The timber sector seems reluctant to be classed as part of the ‘construction’ industry, though that’s where the government sees our connection with the market. This reluctance may impede our industry in securing the business opportunities brought by the government’s Sustainable Buildings Task Group report. The sustainable building agenda offers a new way to market our sector’s products, but where should we start?
Jim Lumsden, director of the Institute of Wood Science, feels we need to get closer to construction: “The Institute’s strategic plan is to encourage dialogue with architects, engineers and designers. We’ve designed our conference programmes specifically to bridge the gap between timber and construction by tabling discussions on the use of timber in buildings and sustainability and procurement issues.”
To promote timber in sustainable building, TRADA has been delivering seminars with the Association of Environmentally Conscious Builders. “Timber suppliers need to locate the business opportunities offered by the sustainable building sector,” said Terry Hyland, technical design consultant at TRADA. “If they make it easier for specifiers to source sustainable timber by providing proof through certification then more business will come their way.
“TRADA also has data proving that timber has the lowest embodied energy figures for any building material. This is a permanent benefit, not something which can be influenced by design trends. Timber suppliers need to understand what’s important in building terms – such as the ability of timber to ‘lock up’ CO2 for its lifetime, plus its ultimate recyclability – and to use these factors in their sales campaigns.”
More than trendy
Richard Lambert, director of the British Woodworking Federation, agrees that timber needs promotion beyond being a trendy material: “The proposed national Code for Sustainable Building will present an opportunity for establishing best practice and it’s up to timber product manufacturers and suppliers to get involved in the initiatives now being set up.
“Timber is fashionable but we have to be able to offer something more lasting than architects’ current fascination. We need to look at the broader aspects of sustainability including the economic and social impacts of the products we sell and their whole life costs, from production to recycling at the end of their life. Sustainability is a complex topic and goes beyond environmental issues.”
WWF, in partnership with the House Builders Federation, has just delivered its first Sustainable New Homes Award, won jointly by Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd and the Liverpool Housing Action Trust. The sustainability criteria were wide-ranging, from waste minimisation both in construction and householder lifestyle to energy and water efficiency, airborne pollution and even drainage. This ‘life cycle’ approach, measuring impacts across every aspect of a building’s construction and use, is becoming common.
The value of LCA
Dr Vahik Enjily, director of BRE‘s Centre for Timber Technology & Construction, observed: “LCA [life cycle analysis/assessment] is a complex subject requiring producers to look at their process in terms of its material and energy inputs, and the product and waste outputs rather than only the economics of the process. It also requires each part of the supply chain to take part so that the whole life impacts can be assessed.
“Credit should be given to the steel, concrete, aluminium and uPVC industries, which have a longer history of using LCA to look at and improve their products and processes, mainly because they have long been aware of the environmental implications of the energy consumption and materials used. The timber trades need to get to grips with the environmental impacts of their products and supply chain, so that they can promote its performance without resorting to inappropriate comparisons with other materials. The timber trade should welcome and seize the opportunities that LCA presents for them.”
Rita Singh, head of environment and industry performance at the Construction Products Association, wants to see LCA becoming part of building design: “Currently manufacturers, who are able to provide this information, are brought in at the last stage for supplying products after the design decisions are made. Manufacturers could be contributing much more to the sustainability of buildings if they were involved at an earlier stage of the project.”
The opportunities exist, and the time is right for timber. How fast can our industry move to turn this potential into sustainable bottom line benefits?
