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The use of wood instead of other building materials reduces CO2 emissions in the atmosphere

The value of wood

Wood is an extraordinary, light and strong material, which radiates a feeling of natural welcome wherever it is used. The use of wood represents a simple and effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This is possible thanks to the “carbon sink” effect, the “carbon stock” capacity and the possibility to be used as a substitute of products with a high carbon content. Each cubic metre of wood used as a substitute of another building material reduces CO2 emissions in the atmosphere by 1.1 tons on average. If we consider also that 0.9 tons of CO2 held inside, each cubic metre of wood saves 2 tons of CO2 overall. As wood products store the carbon originally absorbed by trees, carbon is removed from the atmosphere for a period of time corresponding to the life cycle of the product and even afterwards, when the product is reused or recycled. Currently, there is not any other commonly used building material requiring less production energy than wood. The more wood replaces other materials, the more the so-called “substitution effect” further reduces the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. This reduction complies with the requirements provided for by articles 3 and 4 of the Kyoto Protocol and the wood processing industry may already boast credits in the framework related to the project of emissions trading.

An idea of beauty

When architects and engineers design constructions and buildings such as bridges, government offices, schools or factories, they still take wood into consideration in order to convey an idea of contemporary beauty, whose origins are in nature and the protection of the environment. Wood creates natural conditions for a healthy life. It is easy to clean, helps to keep an optimum humidity balance and warm the room more easily, and minimizes condensation. For this reason, wood is increasingly used in the building industry, for kindergartens and schools, religious, administration and cultural buildings, buildings used for events, large houses and plants, as well as in constructions related to transports, such as bridges, noise barriers, hydraulic engineering works and avalanche defence structures.

Application efficiency

Therefore, not only wood production and processing are highly efficient, but wood can be also used to replace materials such as steel, aluminium, concrete or plastic, which require large quantities of energy for their production. According to these figures, a 10% increase in wooden houses in Europe would give a CO2 saving sufficient to produce a CO2 reduction by approximately 25%, as prescribed by the Kyoto Protocol. Using wood helps also to save energy during the building life cycle, as the wood cell structure gives extraordinary heat insulation: 15 times higher than concrete, 400 times than steel and 1770 times than aluminium. A wooden board of 2.5 cm has a thermal resistance higher than that of a brick wall of 11.46 cm. Moreover, wood is becoming an increasingly competitive solution due to the more restrictive European regulations on energy conservation in the building industry.

The planet defence

Approximately 60% of climate change can be attributed to CO2 emissions from human activities. The growing process of trees is based on the absorption of CO2 and the production of O2. On average, a typical tree absorbs by photosynthesis the equivalent of a ton of carbon dioxide per cubic metre of growth and produces the equivalent of 0.7 tons of oxygen. There are to ways to reduce the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere: reducing “carbon sources” and increasing “carbon sinks”. To all intents and purposes, wood, which can contribute to both ways, is the first biological safeguard of the planet. Thanks to photosynthesis, trees are able to absorb the CO2 present in the air and combine it with the water they get from the soil to produce an organic material, wood. From each CO2 molecule, photosynthesis produces two key components that are essential for life: a carbon atom, around which all living materials are generated, and an oxygen molecule, around which all animal life gravitates.

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The use of wood instead of other building materials reduces CO2 emissions in the atmosphere

The value of wood

An idea of beauty

Application efficiency

The planet defence