The ongoing collaboration between our partners in Japan to diversify the 2×4 business and expand the presence of Canadian dimension lumber in non-residential and commercial markets is progressing. A remarkable example of this progress can be seen in the completion of Kowa Manufacturing’s new factory and office building in the town of Tarui, Gifu Prefecture. …Kowa Manufacturing, a company specializing in aluminum product design and production, is the proud owner of this new building. The company made the decision to replace their old steel factory with a wooden structure, allowing them to reduce construction costs and construction time. …The construction of the building was carried out by HAGI Home Produce, while the supply and construction of the wooden structure were handled by Shiga Wood and engineered by En.Wood.
…A recent roundtable of panellists and leaders from various sectors of the construction industry gathered to focus on tactical ways to eliminate carbon emissions. “90 per cent of your footprint is the embodied carbon of the materials that you put in place on jobsites,” explained moderator Tim Coldwell, president of Chandos Construction. “Most sub and general contractors don’t understand the concept of embodied carbon.” …The roundtable hosted panellists and industry leaders to discuss how to eliminate carbon emissions related to the selection of building materials, the supply of the construction elements, the movement of personnel and management of waste from an energy and carbon use perspective. …For example, the wood industry often claims negative embodied carbon because it is stored in the timber. However, Coldwell maintains that’s nonsense because eventually when a structure is demolished and the wood is sent to landfills or is burned, the carbon that was stored gets released.
The provincial government in BC is looking at ways to bring housing online faster and more sustainably. Prefabrication and mass timber construction make up only a small portion of the housing built in the province and the housing minister sees regulations ripe for change to make them a more attractive option for builders. “It means you can get projects done at double the speed of traditional methods,” said Ravi Kahlon of pre-fab construction. “We (also) need to look at the building code to find ways to make the ability to use mass timber in housing much more smooth. We know there’s a bias against mass timber in the building code.” …In B.C., houses and townhomes are essentially built from scratch on-site but in much of the world panels are pre-fabricated more efficiently in warehouses and assembled on-site.
People will get a say in how future buildings are constructed in B.C. … as the Province launches a survey on proposed changes to the BC Building Code. …The proposed changes to the BC Building Code are based on the 2020 National Model Codes with some B.C.-specific variations to reflect the province’s geography, climate, local government needs, industry practices and provincial priorities, such as accessibility. A four-week public review invites interested parties to comment on proposed building code changes, including … mass timber construction and earthquake design… People can learn about the proposed changes and provide feedback through an 
In partnership with the University of British Columbia, Foresight Canada and FPInnovations, the Province of BC will host keynote speakers from international and B.C. organizations on topics such as sustainability, Indigenous leadership and future opportunities in the forest bioeconomy. The Forest Innovation and Bioeconomy Conference (FIBC) will take place in Vancouver from June 19-21, 2023. …The forest bioeconomy is a part of B.C.’s forestry sector and is estimated to create approximately 17,000 new direct and indirect jobs by 2030. B.C.’s bioeconomy uses wood such as bark and branches to make new, innovative products such as textiles, wood-based graphite for electric cars, alternatives to plastic packaging and much more. By 2030, the global market for forest bioproducts is estimated to reach $670 billion. 
The Annual GBM is approaching, and we are happy to announce that this September 7th to 9th, we will invite international buyers and specifiers to meet our Canadian suppliers in Whistler, to celebrate our 20th Anniversary! As most of the world is back to traveling safely, we expect many new Buyers this year, and with the help of our overseas staff, the continued assistance of the federal International Trade Commissioner Service and the provincial Trade & Investment Representatives abroad, we expect a good showing from across the globe. As usual, we can’t just do one thing at a time, so along with the GBM Trade Event, we will host BC Wood’s AGM, deliver WoodTALKS at the GBM – this year featuring the Mass & Heavy Timber Symposium – and the Building Connections program. All these activities are designed to expand our Canadian wood products industry’s international business opportunities.
This week in Paris, negotiators from around the world are convening for a United Nations meeting …to find a globally binding solution for plastic pollution. …Governments and industry are introducing rules and incentives to help businesses stop using single-use plastics while also encouraging collection and recycling. …In Australia, plastic is largely “downcycled”, which means it is recycled into lower quality plastics. This can seem like an attractive way to deal with waste-plastic stockpiles… but downcycling risks doing more harm than good: 1. Replacing wood with recycled plastics risks contaminating our wildest natural spaces; 2. Taking circular plastics from their closed loop to meet recycled-content targets creates more waste; and 3. Using “compostable” plastics in non-compostable conditions creates still more plastic pollution. At the right temperature with the right amount of moisture, compostable plastics breakdown into soil. But if the conditions are not “just right”, they won’t break down at all.
