26 September, 2024
Principles for Responsible Timber Construction
This year’s New York Climate Week sees an unprecedented focus on the built environment, but let’s not confuse activity with progress. We are far from decarbonising in line with Paris goals. The built environment still contributes about 40% of global emissions, with over one-quarter of that from construction materials alone. And we are set to double the size of the built environment in the next 35 years. It’s clear we can’t keep building the same way.
There is no one material solution. We urgently need new buildings to be hybrids – making the best use of the lowest carbon materials available. Wood is, of course, one of the oldest building materials known to humankind, but we are only just fully understanding its potential as a substitute for more carbon-intensive materials. It also removes carbon from the atmosphere as it grows and stores carbon safely in our buildings for centuries.
Momentum for sustainable timber construction is building. In December 2023, 17 countries from the Global North and Global South signed up to the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) ‘Greening Construction with Sustainable Timber’ initiative. These governments recognise that the increased use of wood for construction can provide a valuable solution in tackling the twin crises of climate change and deforestation around the world. It can also attract inward investment and boost economies, positively impacting millions whose livelihoods and well-being are tied to forests in various ways.
The rising need for timber does not come without risk. If forests are not managed sustainably and if wood harvests not used efficiently, accelerating demand could have counterproductive consequences. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue this opportunity. In the same way as we need more sustainable battery technology and materials to meet the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, or the wind turbines and solar panels delivering a renewable energy revolution, we need to be mindful of the risks and find new ways to ensure the right outcomes when using wood for construction. Just as the Fairtrade movement emerged to protect the rights of small-scale farmers and workers in response to growing global demand; we must ensure sustainable forest management and maximise the carbon storage potential of wood.
That’s why, since COP28 in Dubai, Built by Nature has been working with the FCLP on a set of guiding Principles for Responsible Timber Construction. These Principles aim to outline best practice across the value chain, from forest to building. As a first step, the governments who signed up to the Greening Construction with Sustainable Timber initiative are reviewing the policies, standards and incentives they already have in place – everything from forest management standards to building codes. They have then committed to “advancing public policies and enabling regulatory frameworks that support sustainable wood production and reducing barriers for increased use of wood in construction”. They have said they will “support systemic collaboration, mobilise finance, and enhance risk-taking capacity”.
Progressive private sector actors, including timberland and real estate investors as well as global corporate clients, are now stepping up to play their part in developing the Principles to help de-risk their investments and build confidence with their customers. As one global company said:
"Do we need Principles for Responsible Timber Construction? Yes! And we need radical transparency.”
Leading NGOs are also welcoming the opportunity to contribute science-based guidance and the scrutiny of critical friends, to ensure new levels of accountability that can build trust with a sometimes-sceptical public.
A Principles roundtable convened by Built by Nature and the FCLP in New York this week brought together more than 25 of the key voices – across governments, major corporations, investors, architects, industry bodies and NGOs – to discuss what substantive success would look like 14 months from now, at COP30 in Brazil. That Conference, taking place at the midpoint of what many see as the decisive decade for climate action, in one of the most critically important forest regions in the world, will inevitably bring the twin challenges of climate change and deforestation into the global spotlight once again. COP30 could, and should, be tipping point for responsible timber construction. Consensus building must lead to concerted action, before it’s too late.
