WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF RENEWABLE LUMBER?
As we outlined in the previous section, wood is an excellent choice for sustainable home design. Wood is a renewable resource which requires only sunlight and water for production, so it has a low impact on other natural resources. As trees grow they capture and store carbon dioxide, removing it from the atmosphere. With responsible forestry methods, this CO2 is then trapped (or “sequestered”) in the lumber indefinitely. The lumber is then cleared for new trees to grow and restart the carbon capture process again.
Construction-grade lumber is also grown in abundance in the US which reduces carbon emissions from shipping.
Additionally, wood can continue to be reused and repurposed for decades, which means construction scraps can
stay out of landfills.
Sustainably grown wood can create a closed loop which ultimately nets a positive impact on the planet. This
requires that every stage of the process utilizes responsible and deliberate forestry practices while it is
being harvested, removed and milled into buildable materials. These sustainable practices range from the use
of pesticides in the growing process to the type of glues used when binding the lumber products. Our team of
architects, work closely with local organizations to continually learn about renewable lumber and connect with
responsible manufacturers.