How Timber Could Save the World

A global race is ongoing. How can we begin the process of removing carbon from our atmosphere? How to achieve mass carbon fixation is one of the most important questions of the 21st century. So what if we told you construction practices might hold the answer?

Cross-Laminated Timber is a revolutionary system of engineering timber use to store carbon, one that might be the future of green construction. Learn the basics of CLT’s prospective carbon-storing capabilities in this easy to understand graphic:

One cubic meter of wood stores a ton of carbon dioxide, making it an extremely efficient system of atmospheric carbon removal and storage. It is important that we establish responsible building practices with materials that actually help alleviate the problem, rather than making it worse. “Embodied carbon of building materials matters a great deal” says Anthony Thistleton, author of a new book on the benefits of timber construction.

So what about projects that wood is not ideal for? Thistleton claims that every industrial project that can be engineered using energy-costly materials can be engineered using carbon-storing timber. “We can structure any architectural style with wood, we can insulate with straw and mushrooms” says author Bruce King.

So if there are cost-beneficial, architecturally sound, carbon positive methods of sourcing construction materials, what is the holdup?

What’s your opinion of using mass-scale timber production as a targeted carbon storage method? Would you go all-wood for a carbon neutral home?

Let us know if you’d like to become a part of the carbon-positive revolution, contact us today to build your commercial or industrial renovation project with your footprint in mind!

Thanks to Treehugger for the original article: https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/can-cross-laminated-timber-save-world.html