FSC UK sponsors WoodBUILD 2025, championing sustainable timber and responsible forest management
Woodknowledge Wales is proud to welcome FSC UK as an official sponsor of WoodBUILD 2025. As the global leader in responsible forest certification, FSC plays a crucial role in ensuring that timber used in construction meets the highest sustainability standards. Their support for WoodBUILD reflects a shared commitment to scaling up the use of sustainable timber in the built environment, driving policy change, and fostering a resilient, low-carbon future for Wales.
With global timber demand predicated to quadruple by 2050, as much as 80% of the UK’s timber sourced from overseas, and land use facing a growing number of conflicting pressures, set against a background of political instability and a changing climate, meeting the UK’s housing emergency whilst tackling decarbonisation and ensuring sustainability will be no mean feat.
The UK’s built environment accounts for 25% of its annual greenhouse gas emissions. Using timber can reduce the carbon impact of construction, reducing embodied emissions in a single building by 20% to 60% and storing approximately 50% more carbon than in masonry homes. Carbon storage in larger buildings that use engineered timber products such as Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) instead of concrete, can be up to 400% higher.
Last month the UK Government announced ambitious plans to increase the use of timber in construction. The Timber in Construction Roadmap 2025 commits to the delivery of 1.5 million homes and doubles down on targets to increase tree cover. Meanwhile, the Welsh Government is consulting on a new timber strategy, which includes developing more sustainable housing and boosting decarbonisation. The consultation document proclaims timber in construction, “currently the only economically viable Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) action at scale and therefore crucial to decarbonisation/the delivery of carbon budgets”.
National House Building Council statistics show that timber frame was used in around 9% of newly built homes in England, 22% in Wales, 30% in Northern Ireland and 92% in Scotland. With Wales, and most notably England, at the back of the pack, there is certainly room for improvement. Both Governments are seeking to increase domestic timber supply, however, as the Welsh consultation notes, “Given the relatively low level of forest cover in Wales and in view of increasing domestic and global demand, it is unrealistic to aim for self-sufficiency”. Noble ambitions to increase the use of homegrown timber are supported by the launch of the Forestry Commission’s Trees to Timber campaign this week. However, a continued reliance on imports will require due diligence to ensure they are from sustainable sources, both to improve security and ensure full carbon benefits. Domestic timber production and forest expansion must also be managed sustainably, of course, for exactly the same reasons – the construction carbon picture is, to a great extent, only as good as a material’s origin story.
The UK forestry and construction industries have challenges ahead but have also set precedence for innovation. Over a quarter of a century ago the Forestry Commission became the first state forest service in the world to have all of its forests certified to FSC standards for responsible forest management. The first building to receive FSC Project Certification, Westside Apartments, built by Hollybrook Homes for the housing association Tower Homes, was completed ahead of time and under budget in 2007. Five years later, when London hosted the most sustainable Olympic Games the world had seen, both the Athletes’ Village and the Park itself received FSC Project Certification. FSC UK was the first national office established by the Forest Stewardship Council; 30 years on, thanks in no small part to pioneers such as these, 79% of the population recognise the FSC tick-tree logo.
But previous success is no reason for complacency. Although Brexit means that the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), due to come into effect at the end of this year, does not directly affect UK businesses, commentators have speculated that the UK is likely to see an increase in uncertified timber and forest products being offered into the UK market, increasing the risk of unstainable and even deforestation-linked timber reaching our shores. The UK’s consumption of agricultural commodities is already linked to a sizable and unsustainable deforestation footprint, with imports of forest-risk commodities soya, cocoa, palm oil, beef and leather, paper, rubber and timber accounting for a land footprint of 88% of the size of the UK each year.
As demand for timber increases, the UK must ensure that quantity isn’t prioritised over quality, as this may undermine the very ambitions it seeks to support. The FSC UK team are working with their European colleagues to engage more fully and actively with the construction sector, you can find information on certification and responsible sourcing at https://uk.fsc.org/ and receive updates and other news by subscribing to the Forest Matters newsletter.
Join us at WoodBUILD 2025 to engage with FSC UK and other industry leaders shaping the future of sustainable construction. Explore new opportunities for responsible timber sourcing, innovation in forestry, and cutting-edge solutions for decarbonising the built environment. Stay informed and be part of the conversation—register now to secure your place at the forefront of the timber transformation.
