companies along the wood chain and the trading companies, which break down already labelled packages of products.

    * The PEFC rules require that the verification system is certified by an independent third party. The chain of custody rules are flexible enough to facilitate implementation by companies, whilst at the same time guaranteeing the credibility of the tracking system to the customers.