How using sustainable products and recycling materials helps reduce carbon emissions

To tackle the climate crisis, it is essential that the construction industry finds ways to reduce its carbon emissions. Currently, buildings are responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions; of that 28% from operational emissions (energy needed to heat, cool and power buildings) and the remaining 11% from materials and construction.[1] With this in mind, it is imperative to make a conscious effort in choosing sustainable materials for all building projects.

Materials such as timber sourced from sustainably managed forests can help towards a project’s sustainability goals. Forests capture and store carbon – even as they are used to build houses, make furniture and other structures. This in turn can reduce our dependence on less sustainable materials like steel or concrete.[2] This means that wood is a great sequester of carbon, because it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it, rather than emit it.

To highlight the benefits of building with engineered wood panels, we partnered with multi-award-winning garden designer and landscape architect Sarah Eberle for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022. Our goal in participating in the event was to showcase some of our environmentally conscious wood products and our commitment to sustainable building, following our success at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in 2021.

MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME (MTX) was used to create the impressive centrepiece, while SMARTPLY STRONGDECK was used for the roofing structure and SMARTPLY SITEPROTECT for the fencing around the garden. While we were excited to participate, we were also conscious that the environmental impact of us taking part in the show should be minimal.

Using timber or timber-based products is beneficial because, when properly managed, timber is one of the only sustainable mainstream construction materials. Carbon is stored in MEDITE SMARTPLY panels from the growth of trees in our sustainably managed forests to point of manufacturing and stays locked in for the lifespan of the product and the building they are used within.

Following the show, MEDITE SMARTPLY arranged for the structural materials to be deconstructed and delivered to an environmental charity for material re-use, while the trees and plants were re-used in other projects.

As a result, we worked with Circular Ecology to study the carbon footprint of the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future garden. The carbon study revealed that re-using trees and plants allows them to reach full maturity, which means it would increase their potential for carbon storage further.

Our products, produced from timber sourced from responsibly managed forests owned by Coillte, greatly contributed to making the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future garden carbon negative. This further highlights the importance of building with wood.

Discover more about the carbon footprint of the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future garden by clicking below.

For information about our about our sustainability goals, visit: https://mdfosb.com/en/sustainability/our-sustainable-solutions/medite-smartply-building-the-future

[1] https://worldgbc.org/advancing-net-zero/embodied-carbon/

[2] https://fsc.org/en/why-forests-matter-for-the-climate