Sustainable Use of Wood in Construction

Wood is the only construction material that requires a certificate of sustainable sourcing. This book explains how sustainably grown and legally harvested wood can be specified, sourced and used in construction, within the complex regulatory framework that currently exists in Europe.

• a simple guide for architects, designers, builders and others to the use of wood without falling foul of current regulations
• unscrambles much of the hype surrounding the notion of the sustainability of wood
• shows how to specify and use wood while maintaining full compliance with current regulations

There is a great deal of innovation in the use of wood in construction, from striking modern timber buildings to new construction materials and products that reduce build times and improve building performance. In addition, wood has low embodied energy and is a renewable resource which, when properly understood and managed, has the potential to be available long after other building material resources are exhausted. Wood is thus an environmentally responsible choice for construction, provided it is sourced from sustainably managed forests. Illegal logging and the international trade in illegally sourced wood is a major problem for many wood-producing countries, so a range of schemes have been set up to ensure the construction industry is using legally sourced wood.