Making wood part of a sustainable future

Forestry Minister Jim Anderton today announced a new programme that will help put New Zealand at the forefront of building truly sustainable buildings.

Mr Anderton said the Government has taken another key step in its promotion of a carbon-neutral public service. Within a year, new government-funded building projects for buildings up to four floors (including the ground floor) will have to commission designs and at least consider options for using wood or wood-based products as the main structural materials.

He said more than 90 percent of New Zealanders’ homes were built in wood.

“But very few commercial buildings are built in wood, despite research showing wood is cheaper, produces less greenhouse gas emissions and - with the right design and technology - can meet all other sustainability measures, such as energy efficiency.

“With the latest technology in timber engineering and global concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, it is time for wood to play a much important role as an efficient building material. Wood locks up carbon dioxide, uses much less energy to produce than alternatives, and by-products can be used to produce renewable energy.”

Encouraging the use of wood also helped support a growing forest industry, Mr Anderton said, which in turn helped New Zealand address climate change and sustainable land management.

He said there would be three new initiatives to encourage far greater use of wood in non-traditional applications:
•establishing two key professorships in wood design at our engineering schools in Canterbury and Auckland;
•co- funding the development of web-based technical information for engineers and architects; and
•requiring that where government-funded buildings of up to four floors are proposed, consideration is given to a build-in-wood design along with other proposals.

“I am delighted with the announcement today by the University of Auckland that the second professorship position in wood design has been filled by Canadian expert, Professor Pierre Quenneville.”

He joins Professor Andy Buchanan, who has been the Professor of Wood Design in Canterbury for some months.

Mr Anderton said there was already world-leading research underway in Canterbury University, led by Professor Buchanan and his international team of experts. This research should soon make it possible to replace greenhouse gas-intensive concrete and steel in buildings up to 10 stories high with wooden construction.

“While we are used to having timber framing in our houses, there are few examples of commercial-style wooden buildings. Yet research indicates there are no technical or financial reasons why wood should not be used. It seems that wooden buildings aren’t considered because there are few examples to demonstrate the possibilities, and there aren’t many examples because they aren’t considered – a classic Catch-22 situation. So we have taken this move to show some leadership in breaking the cycle.”

Mr Anderton said today’s announcement tied into the recent announcement that all new A-grade office buildings being constructed to house government staff in central business districts must now have a minimum five-star Green Star New Zealand rating, which represents "excellence". A four-star rating is required for other grades of office building, signifying "best practice". A further series of green building rating tools is being investigated for schools, housing and commercial office building fit-outs.

“Rating a building's performance in use is very important. But we believe it is also important to consider the sustainability of materials used in construction as part to the overall sustainability mix. That's why we are also requiring government departments to at least consider a build in wood option.”

Mr Anderton said wood was a material of the future. “Globally, humanity needs to move away from unsustainable and energy-intensive materials. We see wood growing and growing in importance. New Zealand can and should be at the forefront of the global wood revolution. There are fantastic opportunities for our wood processors, engineers, designers and construction companies to provide further engineered wood solutions for commercial-style wood-based building solutions, both within New Zealand and internationally.”