1. The use of wood in the green building concept:
a study of expert perspectives from the UK
Lei Wang
Anne Toppinen
Heikki Juslin
www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto 15.6.2011 1

2. OUTLINE
Background
Purpose
Theories
Data and methods
Results
Conclusions
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3. BACKGROUND
• Change from “the business of business is business” to more ethical,
more responsible and more sustainable business
• Criticism concerning impacts of UK construction sector
• Using 400 million tonnes of materials and 6,500 hectares of land annually
• Producing 90 million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation
(CD&E) waste (19% of total UK waste)
• Accounting for approximately 50% of the UK CO2 emissions
• Responsible for a third of all industry-related pollution incidents
• Accounting 40% of the total UK energy consumption
• Emerging of the GB concepts (green construction, sustainable building
or sustainable construction
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4. PREVIOUS LITERATURE
• There is growing number of technical and case studies focusing on the
environmental performance of using wood in construction (for example,
Gustavsson et al., (2010) conducted a life cycle assessment on primary
energy and climatic impacts of an eight-storey wood-framed apartment
building).
• According to Holton et al. (2008) in the UK construction products
industry, strategy context, purpose, process and content are unique
between brick, steel and forest products, and developing generic sector
sustainability is not feasible.
• Only few business oriented studies regarding wood construction and
GB (Gold and Rubik, 2009 studied consumer attitudes towards the
image of timber as a construction material, and of timber frame houses)
in Germany
• There is lack of marketing and behavioural studies in order to determine
how and on what grounds are wooden construction products and
services perceived by different stakeholders. www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
i 15.6.2011 4

5. PURPOSE
• Examine the perceptions and foresights of construction experts in the
UK with regards to the use of wood in the contribution to GB:
• What is the current situation of the sustainable construction in the UK?
• What is the current situation of the use of wooden products in the
construction industry in the UK?
• What are the key drivers and main challenges affecting the use of wood
in the construction sector in the UK?
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6. DATA AND RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
• Primary data:
• 23 respondents from 18 different organizations in UK,
• in-depth interviews (semi structured interviewing)
• Secondary data:
• Statistics, UK government program papers,
• European Union LMI for sustainable construction
• Qualitative research method, recursive abstraction
-> Basis for a follow-up study & application
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7. THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL
BACKGROUND
— Green Building
• The narrow GB concepts often limit to
environmental issues and construction
practices such as material, technology,
process etc.
• natural building
• sustainable design and green
architecture
• Modern Methods of Construction
• high performance building
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8. BACKGROUND:
BREEAM AS A PART OF GB IN THE UK
• BREEAM is the world’s first and most widely used environmental assessment
method and GB rating system (200,000 buildings certified, and over a million
buildings registered for assessment)
• Measuring the environmental impacts of any building in the following aspects:
• Management, operational energy, transport, health and well-being, water, materials,
land use, site ecological value, pollution
GB rating systems Origin Year
BREEAM UK 1990
BEPAC Canada 1993
LEED US 2000
GHEM China 2001
DGNB Certification System Germany 2009
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9. BACKGROUND
— Share of TF construction in total
housing in the UK:
Share of TF construction
1998
8%
2006
17 %
2011
25 %
2016
?
75% currently
In single family housing Scotland
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10. BACKGROUND
— Measuring environmental soundness of wood
• Reducing energy use during
the building service life
• Minimizing external pollution
and environmental damage
• Reducing embodied energy
and resource depletion
• Minimizing internal pollution
and damage to health
• Use of existing LCA tools
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11. Broader concept of
sustainability?
• The broader GB concept governs three pillars of
SD: environmental, social and economic
responsibilities (from Zainul Abidin, 2010)
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12. RESULTS—Development of GB in the UK (1)
• People have become more concerned, and the concern of SC will increase: eco friendly
houses, growing environmental consciousness, and use of environmentally friendly materials:
less concrete & steel, more gluelam and I-beams
• The concept of SC is a cost sensitive issue, and it has to be bonded together with the
concept of affordable housing in order to improve the competitiveness
• Lack of WTP for eco friendly houses
• Developers: do not want to invest in some areas (which are on government agenda)
because there are enough customers for their current products and business
• Cost is an important issue, eco-housing has to be price competitive—affordable
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13. RESULTS—Development of GB (2)
• Sustainability has important place in UK government's agenda and the
government is pushing the development of GB through policy development such
as accomplish of standards, legislations, guiding lines, and assessment systems
• The government tries to boost sustainable housing through legislation, and
standardization will happen in this sector
• Implementing SC is the main task of the construction sector, and it will keep
growing in the future
• Affordable/environmental housing will increase in the following areas:
sustainability, eco friendly, recyclability, transportation efficiency, energy
consumption, offsite manufacturing
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14. RESULTS (3)
— A progressive time for
using timber in construction
TF Other wood products
“Timber frame housing has increased around “Engineered wood products in floor zones is
five years, acceleration has started especially the only improvement in 5 years”
in England”
“Use of timber has increased and it will “There are more value added and engineered
increase, especially in timber frame housing” timber products in the market, e.g.floor joists,
I-Beams, open frame joists, gluelam beams”
“It has been a positive time for using timber in “Clear growth of engineered wood products”
construction, and can see a clear growth of
timber frame housing”
“There is a fast / major improvement in wood “Increase in the timber frame systems, such
construction” as roof, frame, and floors etc.”
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15. RESULTS (4)
— use of wood in GB
• Wood is a favourable material for achieve GB
• Wood is like default in affordable and environmental housing. Wood could satisfy
the demand of sustainability
• Environmental housing will increase and wood will be part of it, it includes
recycling, life cycle etc. Big house builder are beginning to apply affordable and
environmental methods and that will boost the use of wood as well
• The drivers which support the use of wood as the optimal solution for GB in the
UK construction are:
1. Legislation
2. Environmental issues
3. Attitudes and traditions
4. Markets and competition
5. Promotion and communication
6. Technology and knowhow
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16. Some perceptions on
key drivers:
Legislation “Legislation will drive the wood usage in construction”
“Emphasis and attention on timber (government) has made more difficult for buyers, users, specifiers and
designers to specify/procure the timber which meet the policy and they attempt to use substitutes”
Environmental issues “ Environmental message on low carbon impact and flexibility of timber use make it a good material in sustainable
housing.”
“Timber industry does not need to compare its products to substitutes. It needs to address/highlight its own
credentials like sustainability, which is really the major driver / character. Having message “We are good because"
rather than "We are better than others“.
Attitudes and traditions “Timber has flexibility and can be easily adapted to different lifestyle. Future lifestyle movements in cities and
towns changed the tradition and there is desire for more high class houses (except Scotland) of wood. “
“Timber has not been traditional building material in UK (until recent times).Reputation of timber as building
material was ruined in late 70s and 80early 80s, by bad design and TV programs telling about that”
Markets and “Olympics will be huge job and chance for timber industry. Timber industry should engage the whole value chain to
competition show what you can do with the timber”
“It is not enough to have good product, you have to invest for the production and marketing as well. Bigger
companies have the money and they can make profit”
Promotion and “Generic marketing like wood for good have affected the market and public behaviour”
communication
“However, timber is not easy material because it has so many characteristics and designers may be a little bit
scared of it . You need to have much more knowledge in designing with timber when compared to substitutes.
Industry should show how you can build with wood .”
Technology and “MMC is like made for timber products. The potentiality is huge.”
knowhow
“Availability of education on wood construction is still low” www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto 15.6.2011 16

17. CONCLUSIONS
The development of SC
in UK refers to
affordable,
environmentally friendly,
and socially responsible
housing
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18. CONCLUSIONS
• Significant growth of GB in the UK construction sector, where wood has
been a functionally suitable and competitive material.
• TF is the major area of growth, and current trend in wood construction is
changing from low value and low tech wood products to high tech and
high value added products.
• Legislation, environmental issues, attitudes and traditions, market and
competition, promotion and communication, and technology and
knowhow drivers have pushed the increase of wood construction and
the concept of GB in the UK.
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