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Wood is among the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly of all building materials. Among other positive environmental characteristics, wood stores vast amounts of carbon. Wood products are a vital component of sound architectural design and facilitate ease of design and construction, while providing inherent energy-saving performance. Wood buildings are readily adapted to reuse or can be deconstructed and individual products used in new construction. Furthermore, wood is a renewable resource, a characteristic of unparalleled environmental value.

The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) at the University of Washington conducted a study of the environmental performance of wood as a building material. CORRIM is a non-profit consortium of 15 research institutions formed to research the use of wood as a renewable material. In the study, CORRIM used typical building designs to construct hypothetical homes, and then compared the environmental benefits of wood-framed versus steel-framed houses in a cold climate (Minneapolis, MN) and wood versus concrete in a warm, humid climate (Atlanta, GA). The study looked at environmental effects across the entire life cycle of the home, known as “Life Cycle Analysis.”

Conclusions

• Construction of the wood-frame home used 17% less energy than the matching steel-frame home.
• Construction of the wood-frame home used 16% less energy than the matching concrete-frame home.
• The energy consumption measured included not just electricity, but also diesel and fuel oil to extract and haul materials, natural gas to generate steam in lumber mills, and electricity for steel mills.

Global Warming:

• The global warming potential of the wood-frame home was 26% lower than the steel-frame home.
• The global warming potential for the wood-frame home was 31% lower than for the concrete-frame home.
• Using wood products instead of steel or concrete can further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels because more than half the energy used by wood mills comes from biomass – bark, sawdust and other residuals – a renewable source of energy.

Status on USGBC/LEED and Green Building - 04/02/2009