STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 97
TIMBER – THE NET ZERO HERO?
The road to net zero is now set, and pressure is mounting on the construction sector to deliver. For housebuilders, choosing to use sustainable materials such as timber should be an easy decision; Andrew Carpenter of the Structural Timber Association (STA) explains why.
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n 2019, the Government joined a number of other nations in its pledge to combat the threat of climate change and achieve ‘net zero’ emissions status by 2050. Since then, progress has been made towards this goal – although there is still much to be done. In order for the UK to succeed, all sectors and industries must commit to reducing their carbon output in line with the climate agenda. While this responsibility is shared across all sectors, the construction industry contributes as much as 40% of carbon emissions globally and is therefore under particular scrutiny to reduce its environ- mental impact. In a bid to combat the damage caused by the sector, last year the Government launched its Build Back Greener strategy document, which outlined its clear intentions to increase the use of sustainable materials within new developments, including housing. The pressure to reduce the environ-
mental impact of new developments is yet another issue that faces housebuilders. Local authorities throughout the UK are attempting to rapidly increase their housing stock to meet the rising demand for new homes. Delivering such a large number of homes while meeting environ- mental targets is posing a diffi cult task for local authorities and housebuilders alike. The UK’s housing crisis is nothing new though; in 2015 the Government set out an aim to build 300,000 homes a year to combat the problems. However, this target has not been met, and recent estimates suggest that 345,000 new homes are now required to be built each year to overcome the backlog. Furthermore, the UK’s housing issue has been worsened by the increasing need for affordable homes. In the 2017 UK Housing Review Briefi ng Paper, the issue of affordability was described as “neglected” for both private and social housing. Today, it is critical
that a solution is identifi ed and applied to produce affordable homes at pace while also meeting environmental targets. Structural timber systems could provide housebuilders with the answer. Singled out within the Build Back Greener document, due to its exceptional sustainable credentials and its position as the only truly renewable building resource, timber is held to possess far more environmental advantages than other materials, such as steel and concrete. This is chiefl y due to carbon sequestration. As a tree grows, it absorbs and stores carbon, which equates to 0.9 tonnes of carbon per square metre of timber. This means that throughout its lifecycle, timber has a carbon negative impact on the environment.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) found that if 270,000 new houses were built each year using timber frame, it would increase the carbon sequestered in
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