The use of local wood in construction is a vital strategy in the decarbonization of the sector, in addition to protecting forests, creating quality jobs and combating depopulation.

Granada, December 20, 2023. The Andalusian forestry sector, through the LIFE Wood for Future project, the Confederation of Organizations of Foresters of Spain (COSE), the Andalusian Forestry Association (AFA-Profor), the Association of Forest Owners of Eastern Andalusia Foret, the Association of Producers Marjal Chopo and spinoff IberoLam, celebrates the progress that has occurred in recent days in areas of international decision in favor of sustainable construction.

In the framework of the Dubai Climate Summit (COP28), in a meeting sponsored by the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP) -a consortium of countries against forest loss and for sustainable development chaired by the U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry and to which the European Union belongs-, a group of 17 countries committed to sustainable construction, a group of 17 countries pledged to adopt strong policies to “support decarbonized construction and increase the use of wood from sustainable forestry in buildings,” given that more than a third of global CO2 emissions come from this sector. Signatories include the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Costa Rica and Kenya.

On the other hand, this week the member countries of the European Union and the European Parliament have agreed to reform the rules on energy efficiency in buildings to accelerate the decarbonization of a sector that is responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere in the EU. Thus, the new EU roadmap establishes that all newly constructed buildings from 2030 onwards must be emission-neutral and the entire building stock will have been renovated by 2050, with some exceptions for heritage buildings. To achieve these targets, member countries will have to develop national plans to reduce energy use in buildings by 16% by 2030 and by around 20% by 2035.

Emission-neutral construction is achieved through the progressive substitution of highly polluting traditional materials, such as concrete and steel, for others with a negative carbon footprint, such as wood; through building techniques that favor energy efficiency; and through the use of renewable energy sources in existing buildings.

To achieve these objectives in Andalusia, the LIFE Wood for Future project and the spinoff from the University of Granada, IberoLam Timber&Technology, are promoting the use of local wood structural products in the construction of buildings. “Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it for centuries in the structure of the building. Cutting trees in a planned and sustainable way, through forestry, gives profitability and health to the forest, that is, it causes more and healthier trees,” says the coordinator of LIFE Wood for Future, who also stresses the importance of using zero kilometer raw materials in Andalusia, such as poplar, a traditional crop of the Vega and the north of the province of Granada, or Andalusian pine, as this reduces the use of fossil fuels and the polluting emissions generated by transport.

Along with poplar and poplar and pine laminated beams, the company also intends to put on the market mixed wood and concrete prefabricated products, with a zero-emissions balance, since the carbon emitted by the concrete is absorbed by the wood. “Given that the construction sector is still reluctant to use exclusively wood structures, this strategy of allying with concrete will allow wood to increase its market share and, consequently, more wood to be used in construction and further lower the carbon footprint caused by the use of concrete,” explains Gallego.

For her part, Victoria Carreras, president of Marjal, which brings together more than 70 poplar producers, mostly from Granada, and of the IberoLam spinoff, the seed of the first structural wood industry in Andalusia, stresses that “the efficient management of our forests, the professionalization of the poplar sector, and sustainable forestry are the basis of this ecosystem, which will give us the tools to consolidate our local, km 0 wood as a reality in our buildings”.

 

The first houses with poplar structural wood

Thanks to LIFE Wood for Future, construction began a few days ago in Ogíjares (Granada) on the first private housing incorporating poplar and pine laminated timber in Spain. In addition, an agreement between the Regional Government of Andalusia and the University of Granada will allow the construction of a seven-story building with a wood structure to offer affordable rental apartments to young people, promoted by the Andalusian Housing and Rehabilitation Agency (AVRA) in La Azulejera, in the capital of Granada.

Wood construction is booming in Spain: according to data from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, it has increased by 300% in the last ten years. The involvement of public administrations in this drive is fundamental. Recent examples include the decision of the Xunta de Galicia to require the use of structural wood in 20% of public works tenders and the forthcoming construction of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Public University of Navarra, a 10,000 square meter building, with this material.

LIFE Wood for Future is a project funded by the LIFE program of the European Union that promotes the creation of a poplar bioeconomy in the province of Granada. Its partners are the University of Granada, the Diputación de Granada, the Confederación de Organizaciones de Selvicultores de España, the Plataforma de Ingeniería de Madera Estructural de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela and 3eData.