Whole Life Carbon Impact of 45 Timber Building

Reducing global footprints is a key topic in today’s world. The focal point in the construction sector had previously been to reduce operational energy use in buildings, but this has recently shifted to environmental impacts from materials. Bio-based materials, including wood, are particularly interesting, since they will actively help reduce impacts from buildings unlike traditional materials. This is chiefly due to wood’s capacity to capture and store carbon. Knowledge about the application of bio-based materials in construction is therefore essential when discussing how to reduce emissions from materials. This publication brings together the existing knowledge on timber buildings. Besides presenting data from several newly built Scandinavian timber buildings, the report also brings together knowledge from the following published reports:

• Anvendelse af træ i byggeriet (Using Wood in Buildings) (Rasmussen et al., 2020) In Danish
• Klimapåvirkning fra 20 træbyggerier (Whole Life Carbon Assessment of 20 Timber Buildings) (Andersen et al., 2021) In Danish
• Erfaringer fra 20 træbyggerier (Experience from 20 Timber Construction Projects) (Wittchen & Rasmussen, 2021) In Danish

Please consult the three BUILD reports above for a more detailed review of Danish timber buildings, their environmental impact, and the life-cycle assessment method applied. Case collection First, the publication presents an overview of environmental impacts from 45 timber buildings. Second, a case collection comprising 35 of these, emphasising the experiential aspects of designing and building in wood and the environmental impact produced by each building. The case collection is intended as a reference work to provide inspiration for those wishing to use timber in construction.