Looking forward to a post-Covid-19 world, we can decide whether to carry on as usual or build a better future. That’s why the UK timber industry has launched a new campaign to show how wood’s unique ability to reduce CO2 emissions can put the construction industry at the heart of government plans for a Green Economy.
Building with wood can help meet two government targets – to reach Net Zero Carbon by 2050 through carbon capture, and to progress towards a target of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, through off-site capability.
A recent report by Bangor University found that ‘using timber frames rather than masonry can reduce carbon embodied emissions by around 20% per building, while when CLT is chosen in place of concrete structures, the effect is even greater, with carbon embodied emissions reduced by around 60%.’
In its 2019 report, UK Housing; Fit for the Future?, the Committee on Climate Change recommends that the government should: ‘Develop new policies to support a substantial increase in the use of wood in construction’.
To see the latest in wood design in Swedish Wood’s Trä! magazine, and for free information and CPDs on building with wood, visit woodcampus.co.uk
To find out more about how using wood from sustainably-managed forests instead of other materials is a good way to reduce CO2 emissions, visit woodforgood.com/CO2
