Reducing our impact on the environment has never been more important, both in terms of the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere and the use of natural resources. This is something the UK government is really focusing on, with its Building for 2050 research highlighting the increasing need for low-carbon homes. With the ‘Whole Life Carbon Benchmarking Report 2025’ from the Future Homes Hub showing that embodied carbon can make up to 30-70% of a new home’s emissions, early specification choices clearly matter.
This is why wood is so important in the drive for more sustainable construction. Not only is wood a renewable resource, but trees can be regrown in a relatively short period of time. Perhaps most importantly, trees capture and sequester atmospheric carbon as they grow, with one cubic metre of wood able to sequester over 800kg of CO2 depending on its age and species. This stands in stark contrast to other construction materials such as steel and concrete, which have far more carbon-intensive production processes. integrated into a housing development is through structural flooring.
RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE
Another advantage of choosing wood-based products is that they can be repurposed at the end of their lifespan and reused or recycled, something that is much harder to achieve with other materials. Where possible, opt for structural flooring boards that contain a high volume of recycled waste wood. This diverts waste wood away from landfill, reducing the demand for fresh resources and maintaining the carbon storage within the wood itself.
QUALITY IS KEY
When it comes to true circularity, it’s also important to consider product quality. Architects and specifiers should consider products with longer lifecycles as this goes hand-in-hand with lowering a building’s total carbon emissions. This is especially true for wood, where the longer it is in use, the longer it is sequestering carbon. Selecting flooring products that offer lifetime guarantees also provide assurances of long-term performance. unreliable British weather. With structural flooring often installed before the building is made watertight, materials can often be left exposed to the elements for an extended period of time and sustain water damage.
As well as the cost implications, replacing damaged boards also doubles the associated embodied carbon. However, this can be avoided by specifying structural flooring with an extended exposure rating. Some are available with a 100-day exposure rating, providing extra time, flexibility and peace of mind.
EGGER EGGER’s structural flooring products, decorative boards and laminate flooring range are all manufactured from timber. When virgin wood is used within production, it is sourced from 100% verified and controlled sources, according to ISO 38200. Up to 55% of our chipboard-based structural flooring products are made from recycled wood, achieved through close collaboration with sawmills and the operation of EGGER’s own wood recycling subsidiary, Timberpak.
Replacing these higher carbon materials with wood wherever possible is clearly an effective way of reducing the environmental impact of new homes. One area in which wood can be easily
REDUCE WASTE
Regardless of the scale of the project you are working on, delays can sometimes be unavoidable, whether caused by staff sickness, material shortages or the
Our new independently verified productspecifi c EPDs also provide accurate carbon data enabling reliable whole-life calculations to be made. www.egger.com