The environmental benefits of wood

The environmental benefits of building in wood

A study by KTH and IVL that was commissioned by the Swedish Construction Federation shows that an apartment building made of wood has about half of the climate impact from the building process compared to an equivalent building with a concrete structure.

Building a wooden building requires less energy than other types of material. Wood also binds carbon dioxide throughout its entire lifespan and is currently the only renewable building material.

• Over a life-cycle analysis of 50 years, the building process for an apartment building with a concrete structure accounts for almost half of the climate impact (in normal cases). The remainder is the running of the building.

• Choosing a wooden structure will half the climate impact during the building process of apartment buildings. The climate impact of a wooden structure is approx 150 – 200kg CO2 per m2.

• For an apartment of 70m2, the climate savings can be up to 10 tonnes of CO2, an equivalent of 8 years of driving a car for a regular household.

• Wooden structures have a double environmental effect: When we build apartments with wooden structures, we bind the carbon into the building and create carbon storage. At the same time, growing trees bind more carbon dioxide than old trees that are taken down. 1m3 of wood binds 1 tonne of carbon dioxide per year.

• Vida Building constructs low-energy usage buildings resulting in a smaller climate impact and lower household costs. We have built and delivered energy-plus buildings.

Sources:

• The climate impact of building Report no. 8, June 2016, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute in co-operation with the Swedish Construction Federation.
• SKL report from 2013. The courage to build in wood, modern industrial wooden construction.
• The climate impact of the building process – a report from IVA and the Swedish Construction Federation.