The environmental impact of wood compared to other building materials

One of the positive aspects of using wood in construction is the environmental benefits that this can potentially bring. However, manufacturers of all construction products and materials make claims about the ‘environmental friendliness’ of their products, making it exceedingly difficult for the end user to make informed choices about the advisability of using one product over another. This study presents an analysis of the published environmental product declarations of timber products (fibreboard, particleboard, oriented strandboard, glulam/laminated veneer lumber, sawn and dried timber) and compares this data with that published in the widely available and quoted University of Bath Inventory of Carbon and Energy database. Comparison is also made with some common non-biogenic building materials (concrete, brick, cement and steel).