Metsa Wood: Construction Battles Climate Change Through Carbon Storage

PR67434

ESPOO, Finland, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ -

The building sector contributes up to 30% of global annual greenhouse gas

emissions, thus it plays a vital role in mitigating climate change. Building

with wood is a part of the solution, as wood is the only construction material

that stores carbon. Wood products, like Kerto(R) LVL, have a surprisingly small

carbon footprint during their lifecycle and can be used in practically all

buildings to store carbon.  

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One of the most important ways to mitigate climate change is to find new ways

of capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The construction sector can support

these positive developments by using wooden construction materials that capture

carbon for their entire life span. For example, timber products lock

approximately 1 ton of CO2 per 1 m3 of wood.

"The dry mass of wood is 50% carbon, and this carbon is taken away from the

atmosphere and thus does not contribute to the greenhouse effect," Matti

Kuittinen, architect and researcher from Aalto University says.

"While planning any new building or renovating an existing one, we must look at

the emissions created during the entire life cycle of the building," Dr. Frank

Werner from Frank Werner Environment & Development continues.

Wood products can be used in all buildings

Wood-based materials can be used in most parts of any building to capture

carbon from the atmosphere. This allows designers and builders to reach

ambitious CO2 reduction goals. The largest potential for storing carbon can be

achieved in external walls, intermediate floors and roof structures. For

example, a passive house was designed for a cold climate with two alternative

construction material combinations: wood frame with wood-fibre insulation and

an aircrete frame with EPS insulation.

"Both options gave the buildings' shell the same level of energy efficiency.

However, producing the wooden alternative caused approximately 40% less CO2

emissions. Also, the amount of atmospheric carbon stored in its wood frame was

almost four times as much as in the alternative," Kuittinen explains.

Wood is climate friendly over the whole life cycle - and beyond

As large amounts of carbon can be stored in the wooden parts of buildings, it

is important to ensure that the carbon storage is as long-term as possible.

Long service life requires good design, moisture safety during construction and

good maintenance. And when the wooden parts are no longer used in buildings,

they have the potential to be recycled into other products - so the atmospheric

carbon stays locked away. After a cascade of recycling, wood material can be

used for bioenergy production.

"If buildings were re-invented today, renewable materials would play a key

role. A revolution of more climate friendly and sustainable building is

possible with the help of well-developed, green building products. The rest is

up to designers and constructors," Werner concludes.

Interested in learning more about carbon storage of wood and sustainable

construction? Visit: http://www.metsawood.com/articles/

Images: http://databank.metsagroup.com/l/Wcvrqg9SzZMt

http://www.metsawood.com

Metsa Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products for

construction, industrial customers and distributor partners. We manufacture

products from northern wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our

sales in 2016 were EUR 0.5 billion, and we employ about 1,500 people. Metsa

Wood is part of Metsa Group.

For more information, please contact:

Henni Rousu, Marketing Manager, Metsa Wood, tel: +358-40-5548388,

henni.rousu@metsagroup.com

For press information, please contact:

Matt Trace, Director, Defero Communications, tel. +44(0)7828663988

matt@deferouk.co.uk

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/468927/Metsa_Wood_Construction.jpg )

SOURCE: Metsa Wood