Wood: a material as old as the world, yet essential to our future.
6 juin 2022
You may have heard earlier this month that Québec’s ability to meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets has been called into question by the Commissioner of Sustainable Development. We want to take action. As a player in the construction industry, we are directly concerned by this shared objective, as building-related GHG emissions account for 40 to 50% of global emissions.
Invited this week to a meeting of the Cecobois network, we came away more motivated than ever to integrate this material into our projects. Like many others, we aspire to a carbon-neutral building stock. The City of Montréal adopted a carbon neutrality target in 2020, and wood may well be a key part of the solution.
The use of wood in buildings allows for the sequestration of a significant amount of carbon. Yes—really. As they grow, trees capture carbon from the air and store it in their fibres, particularly during the early stages of their life cycle. Proper forest management makes it possible to harvest wood before it decays or burns—processes that would otherwise release the stored carbon—and to use it in the construction of durable buildings. Throughout the life of a building, this carbon remains essentially locked in. The material itself removes carbon from the environment and stores it for the entire lifespan of the building, resulting in a “minus” in its overall GHG balance.
The impact of wood in reducing the life-cycle footprint of buildings is even more significant here than elsewhere. While it certainly supports a strong and innovative local industry, this is also because, in Québec, material-related emissions account for 50% of building GHG emissions (the other half being related to building operation—primarily electricity in most cases).
In this race toward a sustainable future, everyone has a role to play: the public, professionals, regulatory bodies, manufacturers, and project owners. Let us be proud of our resources, use them responsibly, and build a carbon-neutral future in wood—for those who will follow us.
STGM projects using wood – see our Wood Collection
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