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 an understanding of the quantifiable factors of embodied and operational carbon. Using a fabric first approach, an examination of existing and alternative timber construction methods, materials and systems offers a range of developed timber solutions that are capable of meeting the target fabric specification. These include information on whole carbon emission and offsetting calculations for a range of key typologies demonstrating the routes to Zero.
The detailed report presents findings from the Home-Grown Homes Project including actions for further detailed design, training and skills, technical development and testing, design and modelling tools. These may be relevant for designers, manufacturers, specifiers and clients.
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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 of ambition.
Amongst the most widely quoted targets, The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) say that UK needs 30K Ha of new woodland a year to 2050 as part of a suite of land use changes to meet the UKs commitment to become Zero Carbon. This afforestation is predicted to account for the largest share of the forecast £39 Bn cost, the majority of that being spent on land acquisition. This presumes that either we expand the public estate or encourage land acquisition by external investors.
Experience from solar and wind farms suggests that this will be expensive, slow, and unpopular with some existing landowners, particularly farmers. Nonetheless there is considerable pressure on farmers from Brexit and existing financial challenges particularly of upland farming are severe in Wales.
Based upon the above, our approach is to solve two problems together. Woodland creation for a range of benefits, providing the means for farm transformation, while avoiding the expense and social disruption of land acquisition.
Promising lower costs of delivered woodland and a wide range of associated benefits, the approach has much to recommend it, subject to its financial viability.
This report reviews opportunities and challenges through the lens of financial viability.
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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 specification of low-carbon and carbon-storing materials could be incentivised.
Woodknowledge Wales have been working with providers of a voluntary carbon marketplace that pairs business buyers with building projects that demonstrate meaningful carbon reduction and carbon storage (30+ years). To demonstrate the viability and potential economic incentive, we have developed this exemplar carbon storage contract based on a recent social housing development in Llanbedr, Wales.
The goals are:
- To change the financial equitation for developers, architects, engineers, and builders to use more low-carbon and carbon storing building materials.
- To enable businesses to achieve their carbon reduction goals by purchasing reliable, verifiable, and asset-backed carbon reduction and storage contracts (CRSCs).
The building industry has adopted EN 15978 as the platinum standard for quantifying CO2 avoidance and CO2 storage which allows this mechanism to work internationally.
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For further information, please get in touch: info@woodknowledge.wales.
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 woodlands means that an organisation interested in creating new woodlands can play a pivoting role in combating climate change.
Woodlands have proven an attractive alternative asset for long-term investors, as they provide the opportunity to benefit from the value of a naturally growing commodity and the security of ownership of the underlying land. Woodlands have multiple benefits and these can be reaped in a way that makes a financial return for the investors.
A very new and interesting market is the trading of carbon. The sale of carbon credits allows landowners who create new woodlands to increase their financial returns by selling both timber and non-timber products. Government forecasts suggest these values could rise five-fold over a 40-year period which will have a significant impact on the profitability of a woodland creation project.
This document explores three investment options for Housing Associations
- Creating woodland by acquiring land.
- Creating new woodland through novel collaboration with the public sector e.g. NRW, Local Authorities etc.
- Acquiring existing woodland.
Embodied Carbon – the key questions
Embodied Carbon Guidance For Social Housing
Woodknowledge Wales has created guidance on Embodied Carbon reduction for social housing developers, their consultants and contractors. The guidance contains advice on how to make assessments, available tools and benchmarks for comparison. This briefing paper is designed for strategic leadership teams to highlight the key content of the guidance in the form of a series of questions and answers.
What are the different measures of carbon for housing? For a home, Embodied Carbon is the total carbon emissions associated with the construction materials. It includes all the emissions from the extraction, manufacture, transport and installation of the materials and products needed to construct a home (the Upfront Carbon). It also includes emissions from maintenance, refurbishment, and at the end of life, deconstruction, waste processing and disposal.
Is it the same as Whole Life Carbon? No. The Whole Life Carbon of a home includes both Embodied Carbon and Operational Carbon (e.g. heating and lighting) over its lifetime. Understanding the relationship between both helps to know the best way of reducing carbon emissions throughout the building lifecycle – that’s why Embodied Carbon is being increasingly measured. A Low Carbon home is one that optimises the use of resources to build it and to use it over its lifetime.
Why is it important? Embodied Carbon emissions can represent between 50% and 70% of the emissions of a home across its life cycle. Its relative importance is increasing as the UK’s electricity grid decarbonises and Operational Carbon emissions reduce. At the same time, if the number of additional homes per year matches the estimates of housing need, we will see between 6,700 and 9,700 new homes built in Wales[1], which will increase Embodied Carbon. Embodied Carbon savings made during the design and construction of a home are delivered immediately, rather than at some point in the future.
Why should we reduce Embodied Carbon? Buildings play a vital role in meeting our climate change obligations, and in Wales, Embodied Carbon accounts for 6% of overall CO2 emissions. The Welsh Government wants all public bodies to be carbon neutral by 2030 and, at the time of writing, most local authorities in Wales have declared a climate emergency. Most of the construction sector is committing to the Net Zero Carbon agenda. Assessing Embodied Carbon will help the sector understand its overall carbon footprint and highlight where reductions can be made. It may also assist in attracting alternative sources of finance such as green bonds. There is also a strong link between Embodied Carbon and the creation of a more Circular Economy.
What are the economic benefits of reducing Embodied Carbon? Targeting Embodied Carbon can help address the whole life costs of a home, especially when future running costs may be more of a concern than initial build costs. For instance, investing in more durable materials will mean less replacement over time, with less Embodied Carbon. This also equates to lower life cycle costs and less tenant disruption. Reducing Embodied Carbon can mean less cost when compared to the cost of solutions for saving Operational Carbon and savings can often be achieved over a shorter period.
How can Embodied Carbon be reduced? Building elements such as the foundations and structure represent the biggest contribution to Embodied Carbon, largely due to the amount of materials they use. Therefore, considering low Embodied Carbon materials such as timber, or increasing the recycled content of materials, will have a positive impact. Timber also has an advantage over other materials as it can store CO2 removed from the atmosphere during the tree’s growth. Designing ‘leaner’ homes by minimising the quantity of materials used to build them will reduce Embodied Carbon. Designing for future use – adaptability and flexibility – will increase a home’s lifespan and minimise the need for new homes in future. Building with deconstruction in mind will enhance the reuse of construction materials.
Is it difficult to measure Embodied Carbon? No, and the earlier Embodied Carbon is considered, the greater the ability to reduce it. Assessments can be in the form of a checklist, simple building analysis or a full building life cycle assessment. It is recommended that a ‘cradle to grave’ assessment is undertaken. There are many tools available to assess Embodied Carbon. Assessments can be done in-house or procured from the design team or a specialist consultant. There are several standards which should be met, including the RICS Professional Statement on Whole Life Carbon[2].
Can targets and benchmarks be set? Yes, benchmarks (at building or element level) are a useful way to check performance. Woodknowledge Wales has produced benchmarks which can be used as targets for the reduction of Embodied and Upfront Carbon.
Who needs to be involved in reducing Embodied Carbon? Everyone has a responsibility to reduce Embodied Carbon and there needs to be commitment across an organisation to address it, together with an engaged supply chain. Leadership teams should champion and facilitate the reduction of Embodied Carbon in the homes they create.
Is procurement important? Yes, it’s key as it presents an opportunity for measuring, reducing, and managing Whole Life Carbon. At an organisational level, a carbon policy including Embodied and Operational Carbon from housing activities should be agreed, with requirements for reducing Upfront and Embodied Carbon included in project briefs. Performance outcomes can be set in documentation and responsibility for monitoring/measuring Embodied Carbon included at every stage of a building’s life cycle.
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[1] https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-06/new-house-building-april-2018-to-march-2019-995.pdf
[2] RICS (2017) Whole Life Carbon assessment for the built environment. 1st Edition. London: RICS. Available at: www.rics.org (Accessed: 2 November 2018).
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. The target audience encompasses key stakeholders within Welsh social housing organisations including development and asset managers, their design teams, contractors and suppliers.
Clear and authoritative guidance is provided on how to procure and undertake an Embodied Carbon assessment, what benchmarks can be set, tools that can be used and how Embodied Carbon can be reduced. Examples are provided to show how others have tackled Embodied Carbon within their organisations and projects, with a focus on housing. Where relevant, other guidance and useful information is signposted.
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Authors: This guidance has been produced for Woodknowledge Wales on behalf of the Home-Grown Homes project. The document was authored by Jane Anderson of ConstructionLCA Ltd together with Katherine Adams, The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products.
Publication date: December 2020
Google Map highlights 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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