Comparative Study on the Carbon Footprint of Bio-Based Products: Analysis of Contributions from Material Selection, Carbon Stock Changes, and End-of-Life Disposal Options

This study assesses carbon footprint (CF) and explores mitigation potentials through improved resource efficiency for fire-resistant wood doors (WFDs) and fire-resistant bamboo doors (BFDs). Both WFDs and BFDs are certified to the Chinese national fire resistance standard GB 12955-2024, ensuring the same core fire resistance performance and functional equivalence. Results show that WFDs have a slightly lower CF (806.04 kg CO2 e/m3) than BFDs (830.54 kg CO2 e/m3), where the raw material phase acts as the main contributor (58.57–64.32%). Crucially, significant mitigation potentials are identified by enhancing resource efficiency across the product life cycle through reducing processing loss, and extending service lifespan, and sustainable recycling. Approximately 35.2 billion kg CO2 will remain after reducing carbon loss by 5% in the Chinese wood/bamboo industrial sector. Recycling approaches (wood/bamboo panels, bio-based pellet fuel, and biochar) can be utilized with fewer emissions to economize bio-resources. The use of biochar provides greater carbon storage benefits and will help to limit the effects of climate change.