Woodknowledge Wales

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Search Results for: how to sustainably produce

June 23, 2022 – How to sustainably produce the timber we need for a zero-carbon Wales

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Interactive forest walk looking at how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society.

“Wood is the only advanced industrial material that we can use more of and mitigate climate change at the same time” – Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James MS.

As simple as this sounds, it poses a challenge. Today, most of our construction timber is imported. Reforesting Wales with a proportion of timber producing species is complex and poorly understood.

At this unique event you will gain an understanding of the past, present and future of Welsh forestry, and how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society. The day includes an interactive forest walk where you will be able to learn from experts with a life-long passion for growing trees and processing wood.

Location: Woodlands at Llangoed, Brecon, Wales, LD3 0NP

Woodknowledge Wales is delighted to have been invited to visit the private woodlands at Llangoed. These woodlands are an integral part of a traditional estate and have been predominantly managed to provide timber. The woodlands have won a number of prestigious awards over the years and recently won the Royal Forestry Society regional award for excellence in silviculture. The private Estate focuses on the best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, combined with respect for significant biodiversity. The Estate’s aim to grow the highest yielding, best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, with a clear focus on producing timber (some up to 60cm diameter) with the aim of providing a regular income

Format: In person event – max. 25 places

Speakers: Chris Jones (Forestry Specialist) and Dainis Dauksta (Wood Science Specialist)

PROGRAMME

  • AM Guided Forest Walk
  • PM Theory session with Q&A

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 23/06/2022

Time: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Global call for scalable biobased construction material solutions

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Built by Nature offers its first global prize worth €500,000 to reecognise innovation and stimulate scalability in the use of biobased materials in construction

We know from our work with construction professionals throughout the UK the importance of stimulating scalable innovation in products manufactured using sustainably sourced timber and renewable biobased materials such as timber, bamboo, hemp, straw, algae, and fungi. Generating up to 40% of the world’s greenhouse gases, the built environment offers huge potential in the application of tangible, realistic solutions that address climate change through decarbonisation of our cities and buildings.

“Where was this prize twenty-five years ago when I was running my hemp factory?” exclaimed Gary Newman, CEO, Woodknowledge Wales. “It is fantastic to see initiatives like this supporting development of nature-based solutions, which are so critical to the sustainability and decarbonisation agenda. The need for such support is essential to regenerating the natural and build environments throughout the world.”

The Built by Nature Prize, totalling €500,000, is supported by Laudes Foundation and LTPP, aims to identify and attract biobased construction material manufacturers and their market-ready innovations from all regions and help those producers overcome barriers to mainstream market entry.

“Given the scale of urban development that is inevitable around the world over the coming decades, we simply cannot afford to build in the way we have in most of Europe for the last few hundred years. We urgently need to find innovative, renewable, low-carbon construction materials to radically reduce the embodied carbon footprint of new buildings and cities,” said Paul King, Built by Nature CEO.

Built by Nature, a network and grant-making fund, has awarded €3.3 million in grants to date with additional co-funding of €2.2 million toward 28 projects across Europe focused on developing solutions to overcome barriers and stimulate increased uptake of biobased materials, with a focus on mass timber. 

To reflect the global scope of the Prize, the judging panel is comprised of leading experts from the built environment, architecture, finance, social value, and biomaterials from around the world. Dr Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect and renowned for her leadership at the intersection of architecture and social justice, will serve as Honorary Advisor to the Built by Nature Prize. The Prize jury members are:  

  • Arief Rabik – Chair and Founder of Bamboo Village Trust, and founder and CEO of PT Indobamboo Lestari in Indonesia. 
  • Ariel Shtarkman – Managing Partner of Undivided Ventures, co-Founder and Managing Director of Atom Assets. 
  • Mae-ling Lokko, from Ghana and the Philippines, is Assistant Professor at Yale University’s School of Architecture, specialising in agrowaste and biobased materials.  
  • Stig Hessellund – Architect and project manager with Realdania, with a primary focus on sustainable development in the construction industry. 
  • Ana Belizario is head of business development at Brazilian mass timber producer Urbem. 

The prize’s overall winner will receive an award of €250,000 with the criteria focusing on the demonstrated potential for significant carbon emissions reduction and benefits to nature and local communities.  

Three runners-up prizes of €50,000 each will also be awarded based on the same criteria, with €100,000 in discretionary funds reserved for promising projects judged to be worthy of support. 

To qualify, proposed solutions must be composed primarily of biomaterials with primary use intended for the built environment; indicate that the product can be successfully manufactured and implemented using currently available technology, and the product/service must already be in market, whether through an early-stage pilot project or openly available. 

In addition to the prize money, valuable exposure and storytelling opportunities, benefits to award recipients will include introductions across Built by Nature’s extensive frontrunner and partner networks for mentoring support, access to potential investors and new markets,​ and facilitated connections to peers facing similar challenges and opportunities around the world​. By promoting public and industry awareness and education around the potential benefits and applications of the materials solutions, the winners will directly contribute to Built by Nature’s vision and mission. 

The deadline for applications is January 25, 2024, with final winners to be announced on June 4. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit the Built by Nature Prize website for full details. 

Circular wood use for accelerated global decarbonisation

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New research calls for cross-sectoral coordination to maximize net zero benefits of wood recycling

Perhaps not just a pile of old pallets or biomass?

Whilst less than 1% of waste wood goes to landfill in the UK, a new study published in Nature Communications proposes further efficiencies. A team of researchers from Bangor University, the University of Galway in Ireland and Woodknowledge Wales, analysed the whole life cycle of the current timber value chain. They believe collaboration and system change is needed to achieve even longer sequestration of the carbon locked within timber already in use within the supply chain.

The full paper, Circular wood use can accelerate global decarbonisation but requires cross-sectoral coordination [1], was written by Eilidh Forster, John Healey, Gary Newman and David Styles. It was published online by Nature Communications on 25 October 2023 and is open access. The original press release can be read via Bangor University’s news page. [2]

“The UK is currently able to produce only a fraction of the wood it requires yet recovered wood ‘waste’ is an under-valued resource. Improved transparency, reporting and management of recovered wood could create a multitude of circular business opportunities.” Eilidh Forster, lead author and PhD researcher, Bangor University

Enhancing the benefits of timber towards net zero

Wood harvested from sustainably managed forests is an important source of renewable biomaterial and global demand for wood is forecast to increase by up to 170% by 2050. In 2022, UK timber imports cost £11.5 billion.

Carbon captured during tree growth is retained in wood from harvested trees. The manufacture of timber products already tends to minimise greenhouse gas emissions relative to the manufacture of materials such as concrete and steel. Additionally, timber products are excellent carbon stores throughout the full life cycle of those products.

The benefits of timber towards net zero can be enhanced further by applying the principles of the circular economy. By identifying new ways to use, then reuse timber, before reusing that wood again – perhaps in the form of chipboard or wood fibre – there is huge potential to extend the service life of wood. By doing so, that captured atmospheric carbon is stored within that wood. Additionally, reusing wood in this ‘cascading’ manner (a concept introduced and explained in detail in Forster et al’s first paper [3]) brings down the demand for fresh supplies. As a result, there are also increased net carbon sequestration gains from reduced harvesting of virgin wood and reduced transport costs for timber imports.

Biogenic carbon material flow from wood harvest going to Hierarchical or ‘cascading’ use [2, Figure 3]

A circular or cascading wood flow as shown in the reproduced Figure above, delivers multiplied efficiencies in the journey to net zero. The report presents results that indicate a circular approach to recycling medium-density fibreboard (MDF) in the UK alone could deliver ‘75% more cumulative climate-change mitigation by 2050’ when compared with the current, ‘business-as-usual’ single-use approach. In combination with the complementary, if slower, long-term benefits of planting new forests for wood production, the cumulative effects of these two approaches alone could mitigate 258.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. Which equals 61% of the total of net territorial emissions of the UK in the single year of 2021.

“Planting new production forests to meet future wood demand is a very important priority for achieving net zero, however it will take several decades for this benefit to be realised, and we can’t afford to wait that long to reduce the current rate of global warming. Therefore, we also need to act urgently to increase the efficiency with which we reuse current wood products to reduce the pressure that we are placing on global forests to meet our needs.” John Healey, study co-author and Professor of Forest Sciences, Bangor University

System change needed to maximise potential benefits of timber

The new research highlights that, while there are many potential benefits for net zero to be leveraged further, the current UK timber manufacturing system incorporates significant barriers that will first need to be overcome. The aims of the paper were to highlight these barriers and propose solutions that might enable maximum efficiency towards net zero across the timber value chain.

The researchers cite uncertainty of land-use subsidies, poor transparency of material flow through the value chain, and a lack of agreed circularity metrics among other barriers. They also note that low public awareness means the industry isn’t under social pressure and that this, in turn, has enabled conservatism towards change. To resolve these issues, the authors recommend industry collaboration towards cross-sector co-ordination, government intervention on matters such as compulsory deconstruction planning requirements for the built environment, and extended responsibility from manufacturers across the entire life cycle of their products.

“To substantially increase the efficiency of the whole system will require some significant changes in the wood using industries in UK, backed-up by better-targeted government policies, to substantially improve their co-ordination from afforestation to better wood recovery and reuse.” David Styles, study co-author and Associate Professor in Agri-sustainability, University of Galway.

Use, reuse, and reuse again before end-of-life biomass

Currently, a huge proportion of our out-of-service timber products are burnt as biomass to generate heat or electricity. The research team point out that there is opportunity to re-use or recycle these products several times prior to what should be perceived only as a final, end-of-life use as biomass.

Collect, recycle, reuse – striving for a zero-waste economy Source: Circular Economy, Kronospan

There are already several pioneering projects here in Wales that do employ circular thinking to timber reuse with great success. Particleboard manufacturers are increasing their use of recycled wood chips and innovative methods are being used to recover wood fibres from MDF board recovered from residential demolition. Recovered wood fibres can then be used as insulation, locking in the carbon for many more tens of years again within new build homes. If installed with recovery in mind, this same insulation might then be recoverable for further use in the next generation of new builds. This circular thinking can extend the use of the original harvested tree for hundreds more years.

“Moving to a circular economy is difficult but essential if we are to meet both our decarbonisation targets as well as our future resource needs. This paper shows the size of the win and makes practical suggestions for how we might get there. Woodknowledge Wales is an experiment in the kind of cross-sector coordination advocated by this research.” Gary Newman, study co-author and Chief Executive of Woodknowledge Wales.

References

1: Forster, E. J., Healey, J. R., Dymond, C. & Styles, D. , Circular wood use can accelerate global decarbonisation but requires cross-sectoral coordination. Nature Communications, 14:6766, (2023) DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-42499-6

2: Recycling used wood can make a big contribution to net zero but it needs much better coordination, Press Release, https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/ [Accessed 26 October 2023]

3: Forster, E. J., Healey, J. R., Dymond, C. & Styles, D. Commercial afforestation can deliver effective climate change mitigation under multiple decarbonisation pathways. Nature Communications, 12:3831 (2021) DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-24084-x

Further reading

Learning to build better homes

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Since the formal end of the Home-Grown Homes Project in March we’ve been applying the learning from it with social landlords. We’re moving from research into implementation – inviting social landlords to identify projects we could support them on. We have also formed a community of practice for our member development teams which has so far focussed on the key challenges in creating net zero carbon housing solutions. Our WoodBUILD events programme has been focussed on supporting social landlords and their partners to meet the new Welsh Development Quality Requirements 2021. The events have mostly been held virtually and have brought together experts in the field to contribute their thinking on action each organisation can take to respond.

The 2021 WDQR – Creating Beautiful Homes and Spaces

For readers unfamiliar with the new housing standards social landlords have to meet, they represent a significant change of approach for Welsh Government, which both funds and regulates them. It’s been a long-awaited review and its outcome is ambitious. They set minimum standards but encourage something better. And it’s not just about the homes but the spaces created around them.

WoodBUILD

The Launch Event kicked off with a welcome from Shayne Hembrow of Wales & West who with Welsh Government are WoodBUILD sponsors. It brought together Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters, Campbell Lammie, one of the new standard architects and Pobl’s Neil Barber.

Exciting people about trees

100 virtual delegates heard Lee express his admiration for Woodknowledge Wales’ contribution to the ‘deep dive’ into tree planting. Society’s view on trees, wood, timber and forests he described is atrophied and not mature. ‘We need to excite people about trees and what they can do for us’. He talked of an alliance for change to get things done on tree planting where we needed to plant 86 million trees in 9 years, the enormity of which he thinks we haven’t yet grasped and which wasn’t helped by the ‘alien’ perception farmers have of tree planting. He wants to build a wood economy at the heart of which is creating 20,000 homes using MMC and timber solutions. He also sees an industry needing to adapt and to ask what the best use of trees is – garden fences or homes that displace carbon? As far as he is concerned, we need to plant more trees and make better use of the ones we do plant, to maximise the economic value – a genuinely exciting and huge challenge which he promised to drive forward with the deep dive group.

Raising the bar for new developments

Campbell Lammie gave a quick summary of the WDQR 2021, the first change in standards since the launch of the Development Quality Requirements in 2005. He described them as ‘raising the bar’ in a non-prescriptive way which, he hoped would produce better designs and a dialogue with the sector, given the need to respond to the climate emergency, move away from fossil fuels, favour a fabric first approach and encourage the use of timber. Campbell outlined the opportunities for using timber, an approach which he felt was made more likely by the consideration of upfront embodied carbon assessment likely in his view to be something which would become mandatory in the future with Net Zero Carbon taking more of a ‘front seat’. He was aware of the ambition in England to introduce whole life carbon assessment and ‘Part Z’. The target for projects to reach EPC A, with a fabric focus and an end to the use of fossil fuels could Campbell acknowledged be at odds with the ambition to lower carbon and this is where alternative approaches like Passivhaus came into play. Space standards were being mandated for the first time, gigabit broadband and attaining Secured by Design Gold standard were also features which would be included in a review in 2023.

Dealing with increasing complexity

Neil Barber, in responding identified several positives including clarity of policy, significant funding and alignment of funding streams, ambition in scale and requirements on quality, space and sustainability.  He identified the role of social landlords: creating timber system coherence, confidence, certainty and demand for the supply chain, sharing endeavour and moving beyond pilots. He described opportunities in standardisation, designing for manufacturing and assembly (off site), apprenticeships and training, investing in local economies and communities and recognition of timber as a low carbon material along with sustainably managed forests as a carbon store. He acknowledged the need for urgency in saying ‘we’ve kicked the can down the road for too long’. The delivery challenges included increasing complexity in the development process, lack of resources across many areas, rapid change, material price hikes and delivery delays.
Delegates posed questions on extending the standards to all homes, the availability of passivhaus type metrics, the skills challenge and tree planting performance. This is only the start of an ongoing dialogue. If you would like to be part of this conversation, please get in touch with david.hedges@woodknowledgewales.co.uk.

The role of our own conifer forests for building a sustainable society in Wales

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Despite wide recognition of their value, plantation forests are critically misunderstood and undervalued in Wales. Plantation forests comprise around 7% of the planet’s forest area whilst sustainably supplying over 50% of industrial roundwood. This report looks at myths and tropes around home-grown timber and considers research results from wood science and socio-economic aspects across planting, forest management, timber grading and processing.
Modern British sustainable forest management techniques were established 150 years ago and are still appropriate for efficiently growing construction grade softwoods. Exemplar stands of high grade Douglas fir in north Wales grow some of the largest conifer trees existing in Europe. Older conifer stands across Wales have great potential to produce high grade joinery softwood. Sitka spruce forests are routinely denigrated, nevertheless over 95% of Welsh spruce sawlogs can be graded to strength class from C16 to C27 because of Sitka spruce’s high strength to weight ratio. Yet, quality is regularly used as a weasel word in order to reinforce negative views about Welsh homegrown softwoods.
The FAO reported in 2013 that current trends in European forest management could result in an over-supply of wood from broadleaved species, as well as a shortfall of coniferous timber. Planted forests are exposed to socio-economic risks due to governance failures. These risks comprise a weak or inadequate forest policy framework including insecure investment conditions.
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Timber Cladding—Specification Guidance for Social Housing

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Timber cladding has become increasingly popular, mainly for its sustainability credentials and low environmental impact: It has a low carbon footprint as it requires less energy to produce than any other construction material and helps lock carbon into the building fabric. It is made from renewable material – wood – and can be reused, recycled or used as fuel at the end of its service life. Timber cladding is widely available from sustainably managed forests and can be sourced locally.
With correct detailing, proper installation and appropriate materials, timber cladding will provide a long lasting decorative and functional façade to any type of development, new build or existing stock.
This document provides information for specifiers and procurement specialists working on social housing projects. It is designed to help with the strategic selection of timber cladding as an external rainscreen in a social housing context. It provides performance criteria for specifying timber cladding and indicates what needs to be considered to achieve these in practice. The document highlights performance benefits across a range of intended design outcomes and is designed to help ensure that timber cladding is used appropriately. Timber cladding should not be viewed in isolation and should be considered very early on in the design process when specifying details and deciding on what build system to use.
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Cefndir y prosiect

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CARTREFI O BREN LLEOL/ GWYBODAETH AM Y PROSIECT

Gwybodaeth am y Prosiect

Mae gan Gymru’r potensial i ddod yn genedl o goedwigoedd gwerth uchel.  Gallai creu cartrefi newydd fforddiadwy, uchel eu perfformiad o gadwyni cyflenwi coed yng Nghymru helpu i ddatrys yr argyfwng tai, creu mwy o swyddi a gwell swyddi yn nes gartref, gwella gwydnwch cymunedau a lliniaru newid yn yr hinsawdd.

Lansiwyd y prosiect er mwyn edrych ar amrediad o ddewisiadau ar gyfer newid drwy gadwyn gyflenwi ar gyfer adeiladu â choed o’r goedwig i’r cartref.  Ei nod oedd gwella’r achos busnes ar gyfer adeiladu â choed mewn ffordd sy’n mwyhau gwerth economaidd, gwerth amgylcheddol a gwerth cymdeithasol i Gymru.  Er mwyn cyflawni hyn, roedd yn manteisio ar gydweithrediad unigryw Cymru gyfan rhwng darparwyr tai fforddiadwy a’r sector diwydiannau coedwigoedd yng Nghymru.

Hyd: Ebrill 2018 – Rhagfyr 2020

Tîm y Prosiect

Rheoli’r Prosiect, enghreifftiau o brosiectau, atebion adeiladu carbon sero, rhaglen hyfforddiant, digwyddiadau a chyfathrebu (pecynnau gwaith 1, 2, 6, 7).

Robin Aldridge, Dainis Dauksta, Martin Davies, Eilidh Forster, David Hedges, Christiane Lellig, Ceri Loxton, James Moxey, Gary Newman, Francesco Zaccaro

Mesur perfformiad yr adeilad – datblygu’r achos busnes ar gyfer adeiladwaith o bren.

Carolyn Hayles, George Karani, John Littlewood, Diana Waldron, Tony Whyman

Gweithgynhyrchu pren – gwella perfformiad tai o bren sy’n cael eu gweithgynhyrchu oddi ar y safle.

Gavin Fidler, Robin Lancashire, Adam Moring, Lewis Taylor

Coedwigaeth a phren – datblygu’r achos busnes ar gyfer plannu a rheoli coed yng Nghymru. (work package 5).

Gareth Davies, Graham Hilton, Dylan Jones

Ymgynghorwyr annibynnol

Julie Godefroy, Julie Godefroy Sustainability; Susie Diamond, Inkling; Jane Anderson, ConstructionLCA; Katherine Adams, Simon Corbey, ASBP; Julian Brooks, Good Homes Alliance; Prof. Fionn Stevenson, Sheffield University; Rajat Gupta, Oxford Brookes University; Richard Jack, Luke Smith, Build Test Solutions; Zachary Gill, Soap Retrofit; Bruce Arnold, Ray Faulkner, iRed; Miles Thomas, Hazelvale; Robert Thomas, Hiraeth Architecture (formerly R+M Studios); Beth Williams, Build Collective; Kasper Maciej, Toby Cambray, Greengauge; Peter Wilson, Timber Design Initiatives.

Llywodraethiant a Chyllid

Darparwyd mewnbwn ac archwiliad yn chwarterol gan y Pwyllgor Llywio gyda chynrychiolwyr o Tai Cymunedol Cymru, CLlLC, Cyngor Sir Powys, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru a Llywodraeth Cymru. Cyllidwyd y prosiect hwn drwy Cymunedau Gwledig Llywodraeth Cymru – Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig Cymru 2014-2020, a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru a’r Gronfa Amaethyddol Ewrop ar gyfer Datblygu Gwledig.

Allbynnau’r Prosiect

Cynhyrchwyd amrywiaeth gyfoethog o allbynnau gan y Prosiect Cartrefi a Dyfwyd Gartref.  Crynhoir y canfyddiadau a’r argymhellion allweddol yn yr ▸▸ adroddiad terfynol. Yn ychwanegol, datblygwyd offer a chanllawiau ymarferol ar gyfer datblygwyr tai cymdeithasol, penseiri a pheirianwyr, gweithgynhyrchwyr fframiau coed a phroseswyr coed, rheolwyr coedwigoedd a thirfeddianwyr. Gellir gweld rhestr lawn o allbynnau’r prosiect isod.

Learning to build better homes

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Investing in Afforestation—Economic aspects of woodland creation for timber production | Briefing Papers

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The role of our own conifer forests for building a sustainable society in Wales

Despite wide recognition of their value, plantation forests are critically misunderstood and undervalued in Wales. Plantation forests comprise around 7% of the planet’s forest area whilst sustainably supplying over 50% of industrial roundwood. This report looks at…

Wooden Windows-Specification guidance for timber windows

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From the TV presenters of Countryfile to the ever-escalating claims of political parties in the last UK elections, it seems everyone wants to plant more trees. Reasons vary from carbon capture, amenity, and biodiversity to production of usable timber, as do levels…

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Building Performance Evaluation Guide

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Serious About Green?—Building a Welsh wood economy through co-ordination

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Carbon Storage Contract

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Capturing Carbon: Investing in Woodlands—An Options Analysis for Welsh Housing Associations

New woodland creation is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing carbon emissions and offsetting our nation’s carbon footprint. The combination of an undersupply of our own timber in Wales and the ambitions of Wales and the Welsh Government to create new…

Timber Cladding—Specification Guidance for Social Housing

Timber cladding has become increasingly popular, mainly for its sustainability credentials and low environmental impact: It has a low carbon footprint as it requires less energy to produce than any other construction material and helps lock carbon into the building…

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Google Map highlights exemplar timber housing projects in Wales

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Building on the work of the UKGBC and LETI, the Home-Grown Homes Project have developed a graphical net-zero guide with a set of targets & principles that we believe are achievable within a Welsh context. The guide is aimed at helping developers, designers and…

Project Background

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ENGLISH

HOME-GROWN HOMES PROJECT / PROJECT BACKGROUND

Project Background

Wales has the potential to become a high value forest nation. Creating high-performance affordable new homes from Welsh timber supply chains could help solve the housing crisis, create more and better jobs closer to home, enhance community resilience and mitigate climate change.

The project was launched to look at a range of options for change through the timber construction supply chain from forest to home. Its aim was to improve the business case for timber construction in a way that maximises economic, environmental and social value to Wales. To achieve this it embraced a unique all-Wales collaboration between providers of affordable housing and the Welsh forest industries sector.

Duration: April 2018 – December 2020

Housing, timber manufacturing and forestry are distinct areas of activity. This project is an exploration of how these three overlapping areas of our economy and society can be drawn into more purposeful alignment. The following methods were employed.

Applied research to understand the dynamics of the current supply chain and the timber construction industry to help identify potential interventions and how these interventions might be applied to maximum benefit. Methods included desk-based investigation (e.g. academic literature, market data, industry websites), structured engagement with the supply chain (e.g. face to face interviews) and consultation with external experts.

Knowledge exchange to inform the development of supply chain interventions and to encourage clients and the timber industry to engage pro-actively in the foundational economic development and low carbon agenda. Methods included workshops, conferences, supply chain meetings and site visits with project updates provided through, e-newsletters, social media and the project website. By linking clients with the supply chain, we have been able to support learning, dispel myths and better understand the issues that are restricting or preventing the further uptake of wood-based solutions by the social housing sector in Wales.

Strategic engagement with social housing projects under development to identify barriers to the development of the timber supply chain and to test out the effectiveness of interventions to overcome these barriers at the design, construction and post completion phase of projects. The knowledge gained has provided crucial information to support the delivery of high-performance low-carbon social homes using timber.

Project Team

Project Management, exemplar projects, zero carbon building solutions, training programme, events and communication (work packages 1, 2, 6, 7).

Robin Aldridge, Dainis Dauksta, Martin Davies, Eilidh Forster, David Hedges, Christiane Lellig, Ceri Loxton, James Moxey, Gary Newman, Francesco Zaccaro

Building performance measurement (work package 3).

Carolyn Hayles, George Karani, John Littlewood, Diana Waldron, Tony Whyman

Timber manufacturing (work package 4).

Gavin Fidler, Robin Lancashire, Adam Moring, Lewis Taylor

Forestry and timber (work package 5).

Gareth Davies, Graham Hilton, Dylan Jones

Independent Consultants

Julie Godefroy, Julie Godefroy Sustainability; Susie Diamond, Inkling; Jane Anderson, ConstructionLCA; Katherine Adams, Simon Corbey, ASBP; Julian Brooks, Good Homes Alliance; Prof. Fionn Stevenson, Sheffield University; Rajat Gupta, Oxford Brookes University; Richard Jack, Luke Smith, Build Test Solutions; Zachary Gill, Soap Retrofit; Bruce Arnold, Ray Faulkner, iRed; Miles Thomas, Hazelvale; Robert Thomas, Hiraeth Architecture (formerly R+M Studios); Beth Williams, Build Collective; Kasper Maciej, Toby Cambray, Greengauge; Peter Wilson, Timber Design Initiatives.

Governance and Funding

The steering committee with representatives from Community Housing Cymru, WGLA, Powys County Council, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government provided input and scrutiny on a quarterly basis. The project was funded through the EU Rural Development Programme. We would like to thank Tom Simmons, Dafydd Evans & Vince Hanly, Powys County Council; Nigel Elias, Jon Travis, Simon Inkson, Welsh Government; Jim McKirdle, Welsh Local Government Association; Sian Howells, Community Housing Cymru; Dominic Driver, Miriam Jones-Walters Natural Resources Wales.

Project Outputs

The Home-Grown Homes Project produced a rich variety of outputs. Key findings and recommendations are summarised in the ▸▸ final report. In addition, practical tools and guidance have been developed for social housing developers, architects and engineers, timber frame manufacturers and wood processors, forestry managers and land owners. A full list of project outputs can be accessed below.

Learning to build better homes

Since the formal end of the Home-Grown Homes Project in March we’ve been applying the learning from it with social landlords. We’re moving from research into implementation – inviting social landlords to identify projects we could support them on. We have also…

Reality bites: confronting our progress and set-backs—An update on the Welsh Timber Windows project

It all sounded so straight forward: Bring some interested joinery businesses together, agree a joint window specification based on the type of windows they currently manufacture to PAS24 standard, define protocols and processes, then get certification. Done. From…

Investing in Afforestation—Economic aspects of woodland creation for timber production | Briefing Papers

The decision to invest in an afforestation project with the primary aim of producing timber may involve many personal and environmental factors alongside financial considerations. Adoption of a forestry enterprise within a farming unit represents a change in land…

Wood Fibre Insulation – Specification Guidance

A building’s thermal performance is now as important an aspect of the building’s design and construction as its structure. Energy prices and climate change are often cited as the principal reasons for the increased energy and CO2 reduction standards required of our built environment. Less known is the fact that insulation can also play a major role in our health, safety, comfort and wellbeing.

Zero Carbon Homes—Zero Carbon Timber Solutions for Wales

What is the zero carbon timber housing solution for Wales? This document proposes a range of timber build solutions. Results are based on the analysis of an appropriate and future proofed definition for ‘zero carbon’, followed by design and calculation to develop…

5 Essential Strategies for an Emerging Forest Nation

Wales is not a forest nation. Wales is a sheep, beef and dairy nation. Wales is a steel nation. Like many nations, Wales is the economic country it is, not by political design but largely because of historical accident. And there has never been a better time or…

The role of our own conifer forests for building a sustainable society in Wales

Despite wide recognition of their value, plantation forests are critically misunderstood and undervalued in Wales. Plantation forests comprise around 7% of the planet’s forest area whilst sustainably supplying over 50% of industrial roundwood. This report looks at…

Wooden Windows-Specification guidance for timber windows

Windows provide an outlook on the world. They help set the tone and character for a building and the area in which it stands. Windows define natural lighting levels and thermal comfort essential for the wellbeing of residents. They offer sound protection and keep…

More and Better Home-Grown Timber—The role for a consolidator

What might a business plan for the supply of home-grown timber to the Welsh housing sector look like, if it is to be closely integrated with the ownership and management of the timber resource in Wales? Additional capacity in the sector has been identified in three…

More and Better Home-Grown Timber—The financial case for existing landowners to plant woodland

From the TV presenters of Countryfile to the ever-escalating claims of political parties in the last UK elections, it seems everyone wants to plant more trees. Reasons vary from carbon capture, amenity, and biodiversity to production of usable timber, as do levels…

Home-Grown Homes Project—A study for improving the Timber Construction Supply Industry in Wales

The purpose of the Home-Grown Homes project has been to identify and test out interventions that could have a transformative impact on the Welsh timber construction supply chain and on the delivery of low carbon social housing in Wales. Housing, timber…

Building Performance Evaluation Guide

New homes often fail to meet low-energy targets, and to satisfy residents with fundamental issues such as ease of use, summer comfort and energy costs. There is little Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) happening routinely on projects to close the performance…

Serious About Green?—Building a Welsh wood economy through co-ordination

Why would it be beneficial for Welsh society to build a wood economy? The ‘Serious about Green?’ report takes a closer look and analyses the economic and social parameters. The report is authored by the team at Foundational Economy Research, led by Karel Williams….

Carbon Storage Contract

The future building stock is the most effective and most immediate opportunity for carbon reduction and long-term carbon storage. By creating a new economic model for monetising the carbon reduction and storage capacity of the future building stock, the use and…

Capturing Carbon: Investing in Woodlands—An Options Analysis for Welsh Housing Associations

New woodland creation is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing carbon emissions and offsetting our nation’s carbon footprint. The combination of an undersupply of our own timber in Wales and the ambitions of Wales and the Welsh Government to create new…

Timber Cladding—Specification Guidance for Social Housing

Timber cladding has become increasingly popular, mainly for its sustainability credentials and low environmental impact: It has a low carbon footprint as it requires less energy to produce than any other construction material and helps lock carbon into the building…

Making the Right Choices—A Guide to Improving the Build Quality of New Build Timber Frame Social Housing

Making the right decisions for the benefit of a building’s long term performance and user experience can be compromised by cost, lack of experience, and poor understanding of timber frame construction. This guide aims to highlight some of the key points to consider…

Embodied Carbon – the key questions

How to reduce embodied carbon in social housing developments? This article highlights key questions and answers for strategic leadership teams.

Embodied Carbon Guidance for Welsh Social Housing Developers, their design teams, contractors and suppliers

This guidance has been written for those wanting to both increase their knowledge of Embodied Carbon in the housing sector and to understand how to reduce it.

Google Map highlights exemplar timber housing projects in Wales

Find exemplar timber housing projects we have worked with over the past few years. Explore information on construction, innovative products, use of home-grown timber and Welsh manufacturing, carbon impact and building performance.

Net-Zero targets for Wales

Building on the work of the UKGBC and LETI, the Home-Grown Homes Project have developed a graphical net-zero guide with a set of targets & principles that we believe are achievable within a Welsh context. The guide is aimed at helping developers, designers and…

Are modern UK forests suited to help restore biodiversity?

by

Can productive forests provide both carbon storage and enhanced biodiversity? In the public debate across national media and the twittersphere this seems unlikely. Confor’s new Biodiversity, Forestry and Wood report makes the case that planting and managing trees in the UK to produce wood can deliver biodiversity benefits as well as playing a vital role in the fight against climate change.
Based on an analysis of evidence and case studies from across the UK the report demonstrates that suitably-sited forests for wood production can deliver great benefits for wildlife and that appropriate harvesting from native woodland can often enhance its biodiversity value. The report has benefited from engagement and input from a wide range of environmental and conservation organisations.

The need to focus on biodiversity

The acknowledged potential of forests in helping to mitigate climate change has led UK governments to set targets for woodland creation, use of wood and woodland management. At the same time little attention has been paid to the role these forests can play to help tackle the substantial decline in biodiversity in the UK and elsewhere.

Moth
Rosy footman (Miltochrista miniata) Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria) Buff tip (Phalera bucephala)

Globally, nature is declining and species are becoming extinct as a direct result of human activity. Besides the moral issue of the destruction of life, nature’s decline poses a direct threat to our economies, food supply, health and quality of life. It is caused directly by human activity: a triple attack from climate change, resource extraction and pollution. Put together by Eleanor Harris, Confor’s first biodiversity report presents an analysis of the evidence on forestry and biodiversity, with a view to ensure forestry policy delivers confidently for nature as well as for climate.

Areas of investigation

Three key areas are highlighted in the report:
1. the habitat value of forests planted for wood production,
2. the potential of bringing neglected native woodland into management through the development of small-scale wood production and local supply chains,
3. the importance of a home-grown, low carbon resource in helping reduce the pressure to exploit natural and semi-natural forests globally, tackling the drivers of biodiversity decline around the world.

Habitat value of productive forests

UK countryside with hills in background and mix of softwood and hardwood forests and open green fieldsA substantial body of science suggests that, at present, the forests planted in the UK for wood production have significant value as a biodiversity habitat, in spite of their young age and largely non-native species. Evidence-based management measures have become standard forestry practice in enhancing these maturing habitats, such as creating structural diversity and incorporating native tree species. No more than 75 percent of a forest area may be planted with a single species. Species mixtures provide a more continuous supply of seed for birds and enhance invertebrate diversity. They diversify light levels in the forest, with species like pine facilitating a herb layer of more light-demanding graminoids (grasses) and ericoids (like heather), in contrast to the bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), ferns, and forbs (like wood sorrel) characteristic of spruce. Diversifying forests is also an important consideration for wood production, to mitigate risks from pests, extreme weather and market fluctuations. Modern forests provide diverse and dynamic habitats that attract a great variety of wildlife such as kestrel, barn owl, hen harriers, nightjar, turtle dove, red squirrel, as well as hundreds of moth species and beetles.

Improving the conditions of native woodlands

UK woodlands are globally unique due to two factors: Our oceanic climate creates rare temperate rainforest rich in epiphytes. Our limited palette of native tree species have high genetic diversity and have demonstrated high resilience to a wide range of climate changes. This combination of oceanic climate, open structure and high genetic diversity within species has led to the development of unique assemblages of ferns, mosses, liverworts, lichen and vernal vascular plants that are of global conservation importance. Yet the majority of our native woodlands are degraded and fragmented, with priority species showing declines. Evidence reviewed in the report suggests that wood production can make a contribution to nurturing these into ecological health. This would be achieved through interventions such as sensitive extraction (e.g. thinning and coppicing), promoting tree growth and forest regeneration (e.g. by preventing browsing damage), providing a sustainable income stream to fund active management and create value for the woodland owner, as the basis for high quality native woodland expansion.

Biodiversity impact beyond the local forest


The UK is the second biggest importer of timber globally, and demand is forecasted to increase. Wood-producing forests in the UK help tackle the fundamental causes of nature decline at a global level by reducing our demand for resources produced elsewhere. Wood production sequesters carbon, provides the raw material for green jobs and low-carbon manufacturing, and reduces the UK’s reliance on imported timber which may be harvested unsustainably from natural forests. They help reduce flooding and improve air quality. Using timber in construction also means that extraction based materials with high negative impact on biodiversity elsewhere are displaced.

Recommendations for further research

While there is good evidence on many points, the report also highlights research gaps in a range of areas. These include new woodland creation, management advice on important UK species assemblages, restoration of woodland ecology beyond the trees, studies of forestry within the wider landscape, invertebrates, the ecology of the forest floor, and interactions between forest biodiversity and public access.
As the report concludes: ‘Forests expanded and managed for the supply of sustainable resource, wildlife and carbon is not merely a strategy to avert climate and biodiversity disasters. It is a vision of a future society which is more healthy, more connected with nature, and more truly prosperous.’ We couldn’t agree more.

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Inspiring innovation through collaboration

A thriving forest based economy is an essential cornerstone of a sustainable society. The forestry sector provides a valuable low carbon resource for industry and rewarding employment for many thousands of people. Well managed woodlands contribute to climate change mitigation, flood prevention, soil health, clean air, biodiversity and enable many forms of recreation beneficial for our health and well-being. 

Making best use of homegrown timber, using more wood from sustainably managed forests and growing more trees is good for our economy, our environment and our people. 

We are a not-for-profit, for public good organisation championing the collaborative development of forest-based industries for increased prosperity and wellbeing in Wales.

VISION
MISSION
WHAT WE DO

We deliver our mission through a number of projects that bring together stakeholders at different levels of industry and society. Our projects combine applied research, innovation in product design, manufacture, systems or services, policy and stakeholder engagement across housing and construction, based on the forest economy. Find out more about our current flagship projects. Get in touch if you have a project idea you would like to pitch to us.

How could a timber supply chain based on local forestry products support the delivery of low carbon social housing in Wales and create better jobs closer to home? Find out more on the ▸▸ Home-Grown Homes Project page.

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What if a group of independent joiners could produce a Welsh timber window that meets all requirements for the social housing sector in Wales? Find out more on the ▸▸ Welsh Timber Windows Project page.

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Exemplar timber housing projects in Wales

Explore information on construction, innovative products, use of home-grown timber and Welsh manufacturing, carbon impact and building performance in innovative timber housing projects across Wales.

This map showcases the exemplar timber housing projects Woodknowledge Wales has worked on in some way over the past few years. The Exemplar Housing Project layer contains basic project information. The Whole Life Carbon layer contains data on the carbon impact of those projects for which we have undertaken analyses. The Building Performance layer contains projects where we have undertaken some experimentation into different building performance methods. The Forest Nation Attribute layer attempts to capture the timber story such as the use of innovative products, the use of home-grown timber and the use of Welsh manufacturing.

This map represents our progress to date. We will continue to record the progress of our timber development agenda as well as the progress of Welsh housing in meeting the challenge of Net Zero whole Life carbon over the coming years.

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Join our vibrant community. We are building a collaborative network with the collective power to drive change.

Our activities are focused upon market development, capacity building, technical support and skills provision within the forestry, manufacturing and housing sector. Our members and supporters come from all levels of the housing and construction supply chain. Together we engage in collaborative innovation and achieve cross-sector change. Guided by our network of members, supporters and delivery partners, Woodknowledge Wales is driving the agenda to expand forestry and wood using industries in Wales for the benefit of society and the planet.

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