Compared to static accounting methods, dynamic accounting applies time-dependent characterization factors to biogenic carbon emissions and removals in a given year. Burning wood is not CO 2 free; it releases carbon, stored over the previous decades, in one quick burst. The carbon footprint of the analyzed aluminum window frame was 486.0 kg CO 2 e, while the carbon footprint of plastic window frame and wood window frames were 258 and 130 kg CO 2 e, respectively. A building carbon footprint includes both operation emissions and the emissions associated with producing the material. Embodied carbon of different materials can be compared if they have the same functional equivalency, which means they provide the same service for the same length of time. Carbon footprint calculates the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by a particular activity or entity, commonly also referred to as global warming potential (GWP). A building material carbon footprint is often referred to as “embodied carbon.” Note that embodied carbon refers to the emissions associated with manufacturing a product, not the carbon that is physically stored in the wood product itself. The EU and the U.K. both accept that analysis. Comparison of Wood Carbon Footprint. The role wood can play in mitigating climate change was specifically recognized as early as 2003 in the European Commission's 6th Environment Action Programme. Drax says the only carbon footprint from burning those pellets is from the harvesting, processing, and transporting of the wood. The biogenic carbon footprint calculator implements a dynamic accounting approach that considers biogenic carbon in wood-based products. Utilizing wood products and cellulose insulation with naturally high amounts of carbon in home building is a simple and highly effective method of lowering the carbon footprint of homes to sequester carbon. Burning that wood for heat speeds up the process, he said, but it's carbon neutral, as long as it's managed in a way that allows for new growth and new opportunities for carbon absorption. It reckons that, overall, converting its power plant from coal to wood saves 12 million tons of CO2 emissions a year, making Drax “the largest carbon-saving project in Europe,” according to its CEO Andy Koss.