Currently, the building sector has a high environmental and climate impact due to the materials being used (e.g. concrete, steel, aluminium, PVC). Increased use of timber in the construction sector can help with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Despite the many advantages, the use of timber is still very low. Timber is mistakenly perceived as too expensive and not sustainable. In addition, the LCA (life cycle assessment) database currently used for building materials in the Netherlands is incomplete, and the LCA methodology does not include biodiversity, social impacts, circularity or embodied CO₂ in the environmental calculation.

The project will focus on improving the quality of decision making when LCA is used as a tool for selecting building materials in the social housing sector. It will improve LCA databases and lobby for the integration of wider sustainability aspects in LCA methodology.

The project aims to collect accurate data on the benefits and possibilities of building in timber and make them easily available to key stakeholders in the sector (corporations, developers, architects, engineers, construction companies)

Start date: September 2021 - End date: September 2026

Partners

• Stichting Goed Hout & Goed Papier!
• VIA University College
• Danish Council for Sustainable Forestry Note: commonly referred to as FSC Denmark
• Delft University of Technology
• Lister Buildings B.V.
• TBI Bouw