Bio-based Construction. An illustrative economic and environmental impact analysis of increased use of timber for construction in Spain - HCC EU CINCO

Bio-based Construction
An illustrative economic and
environmental impact analysis
of increased use of timber for
construction in Spain
IMPACT ANALYSIS REPORT / HCC EU CINCO Dark Matter Labs / 2023

2
Contents
Executive Summary
Foreword
1 - Introduction
Spanish forests
Threats to Spanish forests
The forestry sector in Spain
2 - Promoting sustainable forestry
Sustainable forestry globally
Challenges of sustainable forestry
Rethinking our forest model
Case studies
3 - Construction timber in Spain
Timber construction historically
Timber construction typologies
Case studies: Mass timber developments
Case studies: Interviews
Bio-based materials and their co-beneﬁts
Case studies: Mass timber manufacturers
Case studies: Architects and engineers
4 - Demand vs supply
Planned new developments in Madrid
Incentives of using timber
Case study: Madrid Nuevo Norte timber demand
3
5
6
7
8
9
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
23
25
27
28
29
30
32
33
4 - Regional economic and environmental impact analysis
Analysis overview
Castilla-La Mancha
Methodology
Scenarios overview
Economic impact by scenario
Regional timber volume analysis
Carbon sequestration
6 - Procurement as a decarbonisation tool
Strategies to support low carbon procurement
Case studies: Public timber procurement requirements
Case studies: Sustainable timber procurement
7 - Appendix
Regional economic impact analysis methodology and detailed results
38
39
40
41
42
43
46
47
48
49
50
51
54

3
Executive summary
Spanish forests represent a
significant, and currently
underutilised, sustainable resource
for the manufacture of high value
timber construction products.
These could help drive the national
transition to low-carbon and
bio-based construction whilst
providing an economic stimulus to
rural economies and contributing
significant environmental
co-benefits.
Post-carbon construction
Today, buildings are responsible for over a
third of global carbon emissions, when
considering both operational and embodied
carbon. Whilst operational carbon –
emissions associated with operating a
building e.g. from heating and cooling –
currently represents a larger proportion of
total emissions, as energy efficiency in
buildings increases and energy sources
become less carbon intensive, tackling
embodied carbon – emissions associated
with materials and construction processes
Impacts of using timber in construction
Increasing the use of engineered timber
products could not only reduce the carbon
emissions arising from these new
developments but would also create
healthier, more energy efficient and
reconfigurable spaces; support new jobs in
low-carbon construction; and contribute to
wider environmental benefits including
improved biodiversity, carbon sequestration
and water retention. (Section 3)
Sustainable forestry
Sustainable forest management, as well as
agroforestry approaches – where
trees can be grown alongside existing crops
or as part of a silvopasture system – could be
critical to address the main threats Spanish
forests face including from climate change,
forest abandonment, fires, diseases and
plagues. Further challenges such as rural to
urban exodus could be prevented through an
increase in sustainable forestry and timber
processing related activities, providing a
critical stimulus to rural economies.
(Section 2)
throughout the whole life cycle of a building –
is becoming more critical.
Using bio-based materials – organic
resources produced by plants and animals,
such as timber or sheep’s wool – is
considered one of the most effective routes
to not only decarbonise the built
environment, but also shift to a more
regenerative future. Apart from offering
low-embodied carbon alternatives to
conventional construction materials,
bio-based materials are renewable and can
be sustainably produced. They can also
provide a number of additional co-benefits
including faster, safer and cleaner
construction; easier and more sustainable
disposal options at end of life, healthier
internal environments; and a boost to rural
economies. (Section 3)
Forestry in Spain
Whilst Spain ranks third in Europe for forest
cover, with 18.6 Mha, it’s positioned eighth in
terms of volume of timber harvested each
year, at 16M m3
. The manufacture of
engineered timber products, such as cross
laminated timber (CLT) and glued laminated
timber (Glulam), is an emerging market,
driven, in part, by the need to rapidly
decarbonise construction. Spain’s three
largest manufacturers currently produce
approximately 65 thousand m3
each year,
compared to a total of 1.4 million m3
in
Europe. (Sections 1, 2 & 3)
Demand for construction timber
Despite the necessity to maximise utilisation,
reuse and retrofit of existing buildings,
demand for construction materials in new
developments remains high. Over the next 25
years, 12 large new developments are
planned in Madrid alone, representing 51
million m2
of new construction and around
160 thousand new housing units. It’s
therefore essential to minimise their
associated embodied carbon by prioritising
reuse and specifying low-carbon materials,
such as engineered timber. For Madrid Nuevo
Norte alone, representing 3.2 million m2
,
building in timber would require
approximately 1.3 million m3
of CLT and 220
thousand m3
of Glulam and could result in
emission reductions of approximately 0.5
million tCO2e. (Section 4)

4
Executive summary
Regional impact analysis overview
The report summarises the results of a
regional economic and environmental impact
analysis conducted to illustrate the impact of
increased demand for engineered timber
products on the local forestry industry and its
related activities within the region of
Castilla-La Mancha. It assesses three
potential scenarios for increased planting
and harvesting of Pinus radiata - an existing
softwood species suitable for the
manufacture of CLT - and their impacts on
local employment, economic value added
and total economic output for the region, as
well as the potential additional carbon
sequestration resulting from afforestation.
The scenarios are:
1. Scenario 1: Increasing regional
harvesting volume by approximately 20%
to match net growth rate.
2. Scenario 2: Increasing regional output by
approximately 45% through afforestation
of previously unforested suitable land
and matching harvest rate to net growth
rate.
3. Scenario 3: Increasing biomass
utilisation from tree ‘tops and limbs’ from
20% to 100% and matching harvest rate
to net growth rate.
Summary of findings
For Scenario 1, the analysis showed that
increased harvesting for use in engineered
timber products could create over 1,000 new
jobs, €62M in added value and €190M in
total output, above baseline, between 2020
and 2030, in the region. This could generate
115,000 m3
of timber each year, equivalent
to 14,000 m3
of CLT.
Over the same period, for Scenario 2, over
2,800 new jobs, €173M in value added and
€531M in total output could be created
through increased harvesting and
afforestation of suitable land. This equates to
138,000 m3
of timber each year, or 17,250
m3
of CLT. Additionally, the carbon
sequestration resulting from afforestation in
Scenario 2 was calculated to be 147,000
tCO2
between 2020 and 2030 and 288,000
tCO2
between 2020 and 2040.
For Scenario 3, increased utilisation of
biomass could contribute to over 1,500 new
jobs, €114M in value added and an additional
€345M in total output, above the baseline
scenario. In line with Scenario 1, this
approach could create 115,000 m3
of timber
Construction timber demand
The 12 large new developments planned in
Madrid over the next 25 years will require a
colossal amount of construction materials to
realise. Collectively they represent a total of
51 million m2
of new construction, 156
thousand new housing units, creating homes
for 400 thousand inhabitants. Building with
timber could dramatically reduce the
embodied carbon associated with these
planned developments - analyses in the EU
CINCO project showed that integrating
timber in the design of Madrid Nuevo Norte
(MNN) reduce embodied carbon by a third1
from the baseline (or 55% including biogenic
emissions). This potential saving represents
8.5M tonnes CO2
e (14M tonnes CO2
e
including biogenic emissions) if scaled across
all planned developments. If MNN was to
adopt mass timber for the structure and
façade of all building typologies, a total 1.3
million m3
of CLT and 220 thousand m3
of
Glulam would be necessary, representing a
maximum annual demand of CLT of 128
thousand m3
per year, over the construction
period. Nearly 10% of the total supply of CLT
in the EU, which is currently around 1.4
million m3
each year. (Section 4)
each year, equivalent to 14,000 m3
of CLT.
(Section 5)
Procurement in support of decarbonisation
Procurement processes are key levers for
supporting low carbon and circular
construction. Both public and private
developers can use the tendering process to
ensure construction projects are low-carbon.
From requiring Life Cycle Assessment within
the bidding requirements; to promoting
low-carbon materials and circular practices
as part of the tender selection process; or
mandating the use of sustainable timber
throughout designs or for specific
components.
There are also a number of precedents where
European governments are leading the way
in this regard: from the French government
setting minimum timber requirements for all
public projects; to the city of Amsterdam,
where legislation was recently passed which
mandates all new buildings constructed after
2025 to incorporate 20% timber or other
bio-based materials in their construction.
(Section 6)
1. Based on figures from Material Economics’ “Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings”
presentation, Sept. 2022

5
Foreword
the state of Spanish and EU forests. Building
on work by other partners to create scenarios
for the socioeconomic impact of increasing
local mass timber production and usage, as
well as presenting example procurement
requirements to support this.
The intent is for this report to be accessible
to a diverse audience, from city ofﬁcials, to
policymakers, developers, clients,
manufacturers, as well as the wider public. It
directly references work by Material
Economics, developed during the project and
presented in the report ‘Reducing Embodied
Carbon in Buildings’. The scenarios build on
values generated by project partner Arup and
presented in the report ‘MNN Timber
Demand Study’, which was produced for a
more technical audience such as architects
and engineers, and aimed as an evidence
basis for process and policy developments.
HCC: EU CINCO - A Handbook to help cities
reduce embodied carbon in construction
Since early 2021, Dark Matter Labs and
partners have been supported by the Laudes
Foundation to investigate and test ways to
accelerate efforts to minimise embodied
carbon in buildings, support material
circularity and increase the use of low
carbon, bio-based materials. The project
partners have been working on a number of
initiatives with the cities of Madrid and Milan,
as part of the HCC: EU CINCO project
(Healthy, Clean Cities: EUropean CIties for
climate-Neutral COnstruction).
In this project, we aimed to co-create and
test a collaborative portfolio of aligned
multi-stakeholder interventions that can
position cities and their partners as
market-shapers for bio-based and circular
construction. Design and local project
partners collaborated on a portfolio of
activities that we believe holistically address
the multi-lever interventions needed for
systemic change in construction.
This report provides an overview of the
potential for increased use of timber in Spain
from the perspective of increasing timber
supply and its potential spillover beneﬁts,
collecting and presenting structured data on

1
Introduction
Context of construction timber
supply in Spain

5.9 Mha
of forests in Spain (less than ⅓), are subject
to active forest management with a long
term plan.
Castilla-La Mancha (1.51 Mha), Andalucía
(1.26 Mha), Castilla y Leon (0.89 Mha) and
Cataluña (0.81 Mha) are the autonomous
communities with the most forest areas with
long term management plans.
Forest management is critical for managing
vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing
hazards, and maintaining forest health.
7
Spanish forests
Context and main characteristics
In 2020 there were 18.6 Mha
categorised as forest area in Spain,
approximately 36% of total land
area. This amount has remained
stable since 2010, after increasing
by nearly 5 Mha from 1990 as a
result of reforestation efforts.
In total, the country has over 7
billion trees. The most abundant
species are Quercus ilex (holly oak),
pines (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus
halepensis, Pinus pinaster, and
Pinus nigra) and Quercus pyrenaica
(pyrenean oak).
Most of Spanish forests, nearly
72%, are privately owned. Over
12.8 Mha are privately owned by
individuals and only 0.4 Mha are
collectively owned by local
communities. The remaining 28% of
Spanish forests are publicly owned.
36.7%
of Spain’s land area is covered by forest.
Castilla y León, with 1.2 million trees, and
Cataluña with 1 million, are the autonomous
communities with the most trees. Lérida is
the province with the most trees, followed by
Gerona, Barcelona and Navarra. The province
with the greatest volume of tree biomass is
Navarra, followed by A Coruña, Asturias and
Lugo. By surface area, Cáceres, Badajoz,
Cuenca and Huelva, are the provinces with
the greatest expanses of wooded forest.
2.6 Mha
of forest areas in Spain (14%) are
plantations (FAO).
Natural forests also include areas which were
originally planted but have lost artiﬁcial
patterns over time, with extensive
undergrowth and spontaneous tree growth,
which has led to the coexistence of trees of
different ages and sizes.
Image:
Global
Forest
Watch
Image:
Global
Forest
Watch
Tree cover
2000/2010 - Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA
Tree plantations
2020
Image:
Bakhrom
Tursunov

75,500 ha
of tree cover burned in Spain in 2021, in
over 7,200 fires
Climate change, forest abandonment, fires,
diseases and plagues are the main threats to
Spanish forests, as reported by the Spanish
Ministry MITECO.
According to EFI, over half of European
forests, including Spanish forests, have
inadequate conservation.
8
Threats to our forests
An overview, globally and in Spain
Globally, agricultural expansion
drives nearly 90% of deforestation.
As food demand continues to
increase due to population growth
and global socioeconomic trends,
rethinking our agrifood systems to
promote synergies between
agriculture and forests becomes
ever more critical.
With increasing global urbanisation,
the relationship between cities and
rural areas, including forests, needs
to be redesigned to boost local
ecosystems and economies while
enhancing food security, preserving
biodiversity, and long-term carbon
sequestration. This is particularly
true in Spain where over 81% of the
population lives in urban areas and
over 1,800 towns are on the brink of
extinction.
Image:gryffyn
m
1.42 Mha
of tree cover were lost in Spain from
2001-2021 (GFW). Equivalent to a 13% loss
since 2000, and 534Mt of CO₂e emissions.
While the forest area in Spain has continued
to grow over the past decades, experts warn
that this doesn’t mean forests are healthy, as
forest abandonment continues to increase
and a lack of management leads to higher
vulnerability. In this context, many experts
call for more resources to be dedicated to
forest management instead of focusing on
reforestation efforts.
420 Mha
of forest have been lost globally through
deforestation since 1990. (FAO)
Despite global efforts, deforestation
continues, although the rate slowed from 12
million hectares per year in the period
2010-2015 to 10 million hectares per year in
the period 2015-2020. In Europe, forest area
is growing and has increased by 14 million
hectares from 1990 to 2020, according to
data from the European Forest Institute
(EFI).
Image:
Global
Forest
Watch
Tree cover loss (annual)
Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA
Image:
Global
Forest
Watch
Tree cover loss due to fires
Annual, 30m, global, UMD/GLAD

€20bn
Annual turnover of all the sub-sectors that
make up the forestry sector in Spain.
The forest bioeconomy sector as a whole is
estimated to contribute an added value of
€69 billion to the Spanish economy.
Most wood production in Spain is located in
the north and north-west of the country,
where production can reach 2.6-10 m3/ha
per year. In the rest of the country, wood
production generally does not exceed
0.5m3/ha per year.
88%
of roundwood production in Spain is used
for industrial production such as sawnwood
and veneers or pulp and paper production.
In contrast, the share used for fuelwood,
despite a slight increasing trend, remains
under 15%.
9
Context
Spain has the third highest forest
cover in Europe, only behind
Sweden (69%, 28 Mha hectares)
and Finland (72%, 22.2 Mha).
However, with annual production
volumes of approximately 16 million
m3
, Spain sits 8th1
in Europe in
terms of roundwood2
production,
signaling potential for growth in the
national forestry sector.
As primary sector activities - such
as farming, logging, ﬁshing, forestry
or mining - decrease, land
catalogued as forest has increased
in Spain by 4 Mha over the past 60
years. However, most of this is
vulnerable land which is currently
unmanaged, and over 3 million rural
jobs have been lost.
210,000 jobs
Direct jobs created in Spain in forest
management, ﬁrst and second
transformation industries.
When considering the whole forest
bioeconomy sector, this number increases to
1.44 million jobs created.
Image:
EFI,
Wood
Production
in
Europe
Image:
Patrick
Robert
Doyle
1.Behind Germany (82.4), Sweden (77), Finland (66.7) ,
France (52.9), Austria (18.4) and Romania (17.8).
2.In this context, roundwood production comprises all
quantities of wood removed from the forest and other
wooded land, or other tree felling sites.
Image:
Sarah
Worth

10
Timber felling and timber products
Timber felling
Forestry in Spain is a signiﬁcant industry,
producing approximately 16 million m3
(MITECO, 2020) of timber annually, 15% of
which is from publicly owned forests, whilst
85% is from private land. Over the past 20
years, this ﬁgure has fluctuated between 13 -
20 million m3
. 53% of the total felled volume
Timber products
National annual roundwood production was
13.9 million m3
in 2020, with 0.8 million m3
imported and 1.9 million m3
exported at a
value of €118m. Sawn timber accounted for
2.3 million m3
of production with 1 million m3
imported and 0.3 million m3
exported at
€69m.
comes from coniferous species, whilst the
remaining 47% is from deciduous. The most
common coniferous species are Pinus
Radiata, Pinaster and Sylvestris, accounting
for 83% of felled volume. For deciduous,
Eucalyptus accounts for 86% of the timber
felled.
National production of timber boards was 3.8
million m3
, with 1 million m3
imported and
1.8 million m3
exported, worth €664m.
16 million
m3
/yr harvested
Source
Private land
Pinus Radiata
Coniferous
Pinus Pinaster
Pinus Sylvestris
Other
Deciduous
Eucalyptus
Other
€851m
export of timber products
Production volume
Sawn
timber
Timber
boards
Roundwood
Sawn
timber
Timber
boards
Export value
Roundwood
Public land
Species harvested
Source: MITECO Annual Forestry Statistics 2020

Value chain
The forestry supply chain is spread
across Spain, with mostly small
sized sawmills widely distributed.
Currently mass timber product
manufacturers are located in Galicia
in the north west, the provinces of
Bizkaia and Araba in the north and
Lérida in the north east. Frontrunner
timber developments can be found
throughout the country.
Timber supply chain map
An interactive version of this map is
available online
Frontrunner timber developments
Key organisations and public entities
Saw mills
Mass timber product manufacturers
Architects, designers, engineers
and construction companies

2
Proposal
Making the case for
sustainable forestry promotion
in Spain

Sustainable forestry in Spain
In Spain, 2,679,482 ha (14% of total) have
PEFC certification and 614,733 ha (3%) have
FSC certification.
In comparison, 86.5% of Austrian forests,
84.7% of Finish forests, 75.3% of German
forests, 59% of Swedish forests, and 32.9%
of French forests are PEFC certified.
Image:
Steven
Kamenar
Sustainable forest management
Certification: Challenges and opportunities
While certification promotes a sustainable
use of forest resources, the complexity and
cost of the required practices and the
certification process itself can be seen as a
barrier, particularly by small-forest owners.
Group certification – in which several owners
undergo certification together – has been
designed specifically for small, family and
community owned forests to provide a viable
option for small-forest owners. This enables
certification and operational costs to be
reduced as certain activities, such as
auditing, management planning or
monitoring, can be carried out at the group
level.
Image:
Irina
Iriser
Sustainable forestry worldwide
The Programme for the Endorsement of
Forest Certification (PEFC), with over 280
Mha of PEFC-certified forest, and the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), with over 200
Mha of certified forests worldwide, are the
largest sustainable forest certification
systems. Through third party verification and
chain of custody certification, these systems
aim to provide assurance to consumers,
regulators and other interested parties that
forest products have been sustainably
sourced in compliance with principles which
span from employment conditions, worker
and indigenous peoples’ rights, to
environmental impact and conservation
values.
13
Sustainable Forestry
Globally and in Spain
The Helsinki resolution defines
sustainable forest management as
“the stewardship and use of forests
and forest lands in a way, and at a
rate, that maintains their
biodiversity, productivity,
regeneration capacity, vitality and
their potential to fulfil, now and in
the future, relevant ecological,
economic and social functions, at
local, national, and global levels,
and that does not cause damage to
other ecosystems."
In our report, we defend the need to
go beyond this definition to consider
a more regenerative sense of the
term which also includes aspects
such as habitat recovery,
biodiversity promotion, and social
justice.
Image:
PEFC

Rural areas in Spain, which face
abandonment and depopulation,
are marked by a scarcity of active
population and a lack of
generational replacement. At the
same time, the Spanish forestry
sector is greatly fragmented in
comparison to other industries and
construction materials.
Together, these characteristics
make more difficult the adequate
sustainable forest management that
would enable the conservation and
protection of Spanish forests.
Significantly investing in forest
management and rethinking the
forestry industry to shift towards
more regenerative, higher value
production could help overcome
these barriers.
14
Sustainable Forestry in Spain
Challenges
Rural exodus and new territorial balance
In Spain, 3 out of 4 municipalities have been
losing population over the last decade. 8 out
of 10 towns under 5.000 inhabitants are
losing population at a rate that puts them at
risk of disappearing.
As our population becomes more urban and
with declining and ageing rural populations,
many rural activities including forestry and
agriculture are abandoned. At the same time,
health, education and economic activities
become more concentrated in growing cities
which in turn are putting increasing pressure
on rural resources, from food to energy
production, leading to an unbalanced and
extractive territorial relationship.
Land ownership
Depending on the area, most land may be
made up of smallholdings, small properties
divided through inheritance.
With newer generations increasingly moving
away from rural areas, an estimated 80% of
owners are citizens who work in secondary or
tertiary sectors and have no professional
relationship with agricultural or forestry
activities. This can lead to owners having a
lack of interest, knowledge, and physical and
economic connection to the territory and
rural activities, which can result in high rates
of land abandonment.
Capacity and capabilities
Private forest conservation depends to a
large extent on the capacity of forest owners
to adequately manage their forests in ways
that are responsible, sustainable and
profitable. Digitalisation and innovation can
boost forest management, as forest owners
use these tools to conserve and manage their
forests in a more cost-effective and accurate
way. However, currently the Spanish forestry
sector is characterised by a very limited
industrialisation and digital capacity. Most
sawmills are small, family-owned businesses
which may face obstacles such as
unqualified personnel, limited digital skills,
and difficulties with generational
replacement as older employees and owners
retire.
Photo
by
Farah
Nabil
on
Unsplash
Photo
by
Marco
Montero
Pisani
on
Unsplash
Photo
by
John
Schnobrich
on
Unsplash
Photo
by
Elias
Null
on
Unsplash

15
Rethinking our forest model
Shifting to higher value and regenerative production
Rethinking sustainable forestry for
high social, economic and
environmental value creation could
contribute to the reduction of rural
exodus patterns.
Promoting a robust national sustainable
forestry industry, as highlighted in key
national strategic and investment plans,
could help tackle some of Spain’s critical
environmental, social and economic
challenges: forest fires, loss of biodiversity
and territorial imbalance, among others.
At the same time, it could provide greater
material sovereignty, contribute to a more
resilient economy and support the transition
to a more sustainable built environment.
Forests provide significant economic and
ecosystem services. They capture CO2
from
the atmosphere and sequester it in soils and
biomass; once transformed into durable
timber products they provide long term
carbon storage; and using timber displaces
emissions that would have resulted from
using more carbon-intensive materials. There
is therefore a fine balance between carbon
stored in trees versus storage in timber
products; as well as implementing
sustainable harvesting strategies.
Key opportunities from sustainable forestry
include:
- Quality, green job creation
- Increased resilience against climate
change and forest fires
- Locally produced low-carbon, renewable
material production
- Environmental benefits
- Wider co-benefits derived from the
ecosystem services healthy forests
provide: economic, social, health and
wellbeing etc.
For these to be possible, the Spanish forestry
sector has to shift:
- To include higher value production
- To more sustainable management
practices
- To more socially responsible settings
Higher value production entails changing
forest management practices to produce
higher grade timber that can be used in mass
timber and other industrialised wood
products, as opposed to lower quality timber
used for paper production or pallets, for
example. This might involve performing
additional tasks such as stand tending
(thinning, pruning, fertilising, etc.) or waiting
longer periods of time before harvesting.
More sustainable management practices
include moving away from large, monoculture
forests towards practices that favor
ecological and social resilience and increased
biodiversity. To reduce the risks from forest
fires, pests and disease, while helping to
anchor rural population and increase their
resilience, WWF defends recovering the
Iberian peninsula’s traditional mosaic
landscapes, which mix extensive livestock
pasture, well-managed forests, extensive
crops and native forests.
Together, these can result in higher costs and
longer return on investment time frames for
forest managers.
More socially responsible settings aim to
maximise positive social impact throughout
the value chain, for example by ensuring fair
wages and working conditions from forest
management to manufacture and
construction.
To make these shifts possible, significant
regulatory, financial, administrative and
technological changes may be necessary to
overcome some of the key barriers identified
by forest agents:
- Excessively complicated and long
bureaucratic processes
- Insufficient insurance frameworks
- High capital expenditures and operating
expenses
- Difficulty in accessing subsidies, which are
often perceived as insufficient
Our hope is that this report can help to
facilitate a conversation between the
multiple stakeholders involved in overcoming
these barriers and to identify potential
pathways to address them.

16
Case studies
Sustainable forestry and agroforestry in Europe
Sustainable forest management
Tornator forests in Finland, Estonia, Romania
Tornator manages more than 700 thousand
ha of forest across Finland, Estonia and
Romania. Specialising in sustainable forestry
management, the company combines strong
environmental expertise with digital
technologies to foster responsible use of
forests. Tornator are both PEFC and FSC
compliant, whilst also introducing measures
to minimise emissions from their supply
chain - accounting for only 0.05% of their
forests sequestration capacity - and ensuring
annual growth rate exceeds total felling rate.
Silviculture techniques ensure storage
capacity increases while supporting an
abundance of wildlife.
Reindeer husbandry
Agroforestry in Sweden, Norway and Finland
Reindeer husbandry is the largest form of
agroforestry in Europe in terms of land area,
covering 41 Mha of land in Sweden, Norway
and Finland.
In this ancient practice, large herds of
semi-domesticated reindeer graze amongst
boreal forests enabling both meat and timber
production to coexist. This agroforestry
system is of great cultural and economic
importance for many indigenous peoples, in
particular the Sami.
Dehesa and montado systems
Oak agroforestry in Spain and Portugal
Oak agroforestry practices cover 7 Mha
across Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy. The
most established are the dehesa and
montado systems, in Spain and Portugal
respectively. In these, livestock – notably
black Iberian pigs (an industry which
generates €2 billion yearly) – graze amongst
oak trees (mainly cork and holm oaks) on low
fertility, undulating land. Acorns and cork are
harvested from the trees, whilst the animals
provide cheese, milk and meat –. The
agrosilvopastoral system also provides many
ecosystem services including water
retention, carbon sequestration and storage
and soil conservation, while supporting high
levels of biodiversity.
Goat silvopasture
Silvopasture Innovation in Sardinia
In the forested mountains of Sardinia’s
interior, old agricultural techniques, methods
and traditions are being revived and
innovated to ensure the forest ecosystems
are maintained while creating new economic
opportunities. In this silvopastoral system,
forests (mainly chestnut), alfalfa crops and
grazing goats are integrated in a mutually
beneﬁcial system that reduces the risk of
forest ﬁres, encourages healthy ecosystems
and increases carbon sequestration.
Through this land management approach
economic opportunities are created for local
farmers that can mitigate the loss of
population the area has been subject to.

3
Construction timber
A promising, yet nascent
industry in Spain

18
Timber construction in Spain
Historically and now
Historically
As in many European countries,
timber was a widely used
construction material in Spain until
the early 20th century. Heritage
timber buildings from the 18th
and
19th
centuries are still standing
today. As modern building codes
were introduced, certain
requirements such as insurance of a
building meant that established
practices, such as timber, were
abandoned in favour of steel and
concrete.
Timber today
Today timber in construction is
experiencing a resurgence, with new
manufacturing technologies and
structural standards enabling it to
compete with steel and concrete.
Increasing demand for lower
embodied carbon materials to meet
net-zero construction ambitions, as
well as the additional beneﬁts of
tighter tolerances from
prefabricated components and
cleaner construction processes
mean the industry is seeing a
renaissance.
Heavy timber frame systems were
the typical typology in Spain until
the early 20th century. Towards the
end of the 20th century mass timber
products emerged, such as Glued
Laminated timber (Glulam) and
more recently Cross Laminated
Timber (CLT), Laminated Veneer
Lumber (LVL) and Structural
Insulated Panels (SIP), but these
remain nascent nationally.
Image:
Chillida
Leku

19
Construction typologies
Overview of relevant structural timber systems
Solid timber can be engineered to
produce a range of structural timber
products, designed for different
applications, building typologies
and heights. Composite systems, for
example timber concrete composite
floors, may also be used for
increased structural and acoustic
performance, as well as resistance
to ﬁre.
These may be used in various
combinations to create suitable
structural systems depending on
application, for example CLT floors
with Glulam beams and columns;
CLT walls and floors; or hybrid
solutions e.g. reinforced concrete or
steel frame with CLT floors.
A
2) Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)B
Application: Beams and columns
Suitable species: Pine, Spruce, Oak
Suppliers: GB Legname, GRUPO GÁMIZ
Glulam is an engineered timber product used
for load-bearing structures in beams and
columns. Finger-jointed lengths of timber are
stacked and glued to create large structural
elements.
5) Timber Concrete Composite (TCC)
Application: Floors
TCC panels feature a concrete layer
combined with a CLT panel. These may be
prefabricated or poured on-site and offer
improved acoustic, dynamic and ﬁre
performance over CLT.
1) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)A
Application: Floors and walls
Species: Spruce, Douglas Fir, Larch, Pine
Suppliers: Egoin, Fustes Sebastia, Xilonor
CLT panels are made from layers of structural
timber stacked perpendicularly and glued
together under pressure. This considerably
increases the stability and structural capacity
of the timber. The panels can be used to
construct lighter, higher precision buildings
more quickly with reduced foundations.
4) Timber cassette
Application: Floors, walls, roofs
Suitable species: Pine
Timber cassette floors are
factory-manufactured panels consisting of a
series of joists connected to create a frame.
Images:
Swedish
Wood
3) Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)C
Application: Beams and sheets
Suitable species: Pine, Spruce
LVL is an engineered timber product
constructed using thin layers of timber
veneers laminated using adhesives.
B C

20
Construction typologies
Relevant timber façade systems
Timber is also a suitable material for
use in building façades in a variety
of systems. These may be installed
on site or pre-fabricated as modular
systems, depending on the chosen
typology.
1) Glulam curtain wall stick systemA
Application: Façade (ofﬁce, public buildings)
Species: Oak, Chestnut
Suppliers: FINSA, Gamiz, SIEROLAM
Glulam sections support glass or opaque
panels to create the curtain wall system
which is attached on site to the timber
structure, with aluminium extruded proﬁles
used to connect the glass to the structure.
4) CLT
Application: Façade, floors and walls
Species: Spruce, Douglas Fir, Larch, Pine
Suppliers: Egoin, Fustes Sebastia, Xilonor
CLT panels can also be used as façade
elements.
2) Timber lightweight frameB
Application: Façade
Species: Pine
Suppliers: LignumTech
Prefabricated panels include a timber frame,
insulation, boarding and an external cladding.
These are lightweight and durable,
manufactured to high tolerances and can be
quickly installed onsite
3) Structural Insulated Panels (SIP)C
Application: Façade
Species: Poplar, Pine, Eucalyptus
Suppliers: Garnica
An insulating foam layer is sandwiched
between plywood or oriented strand board to
create a structural panel for walls or façade
panels. This system remains relatively rare in
Spain.
Image:
Haworth
Tompkins
Image:
Garnica
Image:
Rothoblaas
A B C

21
Case studies
Mass timber developments in Spain
La Borda
Housing co-operative, Barcelona - 2017
La Borda is a tall CLT social housing complex
in Barcelona designed by Lacol arquitectura
cooperativa. It is built on the edge of the
former industrial zone, Can Batlló, where the
co-operative were granted a 75-year lease on
public land. The development features 28
residential units, arranged around a central
courtyard, creating a total of 3,000 m2
. Using
CLT not only reduced the overall embodied
carbon of the development, in comparison to
Entrepatios - Las Carolinas
Collective housing, Madrid - 2020
In Madrid’s Usera district, the Las Carolinas
development has created the city’s first
collaborative housing development through
right of use. Producing its own renewable
energy and with very low energy demand, the
building is designed to foster mutual support
amongst the residents of its 17 housing units.
Completed in 2020, each home is between 61
and 83 m2
, with communal washing, meeting
and workshop facilities, as well as bicycle
Manufacturer: Egoin
Timber product: CLT (Radiata pine)
using traditional materials, it also meant a
shorter construction period and its lightness
meant a reduction in the volume of concrete
required for foundations. It also removed the
need for internal cladding or suspended
ceiling, reducing material use and waste.
Communal facilities also mean operational
carbon is expected to be much lower than in
conventional residential buildings.
Manufacturer: Stora Enso, Madergia
Timber product: CLT
parking and a communal vegetable garden.
The project has been certified by ECOMETRO
as well as incorporating Passivhaus
techniques. To ensure high indoor air quality,
the design avoided VOC emitting materials
and the mechanical ventilation system filters
air as it enters. A rainwater harvesting system
is expected to save 750,000 liters each year.
Image:
La
Borda
Image:
Las
Carolinas

22
Case studies
Mass timber developments in Spain
Cornellà de Llobregat
Collective housing, Barcelona - 2020
85 social housing units sit on a plot
previously occupied by a cinema in Cornellà
de Llobregat. The 5-storey timber structure
has been built on a ground floor concrete
core for public facilities and commercial use,
creating a 10,000 m2
of built area. A
communal courtyard creates space for
residents to convene, with a mixture of two
and three bedroom residential units spread
across the floors. Since minimising
Wittywood
Office building, Barcelona - 2022
Wittywood is Spain’s first office building built
entirely using timber. Located at 42 Llacuna
Street, in the heart of the 22@ district of
Barcelona, the 5-storey development
incorporates 3,600 m2
of office space and
green areas. The building is LEED Platinum
and WELL Platinum certified, with an
estimated 50% reduction in embodied
carbon associated with construction
compared to a conventional build. Other
Manufacturer: Egoin
Timber product: CLT (Radiata pine, Basque)
construction cost was a priority, the volume
of timber used per square meter of built area
has been optimised to 0.24 m3
per m2
. The
structure has been designed to incorporate
3.6m spans, with CLT load bearing walls and
glulam beams and columns supporting the
CLT floor slabs.
Manufacturer: Stora Enso
Timber product: CLT, Glulam
benefits include reduced noise pollution,
faster construction and improved indoor air
quality, light and thermal regulation. The
structure is composed of glued-laminated
timber (glulam) columns and CLT cores. The
floors are supported by glulam beams and
composed of prefabricated CLT panels.
Image:
José
Hevia
Image:
Lunawood

23
Case study Interview
Nasuvinsa
Nasuvinsa, Navarra de Suelo y Vivienda
S.A.(Navarra, Housing and Land)
Public corporation of housing and urban
development of the Government of Navarra.
Nasuvinsa’s mission is to promote the right to
housing, public industrial development and
the sustainable development of the territory.
Nasuvinsa is governed by 3 departments of
the Government of Navarra (Social Rights,
Economic Development and Rural
Development, Environment and Local
Administration).
As part of Nasuvinsa’s activities promoting
subsidised housing, protected rental
management, urban regeneration policies
and innovation in housing and urban
planning, the public corporation has
embraced the use of local, sustainable
timber in a number of high-energy efﬁciency
social housing projects.
Image:
OFS
architects
Image:
niusdiario.es
Image:
construible.es
Nasuvinsa participates in EU project Eguralt,
which aims to identify challenges and
opportunities for high-rise timber
construction, optimise the use of wood in
mid-rise buildings by experimenting with
new processes, products and technologies
and support the shift to sustainable
construction through knowledge sharing.
Key projects include social housing built with
structural timber that meet nearly-zero
energy building (NZEB) standards, a new
manufacturing plant for industrialised timber
products to support the modernisation of the
local construction and forestry sectors and
innovation projects such as using wood chip
for efﬁcient collective heating systems.

24
Case study Interview
COSE
Confederación de Organizaciones de
Selvicultores de España (COSE)
Confederation of Organisations of Foresters
of Spain.
COSE is a state-wide forestry organisation
that aims to bring together private forest
owner associations to facilitate dialogue
amongst themselves as well as with the
public opinion and Spanish and European
administrations. It currently includes the
forestry associations of every autonomous
community except the Canary Islands.
As a non-profit organisation, COSE
represents the interests of forestry agents
and owners in Spain and Europe through the
International Family Forest Alliance and the
European Confederation of Forestry Owners.
COSE has a triple social, environmental and
technical focus to provide long term benefits
for current and future generations.
Image:
COSE
COSE develop innovation projects to
demonstrate the multidimensional value of
forests. These include innovative
management models to improve productivity
in smallholdings, market development, new
economic stewardship models, and projects
to exploit multiple forest resources, including
carbon offsets, timber, resin and mushrooms.
Among these projects, LIFE WOOD FOR
FUTURE aims to regenerate poplar groves to
improve biodiversity, long term carbon
sequestration and value creation. By
promoting poplar forestry for high-added
value structural timber use, it aims to
demonstrate the environmental, social and
economic benefits of well cared for forests.
Image:
life-woodforfuture.eu/

25
Biobased materials
Co-benefits of their use
Biobased materials are those made
from substances that derive from
living organisms, for example
plants. Using biobased materials is
considered one of the most effective
routes to decarbonising the built
environment. As well as offering
low-embodied carbon alternatives
to conventional construction
materials, they provide a number of
additional benefits.
The carbon emissions associated with the
manufacture, construction, use and end of
life of biobased materials is lower than those
emitted for traditional construction materials
including steel, concrete and bricks. During
growth, plants sequester carbon, storing it
when harvested and throughout their useful
life. It’s therefore important for biobased
materials to be reused for as long as possible
to prevent the sequestered carbon from
being released in landfill or when burnt in a
waste to energy plant.
Using biobased materials can lead to health
benefits for both manufacturers and
construction workers as well as inhabitants
of the buildings they create. Cleaner
manufacturing and construction processes
benefit factory and construction workers.
Simultaneously improved indoor air quality in
biobased buildings, as a result of their
breathability helping to regulate humidity and
prevent damp, creates a healthier internal
environment.
Use of biobased materials in a building can
lead to much faster construction timelines
and cleaner sites. Many of the mass timber
elements can be prefabricated off-site and
require less time to assemble on-site. This
means bio-based construction is considered
safer than traditional construction practices
since much of the fabrication can be
performed in a factory in safer conditions.
Prefabrication in timber can also lead to less
wastage as components are custom designed
with tighter tolerances. Their use also
reduces the dust and noise associated with
traditional construction techniques.
Faster, cleaner and safer
construction
Low-embodied carbon
1 2 3
Improved internal
environments

26
Biobased materials
Co-benefits of their use
Trees can be grown alongside existing crops
or as part of a silvopasture system - where
trees are introduced alongside livestock -
supporting a more diverse ecosystem,
providing benefits for animals and enabling
multiple revenue generating practices for
farmers and foresters.
Building components made from bio-based
materials can be designed, manufactured
and constructed in a way that enables their
future deconstruction and reuse. Buildings
can be designed so that they are easy to
reconfigure or demount and reuse in a new
contexts. Together this can support a more
circular economy and reduce the amount of
construction material that end up in landfill
or waste to energy plants, thus locking up
embodied carbon for longer and reducing the
need for virgin materials.
An increase in demand for sustainable timber
and other bio-based construction materials
can provide an economic stimulus in rural
regions. These areas are currently facing
rural to urban exodus, with ageing local
populations due to a lack of employment
opportunities. Investment in a bio-based
construction industry can help to reverse this
trend whilst supporting national net-zero and
‘green’ employment ambitions.
Afforestation of underutilised land, alongside
a transition to sustainable forestry practices
and planting of other bio-based construction
materials (e.g. hemp) will contribute to a
number of environmental benefits,
supporting both local and national climate
change mitigation and adaptation. Trees and
plants help maintain soil structure and
improve levels of nutrients. They also help to
improve soil quality on contaminated land.
Alongside carbon sequestration and storage,
they intercept rainwater to alleviate flooding
and soil erosion. Forests support local
biodiversity, providing habitats for diverse
plant and animal species.
Supporting material
circularity
5
Agroforestry: silvoarable
and silvopasture
4
Supporting rural
economies
6
Environmental co-benefits
7

27
Case studies
Main mass timber product manufacturers in Spain
Egoin
Busturialdea
Egoin is a 30 year old, family run structural
wood producer, based in Busturialdea. It is
one of the largest CLT and laminated timber
producers in Southern Europe, providing
structural systems for both residential and
commercial multi-storey buildings.
Estimated annual CLT production:
30,000 m3
Sebastià
Rialp
Established in 1954, Sebastià specialises in
structural wood systems and prefabricated,
low energy buildings.
Sourcing its timber from Pyrenean forests,
Sebastiá uses locally grown Pinus sylvestris
and Abies alba in their high-quality products.
11,000 m3
Xilonor (Finsa)
Galicia
Xilonor is the ﬁrst Cross Laminated Timber
manufacturer in Galicia, a densely forested
area of Spain, which contributes more than
half of all Spanish timber. Xilonor produces
CLT using locally harvested logs, with a
specially designed manufacturing process
adapted to the characteristics of the local
Radiata and Pinaster pines.
12,000 m3
(progressively increasing to meet
its 24,000 m3
capacity)
Mass timber was invented in the
1990s in Austria and Germany.
Since then its use rapidly expanded
through Europe and globally as a
sustainable alternative to more
carbon-intensive steel and concrete
construction.
In Spain, mass timber use has
expanded more slowly due to
regulatory and market barriers
which are slowly being overcome.
Thanks to this and the growing
weight of environmental and climate
considerations in decision making
linked to construction, its local
manufacture is slowly emerging. A
small number of forerunners are
currently paving the way in the
manufacture of mass timber
products adapted to the
characteristics of locally grown
timber.

28
Case studies
Architects and engineers
011h
011h.com
011h design and build carbon neutral
buildings. Through their work they aim to
mitigate climate change, provide access to
affordable, healthy and sustainable housing
and foster learning and collaboration in the
construction sector.
They defend standardised construction and
design for disassembly and deconstruction to
optimise the use of materials, labor and
construction processes. 011h defends close
collaboration with manufacturers and other
professionals to co-define design and
operations while ensuring excellence in
Environmental, Social and Corporate
Governance standards are met.
sAtt
satt.es
sAtt is the first Spanish architecture and
engineering firm to have achieved B Corp
certification. They design and develop
projects, processes and tools for architecture
and urbanism that are economically, socially
and environmentally sustainable.
sAtt have over 20 years of experience in
ecological, regenerative and sustainable
architecture. They have participated in over
400 projects in which they integrate a
co-creation approach that involves users and
other professionals in the design. In their work
they aim to minimise the carbon footprint of
buildings, maximise renewable energy
generation and full electrification.
Madergia
Madergia.com
Madergia is an engineering firm specialising
in timber structure construction with over a
decade of experience. During this time they
have completed over 2.000 projects working
with construction companies, developers,
industrial clients and individuals.
Madergia provide technical support to
identify the optimal structural and
construction solutions. They work with solid
timber, laminated timber, CLT, LVL,
LIMITLESS, thermo-treated timber, MCL, and
acetylated lumber, among other typologies.
Waugh Thistleton Architects
Waughthistleton.com
Waugh Thistleton Architects is an
architecture firm based in Shoreditch. They
are a world leader in engineered timber and
tall timber building design.
Waugh Thistleton Architects have experience
delivering residential, office, commercial and
cultural projects. They defend
environmentally sustainable architecture and
design and are committed to the use of
timber in construction. Waugh Thistleton
Architects work with multiple construction
typologies, including hybrid steel and CLT
structures, lightweight prefabricated timber
and DfMA (Design for Manufacture and
Assembly) systems.

4
Demand vs supply
Construction timber required
in Madrid’s new developments,
compared to current local
supply

30
Overview
Over the next 25 years 12 large new
developments are planned in
Madrid.
Solana de Valdebebas
1.1M m2
38.7% housing
1,393 new housing units
El Cañaveral
5.3M m2
15.4% housing
Nueva Centralidad del Este
5.1M m2
70% housing
Los Cerros
4.7M m2
11.3 % housing
Los Berrocales
7.8M m2
16.9% housing
Los Ahijones
5.5M m2
15.4% housing
156k
New
housing units
⅓
Social
housing
400k
Inhabitants
51M m2
New
construction

31
Overview
Abroñigal (Madrid Nuevo Sur)
2.5M m2
Carcel de Carbanchel
0.2M m2
19.8% housing
650 new housing units
Campamento
2.1M m2
24.9% housing
Valdecarros
12.1% housing
Mahou Calderon
0.2M m2
17.2% housing
Madrid Nuevo Norte
3.2M m2
9.2% housing
Over the next 25 years 12 large new
developments are planned in
Madrid.
156k
New
housing units
⅓
Social
housing
400k
Inhabitants
51M m2
New
construction

32
Why use timber?
Some key incentives
1. Based on the International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) Well Building Standard
and supporting literature.
2. Based on figures from Material Economics’ “Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings”
presentation, Sept. 2022
3. Assuming a baseline of 500kg CO2
e per m2
as proposed by Material Economics in
“The Abatement Cost And Emissions For Construction Of Buildings” , Oct. 2021, and
51 million m2
of new construction are built with carbon savings of 1/3.
There are many potential emission
reduction benefits to building in
timber as opposed to using other
materials such as reinforced
concrete that are more widely used
in construction in Madrid today.
Additionally, as we’ve seen in section 3,
incorporating natural materials such as
exposed wood can support multiple
co-benefits including improved health and
wellbeing. Biophilic design, which includes
integrating natural patterns and materials
such as timber in indoor environments has
been linked to increased productivity,
reduced absenteeism, decreased levels of
depression and anxiety, increased attentional
capacity, better recovery from job stress and
illness, increased pain tolerance and
increased psychological well-being.1
Faster construction
5-15%quicker
Shorter construction time, in addition to
quieter and cleaner construction sites
and fewer construction workers on site2
Less material
33%lighter overall
Reduced overall building mass, when
comparing a building that uses CLT in
walls and floors and Glulam in columns
and beams to one with reinforced
concrete structures2
Lighter foundations
10%lighter
Lighter foundations, reducing the amount
of material used2
Lower carbon
-⅓ CO2
e
Embodied emission reductions can be
achieved through design choices2
Total embodied carbon saving
-8.5MtCO2
e3
Adopting timber as one of the main
construction materials in Madrid’s
planned developments could significantly
reduce their total embodied carbon (14M
tCO2
e including biogenic emissions)

33
Case study: Madrid Nuevo Norte
Overview of typologies (number of buildings)
Table 1: Summary of planned buildings at MNN Usage
Building height Structure Residential Ofﬁce Public
Low rise (1-5 storey <15m) Timber 13 2 49 64
Medium rise (5-9 storey <28m) Timber 55 21 52 128
High rise (9-13 storey <40m) Timber 25 14 0 39
Very high rise (13-26 storey <80m) Timber or hybrid 28 10 0 38
Super high rise (26-100 storey <230m) Hybrid (timber floors) 3 11 0 14
Façade Timber frame prefab panels
Timber curtain wall stick
system
Mix curtain wall system and
timber frame system
124 58 101
Madrid Nuevo Norte (MNN) is one of
the two sites that were selected to
test in practice the innovations
proposed as part of the Laudes
funded HCC EU CINCO project, of
which this report is a result. It is one
of the largest urban transformation
projects in Europe. MNN’s building
construction stage is planned to
span 20 years, from 2025 to 2045.
A clear commitment from MNN to
use sustainable timber could
provide the demand stability
necessary to drive changes
throughout the national timber
supply chain and overcome some of
the barriers highlighted in sections 2
and 3.
The table below outlines building
typologies and usage, along with
proposed wood based structures for
each.
The main developers, Crea Madrid
Nuevo Norte, aim to position the
project as a driver for sustainable
change.
If MNN were to build the proposed
3.2M m2
of new construction in
timber, close to 0.5 million tCO2e
could be avoided.

34
Summary of potential timber requirement
A combination of engineered timber
(CLT and Glulam) and solid timber
(pine) will be necessary at MNN for
building structures and façade
systems. These figures are taken
from a study undertaken by Arup,
titled MNN Timber Demand Study, as
part of the HCC EU CINCO project.
They represent the volumes of
timber products required for the
planned development, across the
various building uses, for a range of
design scenarios. For ease we have
highlighted the maxima of these
values for each timber product. For
further details and in depth analysis
of suitable structure and façade
systems for each different building
typology, please refer to the original
report.
Total requirement
600,000 - 1,300,000 m3
Spruce, Douglas Fir, Larch, Pine
Offices
577,000 m3
(structure)
Residential
563,000 m3
(structure)
Public
203,000 m3
(structure)
Total requirement
150,000 - 220,000m3
Oak or chestnut
Offices
83,000 m3
(structure)
13,000 m3
(façade)
Public
52k m3
(structure)
1.2k m3
(façade)
Total requirement
40,000 - 60,000 m3
Pine
Residential
50,000 m3
(façade)
Public
10,000 m3
(façade)
CLT
1.3million m3
Glulam
220thousand m3
Solid pine
60thousand m3

Estimated annual demand of timber products for MNN construction*
m3
/ year
35
Timeline of annual demand
Construction of MNN will be done in stages
between, 2026 and 2042. By calculating
timber required by each building typology
within MNN, a forecast for the annual
demand for construction timber has been
estimated.
Estimated annual maximum values:
Figures based on Arup’s MNN Timber Demand Study
CLT
128 thousand m3
/yr
Glulam
15 thousand m3
/yr
Solid pine
6 thousand m3
/yr

36
Comparison to European production volumes
CLT
MNN demand
128thousand m3
Figures based on Arup’s MNN Timber Demand Study
* Estimated capacity of three largest producers in Spain
CLT supply vs MNN demand (m3
/year)
EU supply (2021)
1.4million m3
/yr
Glulam
MNN demand
15thousand m3
EU supply (2021)
3million m3
/yr +
Glulam supply vs MNN demand (m3
/year)

37
Case study: MNN
European CLT supply
Whilst local supply of construction
timber can help to minimise
emissions associated with
transportation and also support
local industries, the demand for
construction timber in Madrid - for
both MNN and other planned
developments - is unlikely to be met
by current production volumes in
Spain.
Imported construction timber will remain
necessary to fulfill short-term demand, whilst
local production capacity of certified timber
products ramps up, to meet longer term
demand. The map shows current annual CLT
production volumes at sites across Europe.
In the following sections we look at the
potential economic and environmental
impact of increasing local sustainable timber
production, whilst the final section identifies
ways public and private developers can
specify sustainable timber through
procurement.

5
Analysis
Illustrative regional economic
and environmental impact
analysis of increasing timber
supply

39
Regionally speciﬁc impact analysis
Overview
Introduction
The objective of this analysis was to discuss
the economic and environmental importance
of the emergence of mass timber in Spanish
construction markets. Analysing its potential
to create local manufacturing jobs while
utilising Pinus radiata grown sustainably in
the region.
Regional economic impact analysis
The regional study assessed regional
economic and environmental impacts in
Castilla-La Mancha generated by increasing
sustainable forestry activities for the
production of engineered timber from
sustainably grown radiata pine in the region.
Castilla-La Mancha was chosen due to it’s
relatively underutilised forestry resource and
geographic proximity to areas where timber
demand may be high (eg. Madrid, Valencia,
Barcelona). The study uses three distinct
scenarios with varying levels of additional
harvesting and afforestation to model the
potential economic stimulus experienced in
the region between 2020 and 2040 as a
result of increasing sustainable forestry.
Timber volume analysis
The regional economic analysis results were
used to estimate the potential additional
timber yield for use in mass timber
construction products across the three
scenarios, with varying increases in harvest
levels.
Regional environmental impact analysis
Finally a model was developed to estimate
the increase in carbon sequestration
resulting from the afforestation strategy
outlined in Scenario 2. This helps to illustrate
the effect of biogenic carbon sequestered
and stored during the growth of bio-based
construction products and the effect this
could have at the regional level.
Photo
by
Ann
Fossa
on
Unsplash

40
Castilla-La Mancha
Study area
Castilla-La Mancha has an area of almost 8
million hectares, with approximately 3.5
million hectares of forested land,
representing 45% of the region. Of this area,
2.7 million hectares are forested with trees,
and 825 thousand hectares are shrub or
grassland, representing respectively 35%
and 10% of Castilla-La Mancha's area. The
region has 3.5 million cubic meters of forest
mass, and the extracted timber mass is 385
thousand cubic meters, indicating that in
Castilla-La Mancha, only 11% of the growth
in this time interval has been extracted.
There is an even distribution between
conifers and broadleaf trees, with both
having around 1.1 million hectares, with the
conifers mainly concentrated in the
mountainous areas of the east and the
broadleaf trees in the center and
mountainous areas of the south and west of
the autonomous community. Castilla-La
Mancha’s pine forests represent the majority
of the forest mass in the region (over 75%).
Among them, the Aleppo Pine (Pinus
halepensis) stands out, with 28% of the pine
forest area.
Radiata pine
For this analysis, the species Radiata pine
(Pinus radiata) was selected. It’s a versatile
and fast-growing softwood, suitable for a
range of uses with properties that make it
suitable for both lumber and pulp production.
Globally it’s the most widely planted pine.
Its fast-growing and straight nature,
combined with its structural properties make
it suitable for use in cross laminated timber
(CLT). A number of existing manufacturers
already use radiata pine in specially adapted
plants including Egoin and Xilonor.
The study therefore focuses on the existing
stock of radiata pine in Castilla-La Mancha
and new growth of this species as a result of
replanting and planting in previously
unforested areas.

41
Methodology
Impact Analysis
Regional Economic Impact Analysis is a
method used to study the economic effects
of an event, project, or policy change on a
specific geographic region. It evaluates the
change in economic activity (such as
employment, income, and output) resulting
from the event in question and can be used
to determine the potential benefits and costs
of a project or policy. The analysis is useful
for decision-making, resource allocation, and
planning purposes and helps to inform
policymakers and stakeholders about the
likely outcomes of proposed actions.
Model construction
This study used the social accounting matrix
(SAM) modeling technique to assess net
regional impacts from mass timber
construction. A SAM is a matrix database that
compiles economic and social information on
every transaction between agents in an
economy over time, generally one year.
The scientific value of the SAM is twofold:
firstly, it represents a complete but intuitive
structural snapshot picture of the economy
under consideration, and secondly, it
provides data for economic modeling
(multi-sectoral linear models or the more
complex CGE models). A SAM extends the
traditional Input-Output (IO), not by using
satellite accounts, but in an integrated way,
and the same table or matrix SAMs use a
more disaggregated income and expenditure
structure reflecting the integration of the
links of the institutional sectors with
productive activities, goods, and services, as
well as intermediate inputs. The main
sources are statistical systems of National
Accounts, together with socioeconomic
statistical operations, such as household
budget surveys and labor force surveys.
Construction of the SAM
We estimated the supply-use matrix at basic
prices to construct the symmetric
product-by-product matrix. The valuation at
basic prices values each product without
considering its indirect net taxes and trade
and transport margins. It is more suitable for
analytical purposes, given that it provides a
more homogeneous valuation for a better
interpretation of the technical coefficients
and an accurate allocation of the trade and
transport accounts.
Considering that the original SAM has a
supply-use framework, the transformation
implied that the columns for trade and
transport margins and net taxes on products
were now irrelevant in the supply table, so
the margins and non-deductible taxes minus
subsidies on products were deducted from
the use table. Given that the valuation matrix
was unavailable, the transformation was
based on the supply and use matrix for the
Spanish economy published by the National
Statistics Institute of Spain and
complemented with indirect information
about the desegregation of forestry-related
products. This information identified the
taxes and margins associated with each
product.
Inputs and assumptions
Since industries that produce CLT do not
currently exist in the region, their potential
impact is measured using analysis by parts.
Direct effects for those industries were
determined using Spain’s National
accounting ratios of output, employment,
labor income, and value-added for those
industries in Castilla-La Mancha. Data was
collected from a variety of sources. Growth
and removal estimates were taken from the
Spanish National Forest Inventory and the
National Forestry Accounting Plan.
Direct, indirect, and induced effects
This analysis models the economic impacts
resulting from a particular event.
Understanding these is critical for assessing
an activity's potential costs and benefits, in
order to make informed decisions.
- Direct effects: An activity's immediate and
direct impacts on the local economy. For
example, if a new factory is built, the direct
effects would include creating new jobs,
purchasing goods and services from local
suppliers, and paying local taxes.
- Indirect effects: Secondary impacts of an
activity on the local economy. For example,
if the new factory creates jobs, those
workers will have more income to spend
on local goods and services, which will, in
turn, create new jobs and economic
activity in the area.
- Induced effects: Impacts from the
spending of new income generated by the
direct and indirect effects. For example, if
workers at the new factory spend their
income on local goods and services, that
spending will create further economic
activity, such as the creation of new jobs
and the generation of new tax revenue.

42
Scenarios overview
The baseline scenario reflects the current
state of the forestry sector in the Castilla-La
Mancha region based on harvest rates and
industry inputs from 2020. It represents the
economic contribution of the forestry sector
to the local economy. For this scenario, we
assumed that harvest levels and industrial
production would remain constant between
2020 and 2030 with no increase or decrease
in any sector.
This considers a strategy that removes only
the amount of biomass that can regenerate in
one year. We estimate 15m3
/ha/year as the
mean average increment, which accounts for
115,000 m3
/year extraction. This is an
increase in harvest levels of just over 20%
from 2020 to 2040. It results in an alignment
between net growth and removal rates; in
cases where net growth exceeds removals,
the removal rate increases to match net
growth. Conversely, if the current (2020)
removal exceeds net growth, removals are
reduced to a more sustainable harvest level.
The harvest increase is translated to a
change in industrial production. The team
estimates the possible increase in industry
output that could result from the additional
removals. Industries central to the forestry
sector, such as commercial logging, sawmills,
and truck transportation, tended to see gains
similar in magnitude to the increase in
harvest (roughly 20%).
Scenario 2 represents the most signiﬁcant
increase in production for the forest products
sector in the Castilla-La Mancha region. Here
the industry will increase output roughly 45%
between 2020 and 2040. It uses the same
method described in Scenario 1, where
harvest rates increase within the Castilla-La
Mancha region to align with net growth.
Again, in cases where a species’ net growth
in 2020 exceeded removals, the removal of
timber increases to match net growth rates.
Conversely, if the current (2020) removal of
the species exceeds net growth, removals are
reduced to align with a more sustainable
harvest level.
It also includes an expansion of Pinus radiata
forest plantations in non-forest areas, which
allows increasing the harvest rate from 95
thousand m3/year to 138 thousand m3/year
extraction by the addition of 2.3 thousand
hectares harvested for CLT, representing
around 4% of the total harvest in the region.
Scenario 3 reflects an increase in production
in the forestry sector of roughly 14%
between 2020 and 2040.
It follows the same harvest strategy as in the
ﬁrst Scenario, alongside an increase in wood
production derived from additional woody
biomass utilisation. Based on information
from the Spanish National Forest Inventory,
approximately 20% of the timber harvested
is in the form of tops and limbs, the feedstock
used in woody biomass production.
It is estimated that the current utilisation rate
of tops and limbs is 30%; this scenario
assumes full utilisation of tops and limbs on
the part of the forestry sector, particularly
those industries that currently utilise woody
biomass in producing electricity, organic
chemical manufacturing, or reconstituted
wood product manufacturing.
Scenario 1
+20%output
Increasing harvest levels & forestry activities
to match net growth rate
Scenario 2
+45%output
Increasing harvest levels & land utilisation
increases
Scenario 3
+14%output
Increasing biomass utilisation from tops and
limbs
Baseline
€640Mtotal output
Extrapolating harvest rates and forestry
activities from 2020-2030

43
Economic impact by scenario
According to the analysis, the forestry sector
could create around 3000 jobs in Castilla-La
Mancha between 2020-2030, whilst
contributing €224 million in value-added.
This represents the contribution to the GDP
made by an individual producer, industry, or
sector, assuming no change in current
production levels. The total output,
representing the value of all local production
required to sustain activities in the region
between 2020-2030, is just over €640
million, through direct, indirect, and induced
effects.
An increase of approximately 20% in harvest
levels could see an additional 1,127 jobs
created in the region between 2020-2030,
whilst contributing an extra €62 million in
value added. The analysis shows that total
output from forestry in the region could see
an additional €190 million uplift. The ﬁgures
for 2030 to 2040 show an additional 983
jobs, €54 million in value added and €163
million in total output.
A 75% increase in output between 2020 -
2040 as a result of increased harvesting rates
to match net growth as well as an expansion
of Pinus radiata forest in currently
non-forested areas could lead to 2,834 new
jobs between 2020-2030, €173 million in
value added and €531 million in total output.
Extrapolating the ﬁgures for 2030 - 2040
would contribute an additional 2,266 jobs,
€103 million in value added and €490 million
in total output.
Increasing utilisation of forestry biomass
from tops and limbs from 30% to 100%, as
well as following the same harvesting
strategy as in Scenario 1, could create 1,591
additional jobs, €114 million in value added
and €345 million in total output between
2020 - 2030. Whilst between 2030 - 2040,
this scenario could create an additional
1,583 jobs, €135 million in value added and
€358 million in value added.
Scenario 1
2020-2030
Employment
+1,127jobs
Value added
+€62M
Total output
+€190M
Scenario 2
2020-2030
Employment
+2,834jobs
Value added
+€173M
Total output
+€531M
Scenario 3
2020-2030
Employment
+1,591jobs
Value added
+€114M
Total output
+€345M
Baseline
2020-2030
Employment
3,026jobs
Value added
€224M
Total output
€640M

44
Detailed economic impact results
Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
Baseline
Employment in forestry activities
Added value from forestry (€M)
Total industrial output from forestry (€M)

45
Detailed economic impact results
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Baseline
Table 1: Baseline Scenario Results, Castilla-La Mancha Region
Impact Type Employment Labour Income (€M) Value Added (€M) Output (€M)
Direct Effect 1,804 €103 €156 €478
Indirect Effect 536 €25 €27 €82
Induced Effect 686 €22 €41 €80
Total Effect 3,026 €150 €224 €640
Table 2: Scenario 1 Results – Potential Total Contribution of Forestry Sector 2020-2030
Direct Effect 2,583 €134 €197 €625
Total Effect 4,153 €194 €286 €830
Direct Effect 3,234 €160 €231 €747
Induced Effect 1,077 €34 €65 €123
Total Effect 5,136 €231 €341 €992
Direct Effect 3,699 €188 €271 €892
Induced Effect 1,183 €38 €71 €135
Total Effect 5,860 €269 €397 €1,171
Direct Effect 5,214 €255 €339 €1,273
Indirect Effect 1,331 €53 €72 €202
Induced Effect 1,580 €53 €89 €186
Total Effect 8,126 €361 €501 €1,660
Direct Effect 2,692 €146 €228 €736
Total Effect 4,617 €219 €338 €985
Direct Effect 3,467 €190 €311 €995
Indirect Effect 1,399 €61 €82 €194
Induced Effect 1,334 €43 €79 €153
Total Effect 6,200 €295 €473 €1,343

46
Regional timber volume analysis
Overview of results by scenario
Timber volume
Potential timber harvested by scenario
Baseline
Timber harvested
95,000m3
/yr
Scenario 1
Timber harvested
115,000m3
/yr
Potential CLT production volume
14,000m3
/yr
Scenario 2
Timber harvested
138,000m3
/yr
17,250m3
/yr
Scenario 3
Timber harvested
115,000m3
/yr
14,000m3
/yr
Scenario 1
Increased harvesting to match net growth
rate results in an increase in the estimated
volume of Pinus radiata from 95 thousand
m3
/year to 115 thousand m3
/year extraction,
representing slightly above 3% of the total
harvest in the region. The potential harvest
increase translates to a change in industrial
production where the total amount of timber
harvest is used for CLT production, given that
the current use of Pinus radiata for industrial
use is negligible in the region.
Scenario 2
In Scenario 2, the same harvest policy is
used alongside an expansion of Pinus radiata
forest plantations in non-forest areas,
increasing the harvest rate from 95 thousand
m3
/year to 138 thousand m3
/year extraction
by the addition of 2.3 thousand hectares
harvested for CLT, representing around 4% of
the total harvest in the region.
Scenario 3
Results for timber harvest volume and CLT
production volume for Scenario 3 are the
same as in Scenario 1 since the increased
utilisation of tops and limbs would not be
suitable for engineered timber products.
Assumptions
The analysis assumes that all local harvest of
radiata pine is used in CLT, demonstrating a
maximum volume of CLT that could be
produced if the harvesting strategies outlined
in each scenario were adopted.

47
Regional environmental impact analysis
Scenario 2: Carbon sequestration
The harvesting, reforestation and new
planting occurring as a result of the forestry
strategy modelled in Scenario 2 will result in
additional carbon sequestration above that
expected for the baseline. This is a result of
older trees being selected for harvesting,
whilst being replaced by saplings, and
simultaneously new areas of forest are
cultivated on previously unforested land. This
additional carbon sequestration, above the
baseline, is therefore a direct result of
increased demand for, and supply of,
structural timber products. The analysis
shows that an increase from the baseline of
95 thousand m3
/year to 138 thousand
m3
/year as modeled in Scenario 2, could
result in an additional 147,436 tonnes
CO2
.between 2020 and 2030. This is the
equivalent CO2
e generated per passenger of
754,000 return flights from London to
Madrid1
. Between 2020 - 2040 the potential
sequestration amount rises to 287,877
tonnes CO2
, equivalent to the full life cycle
embodied carbon of 480 1,000m2
buildings.
Scenario 2 carbon sequestered
Additional carbon dioxide sequestration from Pinus radiata
Scenario 2
CO2
sequestered: 2020-2030
147,000tCO2
CO2
sequestered: 2020-2040
288,000tCO2
Equivalent to
Flying LDN-MAD return
754,000times1
The full life cycle embodied carbon of
480 1,000m2
buildings2
1. Carbon footprint per passenger for return LDN-MAD (195 kgCO2
e), Statista
2. Using an average full life cycle embodied carbon of 600t CO2
e for a 1,000m2
building

6
Procurement as a
decarbonisation tool
Opportunities in public and
private procurement to support
low-carbon construction

49
Strategies to support low-carbon procurement
Options available to public and private developers
Promoting the use of sustainable timber
General efforts to reduce a building’s
embodied carbon footprint can indirectly
promote the use of sustainable timber as
opposed to other, more carbon intensive
alternatives. Public and private contractors
can define specific requirements mandating
the use of sustainably harvested wood as a
structural alternative to steel or other
materials with higher embodied carbon.
Additionally, policy, tendering clauses and
awarding criteria can promote the use of
local materials and products, including
timber, which reduce transport emissions
and can lead to added co-benefits for local
communities and economies.
Establishing mandatory criteria for timber
elements
Specific requirements can be set to maximise
the environmental and social benefits of
using timber. Public and private contractors
can require verification that all timber
products have been legally and sustainably
sourced. For finished products, this should
include chain of custody certification which
ensures sustainability claims documented
throughout the supply chain, from sourcing to
distribution. Alternatively, requirements can
mandate the use of salvaged, repurposed or
recycled timber. In this case, certificates
should clearly indicate the percentage of
pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled
content. Procurers can also follow EU
guidance on certified carbon removals.
Selecting low-carbon, circular and
environmentally preferred materials
In addition to analysing the project’s whole
life carbon, environmentally preferred
options can be incentivised for key material
categories, which can be identified early on
based on their expected contribution to the
project’s overall carbon footprint. A building’s
foundation, superstructure and façade are
often some of the biggest contributors to
embodied carbon. They often use large
volumes of materials and include carbon
intensive materials such as steel, concrete,
aluminum and glass. Public and private
developers can design policy, tender clauses
and awarding criteria to ensure options are
chosen which have lower embodied carbon
or higher recycled content, among others.
Requiring LCA and embodied carbon data
Local, robust carbon data is often limited,
making it hard to establish target emission
caps and reduction objectives. One of the
first steps stakeholders leading public and
private construction projects can take is to
request Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and
embodied carbon data in their projects, for
example using the Level(s) framework.
Tender clauses can mandate all competing
bids analyse and disclose their embodied
carbon data. Additionally, awarding criteria
can be designed to incentivise more
ambitious approaches. To maximise impact,
data from tender processes should be
compiled in a publicly accessible database
which can provide robust, local benchmarks.

50
Amsterdam bio-based construction
Green Deal Timber Construction
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2025
The city of Amsterdam has recently passed
legislation which mandates all new buildings
constructed after 2025 to incorporate 20%
timber or other bio-based materials in their
construction. It is estimated that this
measure could lead to an annual reduction of
220,000 tons of CO2
(or the equivalent of
22,000 households annual emissions) as well
as a significant reduction in nitrogen
emissions.
Timber requirements in public buildings
Bill 5166
France, 2025
New regulations in France, originally
announced in 2020, will require public
buildings to integrate a certain percentage of
bio-based materials in their construction. The
current proposal sets a 25% requirement for
new builds and major renovations by 2025
and 50% by 2030. The RE2020 regulations
also require embodied carbon analysis
throughout the lifecycle of residential
buildings and will expand to all building types
from this year. They also set embodied
carbon limits which will gradually tighten in
stages.
Case studies
Public timber procurement requirements
Image:
MARS
Architectes
Image:
ArchDaily
Berlin’s Sustainable Wood Procurement
Policy
Berlin, Germany
As part of the Berlin Energy and Climate
Protection Program, Berlin aims to make
greater use of wood as a building material in
public building projects to take advantage of
its many benefits, including faster
construction times, its renewable nature,
thermal insulation properties and health and
wellbeing contributions. Berlin building
regulations were amended in 2018 to
facilitate the use of wood in load bearing
components. This is supported by annual
expert dialogues on the topic of urban timber
construction and extensive environmental
protection requirements for timber
construction.
Sustainability in Construction & Civil Works
Strategy for Sustainable Construction
Denmark, 2021
Denmark wants to achieve a reduction of
70% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030,
compared to emission levels of 1990. To do
so, the Danish Ministry of Interior and
Housing has introduced a national strategy.
Initially a voluntary standard, from 2023 on
the strategy includes mandatory and strict
maximum CO2 equivalent emissions for new
buildings. With this strategy, Denmark is the
first country to introduce embodied carbon
limits into building regulations. Over time,
new requirements will be phased into the
building code and emission limits will be
lowered every 2 years ensuring an ongoing
increase in ambition.

51
Case studies Spain
Sustainable timber procurement
Sustainable Biomass in Galicia’s Hospitals
Galicia Regional Government, Department of
Health and Energy Institute of Galicia
Galicia’s regional government developed
administrative clauses requiring the use of
certified biomass for the provision of thermal
energy services to the Barbanza, Calde, Costa
de Burela, Comarcal de Monforte and Verín
Hospitals.
The clauses require the use of biomass, in
the form of pellets or wood chips, that has a
Chain of Custody Certificate, type PEFC CoC
or equivalent, to ensures the traceability and
guarantee the sustainable origin of the forest
products.
Certified Sustainable Timber in the
province of Toledo’s public benches
Provincial Government of Toledo
Toledo’s provincial government developed
tender clauses requiring the use of certified
sustainable timber in public benches
purchased throughout the province’s
municipalities.
The clauses required suppliers to provide
documentation demonstrating that the wood
used in the benches had PEFC or FSC
equivalent certification and to produce chain
of custody certification to guarantee
traceability throughout the production
process.
This instruction is mandatory for all
procurement bodies and applies to all
construction, retrofit, refurbishment,
urbanism and infrastructure contracts and all
purchasing of street furniture or other
elements used in the public space.
The instruction requires the use of timber
and wood products with guaranteed
sustainable origin and promotes the use
timber as a sustainable and renewable
product, particularly favoring sustainably
managed local forest products. It also
includes additional requirements for tropical
timber.
Sustainable Timber product procurement
regulation in Barcelona
Barcelona City Council
As part of the city’s sustainability
commitments, Barcelona has developed a
Sustainable Timber Action Plan and a
Sustainable Forest Management Timber
Purchasing Policy. Supporting their
implementation, a technical instruction was
developed to define the environmental
clauses for the acquisition of timber products
for construction and street furniture.
The technical instruction determines criteria
for clauses such as procurement priorities,
environmental criteria and how evaluation
and monitoring will take place.
Image:
T.
Selin
Erkan
Image:
Omar
Ram
Image:
Logan
Armstrong

52
Urban regeneration and Social housing,
with ARCA timber certification
Rovereto (Region of Trentino, Italy)
ARCA protocol guarantees durability, safety
against earthquakes and fire, energy saving,
sustainability, materials, and healthiness of
your wooden house.
The social housing project in Rovereto is the
result of a collaboration across the entire
value chain, not only for the technical
protocol but also for the origin of the raw
material. Manufactured using the wood of fir
trees felled in 2018 by the Vaia storm in Val
di Fiemme and Primiero (in the same region
of the project).
Certified timber for private sector to access
Superbonus 110%
Italy
The logic applied so far to Green Public
Procurement procedures for public
administrations (with CAM) also finds
application in the private sector to access
public funds for retrofit in place to deal with
the effects of the pandemic (also called
Superbonus 110%).
For materials and products made of wood or
wood-based material, or elements of wood
origin, the material must come from
sustainably/responsibly managed
woods/forests or recycled wood or a
combination of the two.
Certified timber for public procurement for
furnishings and construction
Italy
Since 2008 PAN GPP (National Action Plan
for Green Public Procurement) has provided a
general framework that defines national
objectives, categories of goods, services,
environmental impacts, and the volumes of
expenditure from Public Administration on
which to apply the 'Minimum Environmental
Criteria' (CAM).
The CAMs are reviewed regularly and result
from a consultation and concertation work of
the Ministry of Ecological Transition with all
interested parties. From 2022 forest
certifications are a mandatory requirement.
Case studies Italy
Sustainable timber procurement
ARCA Guidelines for public procurement
Trento (Region of Trentino, Italy)
ARCA is the first example in Italy of a
certification system designed explicitly for
timber buildings and the wood supply chain.
ARCA is also a network of professionals and
offers constant training.
This entity has developed guidelines to
support public administrations writing
tenders by introducing "performance
requirements" (not prescriptive) that go
beyond traditional technologies that
otherwise will be preferred due to a lack of
expertise and knowledge. However, only the
designer has the final say on the materials.

53
Circular procurement
Circular procurement in 8 steps
Copper8, Netherlands, 2018
This guide offers an overview and
methodology for integrating circularity into
procurement processes in to promote
circular products, circular consumption and
circular projects. Whilst there’s no silver
bullet, this guide offers principles, practical
examples and knowledge needed to leverage
procurement to support greater circularity.
Case studies EU
Other climate related procurement guidance
Low-carbon materials procurement
The Chancery Lane Project: Tristan’s clause
2021
Tristan’s clause is a template clause for use
in construction project that sets out “a formal
‘carbon budget’ alongside the traditional
financial budget for construction projects, to
incentivise industry participants to reduce
GHG emissions through use of more
sustainable materials.”
Image
Hilda
Weges
/
istock
/
Getty
Images
WRAP low-carbon procurement guidance
Low-carbon & resource efficient procurement
WRAP, Wales, 2022
The guidance document sets out a strategy to
support the Welsh government’s ambition to
establish a circular economy in Wales. It
includes guidance to help consider the whole
life carbon impacts of built assets, as well as
strategies to select low carbon materials and
introduce more circular practices throughout
a building’s lifecycle.
Promoting fair and sustainable forestry
A guide for public purchasers in Europe
ICLEI, 2014
The guide for public authorities, issued as
part of a toolkit which also includes training
material, case studies and fact sheets, was
developed to help public stakeholders ensure
the timber products they purchase have been
sourced, produced, and traded sustainably.
The guide covers basic definitions and
strategies to support public stakeholders in
using their market shaping power to go
beyond sustainable forest management to
support fair trade, SMEs etc.
Image
WRAP
Image
Marina
Reich
on
Unsplash

7
Appendix
Regional economic impact
analysis methodology and
detailed results

Illustrative regional economic
impact analysis
HCC EU CINCO
February 2023
An illustrative regional economic impact analysis of increasing
construction timber supply from local forests in order to meet
increased demand in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
Produced by Dark Matter Laboratories and drawing on learnings from
the HCC EU CINCO testbeds in Madrid and Milan, supported by Laudes
Foundation.
Contact
Alberto Hernández Morales
alberto@darkmatterlabs.org

1. Project Description
The main objective was to discuss the economic and environmental importance of the
emergence of mass timber into Spanish construction markets, as the product potentially
creates local manufacturing jobs while utilizing Pinus radiata grown sustainably in the region.
This study assessed regional economic impacts in Castilla-La Mancha generated by mass
timber construction in Madrid. Economic and environmental impact estimates were derived
using a regionally specific input-output model combined with analysis by parts methodology.
The quantification and analysis of the contribution of the mass timber forestry products to the
economy, thus revealing the products on which the variation of the final demand produces the
most significant impact.
We estimate economic multipliers for the region, allowing the identification of the channels
through which income effects are produced and transmitted throughout the economy. This
information is advantageous to establish the origin of income shocks on economic agents and
institutions.
Finally, calculating the employment multiplier facilitates knowledge of the capacity to generate
employment for each economic account in Castilla-La Mancha.
1.1. Mass Timber and Context
Mass timber products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) have recently emerged in the Spanish
construction market as novel building products that contribute to the sustainability of cities by
turning urban structures into carbon sinks. Mass timber building designs heavily utilize wood
products for building frames. These wood products generate fewer carbon dioxide emissions
and require less fossil fuel consumption during manufacturing, transport, and construction
than alternative steel or concrete building components.
The prefabricated nature of mass timber construction allows for improved urban sustainability
through efficient resource utilization and material reuse following building deconstruction. Due
to mass timber’s sustainable and economic advantages, countries like Australia, Canada, and
Japan have adopted wood encouragement policies that promote and facilitate timber use in
new construction projects, aligning with green building initiatives using low-carbon materials.
1.2. Study Area
Castilla-La Mancha has an area of almost eight million hectares, with approximately 3.5 million
hectares of forested land, representing 45% of the regional area. Of this area, 2.7 million
hectares are forested with trees, and 825 thousand hectares are shrub or grassland,
representing respectively 35% and 10% of Castilla-La Mancha's area.
Dark Matter Laboratories / 2023

The region has 3.5 million cubic meters of forest mass, and the extracted timber mass is 385
thousand cubic meters, indicating that in Castilla-La Mancha, only 11% of the growth in this
time interval has been extracted. There is an even distribution between conifers and broadleaf
trees, with both having around 1.1 million hectares, with the conifers mainly concentrated in
the mountainous areas of the east and the broadleaf trees in the center and mountainous areas
of the south and west of the autonomous community.
Castilla - La Mancha’s pine forests represent the majority of the forest mass in the region (over
75%). Among them, the Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) stands out, with 28% of the pine forest
area.
1.3. Economic Regional Impact Analysis
Regional Economic Impact Analysis is a method used to study the economic effects of an
event, project, or policy change on a specific geographic region. It evaluates the change in
economic activity (such as employment, income, and output) resulting from the event in
question and can be used to determine the potential benefits and costs of a project or policy.
The analysis is useful for decision-making, resource allocation, and planning purposes and
helps to inform policymakers and stakeholders about the likely outcomes of proposed actions.
1.3.1. Model Construction
This study used the social accounting matrix (SAM) modeling technique to assess net regional
impacts from mass timber construction. A SAM is a matrix database that compiles economic
and social information on every transaction between agents in an economy over time, generally
one year.
The scientific value of the SAM is twofold: firstly, it represents a complete but intuitive
structural snapshot picture of the economy under consideration, and secondly, it provides data
for economic modeling (multi-sectoral linear models or the more complex CGE models). A SAM
extends the traditional Input-Output (IO), not by using satellite accounts, but in an integrated
way, and the same table or matrix SAMs use a more disaggregated income and expenditure
structure reflecting the integration of the links of the institutional sectors with productive
activities, goods, and services, as well as intermediate inputs. The main sources are statistical
systems of National Accounts, together with socioeconomic statistical operations, such as
household budget surveys and labor force surveys.
1.3.2. Construction of the symmetric social accounting matrix for Castilla
- La Mancha
We estimated the supply-use matrix at basic prices to construct the symmetric
product-by-product matrix. The valuation at basic prices values each product without

considering its indirect net taxes and trade and transport margins. It is more suitable for
analytical purposes, given that it provides a more homogeneous valuation for a better
interpretation of the technical coefﬁcients and an accurate allocation of the trade and transport
accounts.
Considering that the original SAM has a supply-use framework, the transformation implied that
the columns for trade and transport margins and net taxes on products were now irrelevant in
the supply table, so the margins and non-deductible taxes minus subsidies on products were
deducted from the use table. Given that the valuation matrix was unavailable, the
transformation was based on the supply and use matrix for the Spanish economy published by
the National Statistics Institute of Spain and complemented with indirect information about the
desegregation of forestry-related products. This information identiﬁed the taxes and margins
associated with each product.
2. Inputs and Assumptions
The following section details some of the inputs required for modeling the economic
contribution of the forestry industry, as well as the impacts of the four potential scenarios.
These inputs include the current harvest levels (removals) of timber in the Castilla - La Mancha
region and the current state of the industry in the area.
Because industries that produce CLT that do not exist in the region, how they are impacted is
measured using a method called analysis by parts. Direct effects for those industries were
determined using Spain’s National accounting ratios of output, employment, labor income, and
value-added for those industries in Castilla-La Mancha.
Data was collected from a variety of sources. Growth and removal estimates were taken from
the Spanish National Forest Inventory and the National Forestry Accounting Plan.
The baseline scenario reflects the current state of the forestry sector in the Castilla-La Mancha
region based on harvest rates and industry inputs from 2020. As mentioned previously, this
scenario represents the economic contribution of the forestry sector to the local economy. For
this scenario, we assumed that harvest levels and industrial production would remain constant
between 2020 and 2030 with no increase or decrease in any sector.

Bio-based Construction. An illustrative economic and environmental impact analysis of increased use of timber for construction in Spain - HCC EU CINCO

Bio-based Construction. An illustrative economic and environmental impact analysis of increased use of timber for construction in Spain - HCC EU CINCO

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Bio-based Construction. An illustrative economic and environmental impact analysis of increased use of timber for construction in Spain - HCC EU CINCO