For thousands of years, wood has been an essential building product due to its strength, versatility and beauty. Now, with advanced construction practices, we can add renewability, cost savings, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and acoustics to the reasons wood is a top choice.

Wood is a natural, organic product, but its green story doesn’t end there. Wood waste created during manufacturing can be used to power mills and fabrication plants – some plants even pump energy back into the grid. Sustainable forestry practices ensure that wood is in plentiful supply. And salvaged, reclaimed and recycled wood products are growing in prominence daily.

The Green Building Rating System Guides below (part of the Building Green with Wood Toolkit) address the value of wood products in building – and how wood measures up in terms of life cycle assessment durability, Passive Design and so on. Each topic shows why wood adds value to your project, how to include it in your design, the procedures to follow, what to ask suppliers and much more. 

Did you know?
When trees are harvested and used to make products, the carbon remains stored in the wood for the life of the product.

Indoor air quality

Because wood does not emit toxic vapours, it is ideal for use where occupants or visitors may have environmental sensitivities. Increasingly, coatings, resins, and binders used in wood products are available in low- or non-toxic formulations. 

Locally produced materials

Locally-produced materials are often the best choice for a project: they suit local aesthetics, tend to be more durable in the local climate, and save shipping costs. Choosing local materials supports local economies and reduces the environmental impacts of transportation. 

Recycled materials

Including recycled materials into a building's design reduces its environmental impact and adds value. Recycled content is material that would otherwise be discarded, either during manufacturing or at the end of a product’s service life – and specifying recycled content helps reduce landfill waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Passive design and framing

Passive design uses a building’s architecture to leverage natural energy sources, minimize energy consumption, and improve thermal comfort. Passive buildings rely heavily on high-performing building envelope assemblies and passive solar energy. 

Certified wood

Forest certification verifies the sustainability of forest management and assures customers of wood sourced from sustainably managed forests. Optional third-party chain-of-custody certification traces the steps that wood follows from its point of harvest to its end use, including all stages of processing, manufacturing, and distribution. 

Acoustics

From the wood in a violin to the walls of a concert hall, wood’s acoustical properties are treasured. In musical instruments, wood both produces and amplifies sound. When used on walls, ceilings and floors, it can both reflect and absorb sound waves to control and insulate sound from many sources. 

Construction waste management

The objectives of construction waste management are to reuse and/or recycle construction and demolition debris as much as possible, to divert it from the landfill and into higher value purposes. Wood-based materials can be diverted into salvage, reuse, energy co-generation and other manufacturing processes. 

Salvaged materials

Salvaged, refurbished and remanufactured wood products can add character, aesthetics and value to a design. Salvaging and reusing wood products lessens construction/demolition waste, thereby lessening a project’s environmental impacts. A considerable portion of the wood demolished and left-over from construction can be salvaged and reused. 

Life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) determines a project or design's environmental impact over its lifespan. LCA analyzes the impacts of all materials and energy flows, either as input or output, of each component, from raw materials to end-of-life disposal or to rebirth as a new product. 

Did you know?
When considered over a building’s lifetime – from harvest of raw materials through manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and disposal or recycling – wood performs better than concrete and steel in terms of embodied energy, air and water pollution, carbon footprint and global warming potential. 

Durability

Durability is defined as the ability of a building or any of its components to perform the required functions in a service environment over a period of time without unforeseen cost for maintenance or repair.

Using durable materials, such as wood, as well as appropriate building applications and design, minimizes materials use. Durable materials can result in significant savings in terms of reduced-cost maintenance and repairs later in a building’s life.