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Sustainable Building Resources

Want to specify sustainably, but not sure where to start? We’ve curated a library of resources on how wood can help meet your project sustainability goals. Customize your search by Topic, Medium, or Content Source. Scroll down to start your search.

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Does wood have a lower carbon footprint than other materials?

Of the three primary structural materials used in construction, manufacturing lumber is the least energy intensive, followed by 100% recycled steel, concrete, and virgin steel. This accounts for wood’s low embodied carbon. Wood is also about 50% carbon by dry weight. When stored carbon is considered along with embodied carbon, many wood products have a negative CO²eq value when sourced from forests with stable or increasing carbon stocks.
Building to Net-Zero

Ok, but are there enough trees?

In short, yes. A 2021 study on the impact of long-term demand for wood products on U.S. forests, found that forest growth exceeded harvest levels — even in the most conservative scenario, using the lowest estimate of growth and the highest estimate of harvest volumes required to meet incremental demand for both lumber and mass timber in 2035.
Sustainable Forestry

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Carbon
  • Sustainable Forestry
  • Do the carbon emissions produced by forestry activities negate the carbon storage benefits of wood and wood products?

  • Is using wood the best carbon mitigation pathway? Isn’t it better to let trees grow?

  • Doesn’t cutting down trees to manufacture wood products reduce forests’ ability to store carbon?

  • How does wood’s carbon footprint compare to the other primary structural materials, like concrete or steel?

  • I’ve heard wood stores carbon. How does that work?

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