01 Sep Improving whole life carbon estimates for buildings constructed out of timber

Defra and DESNZ recently commissioned a report on “Improving Whole Life Carbon Estimates for Buildings Constructed out of Timber” to improve how we measure the carbon impact of timber buildings throughout their entire lifecycle.

The research, conducted by Arup, analysed typical new-build design of eleven UK building types to assess the carbon impacts of increasing timber use in the structure, facade, and internal partitions. It compared conventional construction methods with increasing levels of timber use, providing the most comprehensive analysis of timber buildings’ carbon impacts to date. 

The report found that increased timber use could reduce lifecycle embodied carbon of a new build by up to 9% and save up to 37MtCO2e nationally between 2024-2050. Scaling up timber use could therefore deliver substantial carbon savings nationally. But the research emphasises that material decarbonisation across all construction materials has greater impact on national emissions than timber adoption alone, highlighting the need for comprehensive approaches to construction sector decarbonisation.

Image credit: Timber Wave, via the Wood Awards. This AL_A and Arup project was given the judges special award in 2012.