The French government has made a bold move to increase the use of wood in new buildings for environmental reasons.
European wood industry association CEI-BOIS immediately welcomed the news as a positive incentive to increase the consumption of wood in construction.
The issuing of a draft decree aims to increase the minimum quantity of wood in new buildings by applying draft law Grenelle 1.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy said in May that he wanted to see a tenfold growth in the use of wood in construction when he visited a sawmill in eastern France.
The draft decree applies to all new buildings, with an exclusion cause in the event of incompatability with safety or health requirements. It also defines the threshold of wood use in each building type.
The quantity of wood materials used is to be measured by the proportion of the volume used in the structure’s net floor area.
Volumes for buildings where the building permit application will be made between December 1 and November 30, 2011, will be not less than 20 demimetres (m³) of floor area for a single-family dwelling, 3dm³ for an industrial, storage or transport services building and 7dm³ for all other buildings.
For building permits made after December 1, 2011, the volume is increased to 35dm³, 5dm³ and 10dm³ respectively.
The French minister of construction will define the method for calculating the quantity of wood in the building, while timber used is expected to meet sustainability criteria.
The European Commission has been notified of the decree. Member states and the commission have until December 7 to make comments.
A three-month postponement can only occur if the measure is believed to introduce a barrier to trade.
