Explore the carbon benefits of timber from our forests to wood buildings. In addition to their renewability, wood products require less embodied energy to manufacture than other structural building materials. Trees also absorb carbon and wood products continue to sequester that carbon for the lifetime of the building, longer if the wood is recycled or reused at the end of the building’s life. With taller mass timber buildings, some whole building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies highlight the potential for carbon-positive buildings, meaning that the building actually stores more carbon than was used to construct it, provided the timber was sourced from sustainably managed forests.
This online workshop starts with an in-depth look at sustainable forest management and certification in North America. It will then explore the environmental benefits of wood structures in the context of a whole building LCA and address some of the myths and misconceptions about carbon storage in our forests and buildings. To close, a panel of leaders in sustainable development will talk about the increasing demand for healthy buildings, how wood contributes to biophilic design principles, and the resulting shift in markets. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) will also share insights on wood’s contribution to growing trends in sustainable design, such as reduced embodied energy, and greater circularity.
By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
- Highlight North America’s abundant ecological capacity to support a diverse range of forests.
- Discuss how using a variety of forest products can economically support healthy and sustainable forests.
- Describe how to quantify environmental choices in the selection of materials through the use of whole building Life Cycle Assessment and carbon accounting.
- Demonstrate how wood can contribute to sustainable development trends such as biophilic design, circularity, and a lighter carbon footprint.