The Australian Forest Products Association NSW (AFPA NSW) welcomes the announcement by NSW Treasurer and Environment Minister Matt Kean, to include carbon stored within buildings, as part of rating new major developments.
“Using sustainably-sourced local timber is a great way to decarbonise buildings in the drive towards net-zero,” AFPA NSW CEO Sue Grau said today.
Embodied carbon in the construction industry reflects the emissions created from the extraction, production and transport of building materials.
“Timber building products are the end of a sustainable supply chain which is carbon positive. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recognised sustainable forestry with its continual harvesting and replanting is one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions,” said Ms Grau.
“A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.” IPCC 4th Assessment
“The NSW forest products industry develops innovative products, such as cross laminated and glue laminated timber, which not only look great but also store carbon.
“We have great examples in Sydney of where these innovative timber products have been used. The use of 90% timber in Lendlease’s Daramu House for example generated a 48% increase in embodied carbon in comparison with traditional construction materials.
“The recent social housing initiative to construct 1,400 homes is a great chance for the NSW Government to showcase how using more timber in smaller building projects can help everyone fight climate change,” concluded Ms Grau.
The original media release is here.