Sustainability and efficiency of timber construction

The supply of wood in the European Union (EU) is based on principles of sustainable forest management. Construction is not in any manner linked to global deforestation. Building with wood is sustainable. Firstly, the raw material is natural, renewable and promotes recycling. Indeed, the timber industry encompasses the processing and use of wood in all of its phases, and at the most diverse scales, from the tree to its smallest element, sawdust. All the products and by-products are applicable in wood derivatives. Secondly, this wood could be a local resource. This would not only reduce all the environmental impacts associated with transport, but also work towards enhancing the value of indigenous wood species, directly contributing to the valorisation of forests.

As the majority of the forest owners’ revenue comes from the sale of large logs, increased wood projects can provide incentives for the active management and maintenance of forests as a carbon pool in the long-term. Regarding buildings, wood is a good thermal insulator, promoting energy efficient construction solutions. Thirdly, wood stores carbon dioxide that is only released into the atmosphere when the wood is burned. Thus, our timber constructions, our buildings, can operate as batteries that store carbon dioxide.