Reader opinion Barriers to timber construction need to be removed at the level of the government program

Finland the climate panel has examined the sustainable use of forests. According to the climate panel, additional deforestation cannot be justified by climate benefits (HS 12.5). The panel also looked at the benefits of wood construction for the climate.

A discussion on a complex and topical issue is welcome. As Professor Jyri Seppälä of the Climate Panel writes in his article, wood construction is currently the best use of wood and the utilization of forests.

Finland’s national property, forests, is mainly used for fiber and pulpwood. The report of the Climate Panel supports the use of forests for carbon-sequestrating long-term wood products such as buildings or furniture. However, the transition to wood construction is still in its infancy. For example, more than 94 percent of the apartment building projects started in 2021 will be built of concrete. Solid wood apartment buildings – carbon stocks – account for only about one percent of new apartment buildings. The numbers are so small that the share of timber construction in forest use can be significantly increased at the current level of felling. With just one year of logged logs (75 million cubic meters), all Finnish apartment buildings could be made of solid wood twice.

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The climate benefits of wood construction compared to concrete construction are undeniable. We are building a school from solid wood elements in the Helsinki metropolitan area. According to an external evaluator’s carbon balance calculation, 965 tonnes of carbon dioxide are bound to the nursery. The concrete school, in turn, emits 2,235 tons of carbon dioxide. After the life cycle of the nursery, the wood can be recycled to new buildings, for example. The carbon footprint of concrete can be improved, but it will never become a carbon sink.

Growing forests as logs instead of fiber and pulpwood is a better thing for nature. The climate benefits of a pro-log forest policy would be rapid and significant. The forest binds the most carbon at the age of about 60–70 in a good building timber. Grown-up commercial forests are also more diverse in nature, and a multi-species mixed forest outperforms the damage caused by climate change.

Finland has always been built of wood, and a wooden house is still a very pleasant form of housing for Finns. Domestic demand is high, and wood construction could become a significant product of the circular economy for export as well.

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However, the current municipal procurement policy will result in the loss of carbon-neutral public buildings. At the heart of the problem is the procurement law, which does not match the production and construction process in the wood industry. Municipalities are planning projects too far in terms of timber construction and with incomplete information. The end result is that the wood alternative does not appear to be cost-effective in the tenders and, despite the municipality’s wishes, to get the desired wooden school or kindergarten.

The use of wood should be directed to long-term and carbon-binding products at the level of the government program. The development of public procurement is a good start. In this way, the use of forests can be steered in a direction that is sustainable in terms of nature, climate and the national economy.

Mikko Leino

CEO, Carpenter MBA

Puurakentajat Group oy

The reader’s opinions are the speeches written by HS’s readers, selected and delivered by HS’s editorial staff. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.

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