The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) recently published its 2022 Annual Report, which details the organization’s work to grow and protect markets for softwood lumber. “For the 11th consecutive year, we collectively delivered year-over-year growth in demand and impact for the softwood lumber industry, generating more than 2 billion board feet of incremental demand in 2022—a record in the SLB’s history,” said Cees de Jager, SLB President and CEO. “While we are incredibly proud of that result, we are equally proud that the sustainable impacts of wood products continue to be felt in the construction industry. Project conversions in 2022 resulted in a total carbon benefit—stored and avoided—of 5.3 million metric tons of CO2. That’s the equivalent of not burning 29,270 railcars of coal or the entire state of New Hampshire parking their gas-powered vehicles for a year.” Since 2012, the SLB and its partners have cumulatively generated more than 11.8 billion board feet in demand…
Canada’s ban on single-use plastics isn’t in full force yet but already the use of paper bags as well as other paper products is on the rise. That’s a concern for environmentalists, who say forests shouldn’t be depleted for single-use products. …Canada’s ban on single-use plastics isn’t in full force yet but already the use of paper bags as well as other paper products is on the rise. That’s a concern for environmentalists, who say forests shouldn’t be depleted for single-use products. …“They can provide more service to humanity by providing that function rather than being turned into disposable products,” says Tamara Stark, campaign director for Canopy. …In Canada, paper bags began to appear at grocery chains in advance of the single-use plastic ban. …There is, however, a lot of emerging innovation in the paper industry, including using cellulose from agricultural waste and other plants, instead of trees.
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Architects are increasingly using mass timber in the hopes of creating net-zero buildings but carbon assessments are missing key sources of potential emissions, researchers tell Dezeen. The standard method for determining a building’s overall carbon footprint is a whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA) that breaks down emissions at every stage – from the sourcing of raw materials to their ultimate disposal. These calculations tend to indicate significantly lower emissions for timber structures compared to those made entirely out of concrete and steel. But experts warned that LCAs only tell part of the story. “LCAs do not typically consider anything that happens in the forest,” said forester and timberland manager Mark Wishnie. Because so few mass-timber buildings have been constructed – let alone demolished – researchers are also unable to reliably forecast what will happen to engineered timbers at end of their life and what emissions this would entail.
Portland/Los Angeles-based LEVER Architecture and Atelier Ten published a new report addressing “four myths about mass timber construction.” The report hopes to “promote a more nuanced discussion in the industry to truly capture the potential wood has to offer.” The first myth is that “mass timber buildings are carbon neutral.” The team note that while mass timber construction can be an important pathway toward carbon neutrality, other critical factors need to be considered. …The second myth is that “wood is always more sustainable than concrete.” The authors note that solely utilizing wood products “does not automatically make buildings more sustainable” …The third myth is that “mass timber buildings absorb carbon emissions.” They note that “trees sequester carbon” and that “timber buildings hold but do not actively absorb carbon.” …The final myth is that “all wood is good wood.” The team notes that “wood products are only as good as the forestry practices associated with them” 
Following industry research that identified the difficulties of insuring timber buildings, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) is launching the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook – a practical resource to help overcome the challenges preventing wider adoption of mass timber. The UK is committed to net zero emissions by 2050 … mass timber has an important role to play. …ASBP identified three obstacles preventing the wider use of mass timber: Difficulties obtaining affordable construction and property insurance for mass timber buildings; A prohibitive regulatory environment precluding the use of combustible materials in certain building types; and Uncertainty around the fire performance of mass timber causing doubt amongst industry stakeholders. Costs of insurance for mass timber buildings have been reported to be up to 800% higher than conventional construction methods. In some cases, insurers have opted to refuse cover.
