The environmental impact of wood for construction
A consortium of European and global players in the field of construction products has commissioned research into the greenhouse gas balances of wooden construction products, in particular the methodology and principles used and the correctness of both. The research was carried out by consultancy and engineering firm LBP|SIGHT. Royal HaskoningDHV mapped out the flows of round wood and sawn wood through the European Union in broad outline, based on public, verifiable sources.
The main conclusion of the work carried out by Royal HaskoningDHV is that it cannot be concluded on the basis of official statistics that there is an evident relationship between wood use in construction or other sectors and deforestation or forest degradation in Europe.
Europe is approximately self-sufficient in both round timber and sawn timber. Import from other parts of the world is limited or does not take place. The forest area in Europe has not decreased and the area of primary forest has not decreased, according to official statistics.
There is sometimes intensive management, but in general the growth is substantially higher than what is harvested. It should be noted with regard to this conclusion that, as the Joint Research Center of the European Commission (JRC) also points out, approximately one fifth of the volume of provenance used annually is missing.
