Life Cycle Assessment Study
Life Cycle Assessment Study Shows Replacing Wood Utility Poles with Steel Significantly Lowers Key Environmental Impacts A detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) study commissioned by the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute, finds when comparing overall environmental performance, galvanized steel utility poles outperform wood poles in key environmental measures. The peer-reviewed study, conducted in compliance with international LCA standards (ISO-14040-series), is the most comprehensive environmental assessment of its kind to date, bringing a new level of transparency to the comparative performance of these two material choices.