According to the USDA Forest Service, "While trees grow in the forest, they store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in their trunks, branches, stems, leaves, roots and soil. So, when trees are sustainably harvested, wood continues to store carbon in the thousands of products we use every day, from paper products to lumber to energy generation. Trees then regrow, repeating the cycle."
In fact, the USDA recently completed a Life Cycle Assessment of engineered wood flooring and reached the following conclusion “This study showed that engineered wood flooring can be considered a carbon-negative material that stores carbon (22.85 kg CO2eq/m2 flooring) for decades and thus can help to mitigate climate change.” Source: Life-cycle assessment of prefinished engineered wood flooring in the eastern United States
Furthermore, by using engineered wood flooring instead of alternatives, builders and architects can reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 82%.
Source: Engineered Wood Flooring Environmental Product Declaration, Rigid Core Flooring Environmental Product Declaration, USDA
For more information on how working forests and wood products store carbon and mitigate climate change, see www.forestcarbondataviz.