Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials

What Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials does

Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) is a nonprofit research corporation founded in 1996 by 15 research institutions to update a 1976 National Academy of Science report on renewable materials. Headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon and governed under Washington state law, CORRIM conducts and manages Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research on the environmental impacts of producing, using, and disposing of forest products. Its core outputs are peer-reviewed LCA reports and ISO 14025-compliant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for wood building materials including softwood lumber, plywood, OSB, glulam, LVL, I-joists, MDF, particleboard, hardboard, mass timber (CLT, NLT, MPP), and laminated strand lumber, organized across U.S. supply regions (Pacific Northwest, Southeast, Northeast-Northcentral, Inland Northwest, and national/regional averages).

CORRIM's methodology stack is built around Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) databases developed through Phase I (2000-2004) and Phase II (2005-2009) research programs, with updated revisions supporting EPD development since 2013. The organization also conducts research in carbon management, bioenergy (including biochar, biofuels, wood pellets), and circular economy integration. Research is validated through peer-reviewed publications in Wood and Fiber Science and Forest Products Journal, and disseminated via reports, EPDs, factsheets, webinars, videos, and biennial workshops.

Revenue is generated through research grants (notably from USDA Forest Service, including a $2 million award in December 2024 for a biochar and carbon-credit pilot with Circular Spring and Wilson Biochar Associates) and contributions from corporate and institutional members including the American Wood Council, Composite Panel Association, APA - The Engineered Wood Association, Western Wood Products Association, FPInnovations, and university research institutions. All LCA reports, EPDs, and factsheets are distributed publicly at no cost via corrim.org and through industry-association channels. The organization operates with 1-10 staff under a Board-led governance structure with current Executive Officers Dr. Indro Ganguly (President, University of Washington) and Dr. Jennifer Russell (Vice President, Virginia Tech).

Name

Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials

Legal name

Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials

Website

https://corrim.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CORRIM is a nonprofit research corporation founded in 1996 by 15 research institutions that conducts peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessments and ISO 14025 Environmental Product Declarations for North American wood and forest products, serving manufacturers, architects, policymakers, and forest managers via publicly distributed reports funded by grants and institutional memberships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Research Services / Life Cycle Assessment

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Product Sustainability & LCA/EPD (Eco-design, PCF) (EUAHAJAF)

Keywords

• Life cycle assessment
• Environmental product declarations
• Forest products research
• Sustainable building materials
• Carbon footprint analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Corvallis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants: CORRIM receives funding through research grants from government agencies including USDA Forest Service ($2M grant in 2024 for biochar market project) and Department of Energy. These grants support specific research initiatives and projects.
2. Corporate and Institutional Membership: The consortium is supported by contributions from companies and industry associations. Companies provide primary data and financial support in exchange for access to research findings and involvement in research priorities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CORRIM conducts and manages Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research on the environmental impacts of production, use, and disposal of forest products. The organization develops and publishes ISO 14025-compliant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), regional LCA reports, and supporting research publications covering wood building materials (lumber, plywood, OSB, glulam, LVL, I-joists, MDF, particleboard, mass timber) across multiple U.S. supply regions. Outputs are made publicly available through the CORRIM website and via partner industry associations.

Product overview

CORRIM is a nonprofit research corporation that conducts and manages Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research on the environmental impacts of production, use, and disposal of forest products. The organization's offerings center on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and LCA reports for wood building materials including softwood lumber, plywood, OSB, glulam, LVL, I-joists, and mass timber products. These are organized into regional databases covering Pacific Northwest, Southeast, Inland Northwest, Northeast/Northcentral, and national averages. CORRIM also provides research reports on carbon management, bioenergy, circular economy integration, and sustainable building. The research spans two major phases covering forest resources through end-of-life, with updates for EPD development. Products are made available through the LCA Library, Environmental Product Declarations page, and individual product reports published in partnership with American Wood Council and Composite Panel Association.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) ISO 14025-compliant Environmental Product Declarations covering softwood lumber, plywood, OSB, glulam, LVL, I-joists, hardboard, MDF, particleboard, and laminated strand lumber, used by wood products manufacturers and building design professionals to disclose verified environmental impact data over product lifecycles.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Reports Comprehensive LCA reports on wood products spanning forest resources through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life disposal, organized by U.S. supply region (Pacific Northwest, Southeast, Inland Northwest, Northeast/Northcentral) and product type. Used by manufacturers, architects, engineers, policymakers, and forest managers.
• Phase I and Phase II Research Reports Multi-phase, peer-reviewed research programs providing comprehensive Life Cycle Inventory data on forest management, manufacturing, construction, use, and end-of-life stages. Phase I (2000–2004) covered Pacific Northwest and Southeast regions; Phase II (2005–2009) extended coverage to Northeast-Northcentral and Inland West regions and additional product categories.
• Mass Timber LCA Reports Life cycle assessments for mass timber products including Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), Glued-Laminated Timbers (glulam), Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT), Laminated-Veneer Lumber (LVL), Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), and Mass Plywood Panels (MPP).
• Bioenergy Research Research on bioenergy technologies using renewable biomass resources to produce energy products including electricity, fuels, heat, and chemicals. Includes life cycle assessments of biochar, biofuels, and wood pellets.
• Carbon Management Research Research on carbon emissions, stores, and management strategies covering carbon cycling in forests, carbon pools in wood products, and carbon mitigation through forest management and wood utilization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Environmental Product Declarations developed for major wood product categories across U.S. regions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Circular SpringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2024Partnership awarded $2M USDA Forest Service grant for 'Building a Biochar Market for Forest and Climate Resilience' project. Project explores biochar use for carbon sequestration and soil health while generating carbon credits to fund forest management for small landowners in Washington State.
• Wilson Biochar AssociatesmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 December 2024Partners with Wilson Biochar Associates for expertise in biochar production and carbon quantification via the CHARR App to facilitate precise field measurements and data collection for the MRV process.
• American Wood Council (AWC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration for development of Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessment reports for regional softwood lumber, plywood, OSB, LVL, and I-joists. Completed suite of EPDs in 2025.
• Composite Panel AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on EPDs for North American hardboard, medium density fiberboard, and particleboard products in accordance with ISO 14025.
• Climate Action ReservemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject adheres to Climate Action Reserve's US/CAN Biochar Protocol for carbon credit generation in the biochar market initiative.
• University of WashingtoncoreOthersVoting institutional member with Executive Committee representation (President: Indro Ganguly). Hosts Circular Economy Workshop in 2020.
• Oregon State UniversitycoreOthersVoting institutional member with Executive Committee representation (Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer: Arijit Sinha).
• Virginia TechcoreOthersVoting institutional member (Brooks Forest Products Center) with Executive Committee representation (Vice President: Jennifer Russell).
• FPInnovationsmajorOthersVoting institutional member providing research partnership in wood products and forest operations.
• APA, The Engineered Wood AssociationmajorOthersVoting institutional member representing engineered wood industry interests.
• Western Wood Products AssociationmajorOthersVoting institutional member representing Western wood products manufacturers.
• Yale UniversitymajorOthersVoting institutional member through Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry (Director: Chad Oliver).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FPInnovations: FPInnovations is a Canadian nonprofit forest products research organization with a comparable mission of generating scientific data for the wood-products value chain. It is a voting institutional member of CORRIM but also produces competing/parallel LCA and sustainability research.
• National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI): NCASI conducts environmental research for the forest products industry on air, water, and sustainability topics. It shares CORRIM's nonprofit, member-supported model and focus on generating scientific data to inform forestry and wood-product industry decision-making.
• Athena Sustainable Materials Institute: Athena is a nonprofit research organization that develops life cycle inventory data and EPDs for construction materials including wood, steel, and concrete. It is the closest comparable peer, providing peer-reviewed LCA data for North American building products — directly overlapping CORRIM's core mission and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA): AF&PA is the U.S. forest products industry's national trade association, which funds and publishes sustainability/environmental research including category-specific EPDs and advocacy. It is broader than CORRIM but overlaps in producing industry-wide LCA/EPD resources for wood products.
• Sphera (formerly thinkstep): Sphera provides commercial LCA software, databases (GaBi), and consulting across multiple industries. It competes indirectly by offering proprietary LCA tooling and EPD generation services that manufacturers may choose over CORRIM's open-research approach.
• PRé Sustainability: PRé develops SimaPro, one of the most widely used LCA software platforms, and provides LCA consulting including EPD development. It serves the same end-customers (manufacturers, building designers) as CORRIM but via commercial software and services.
• USDA Forest Products Laboratory: The federal FPL conducts extensive research on wood products including life cycle, durability, and carbon performance. It operates at much larger scale and broader scope than CORRIM, but is the primary public-sector incumbent in U.S. wood-products research.

Peers

• Composite Panel Association: CPA is a trade association representing manufacturers of particleboard, MDF, and hardboard that CORRIM jointly develops EPDs with. It functions as both a member partner and industry intermediary that amplifies CORRIM's reach into engineered wood product manufacturers.

Emerging players

• Climate Action Reserve: Climate Action Reserve operates carbon offset registries (including the US/CAN Biochar Protocol that CORRIM's new project adheres to). It is a strategic partner on the biochar initiative and an emerging player in the carbon market space CORRIM is moving into.

Others

• American Wood Council: AWC is CORRIM's core strategic partner for EPD development and distribution across engineered wood and softwood lumber products. It is a key distribution channel rather than direct competitor, but is comparable in its industry-coordinating role for wood-product sustainability data.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/corrimresearch

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials