5 Things Developers Should Know About Mass Timber
Date Posted: April 26, 2022
Posted In: Discussion, Environment/Sustainability,
by Erik Barth, Gensler
The U.N.’s recently published International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sixth assessment report on climate change is an urgent call to action for the building industry. The report outlines a “last chance” opportunity for global society to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to limit average global temperature rise below 1.5°C and prevent a runaway, irreversible climate change scenario. To mitigate the worst effects of climate change, we must make buildings less carbon intensive. Designing with mass timber is one solution that is quickly gaining momentum. With an inherently low carbon profile, mass timber can make a big impact in tackling climate action in the built environment.
The effects of climate change like drought, extreme weather events, and sea level rise, have far-reaching impacts on the health and well-being of all living things. Even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C, up to 14% of species assessed by the IPCC report will face a high risk of extinction. According to the IPCC report, across the globe “approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change.”
The building industry accounts for approximately 39% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. At a U.N. climate summit in 2019, Gensler co-CEO Diane Hoskins introduced the Gensler Cities Climate Challenge (GC3), our firmwide commitment to carbon neutrality in our work and operations by 2030. The IPCC report notes that an additional 2.5 billion people are projected to move to urban areas by 2050. This global migration poses a tremendous opportunity to adapt the urban built environment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The role of embodied carbon
Global greenhouse gas emissions can be categorized in two major categories: embodied and operational emissions. Embodied emissions are the ‘baked in’ carbon dioxide (and equivalent gas) emissions associated with material sourcing, manufacturing, and construction, and end of life. Operational emissions are associated with the building performance after completion. Both types of emissions are generally measured in carbon use intensity (kgCO2e/SF) and are combined to understand the overall carbon profile of a project. Although operational emissions are typically 60-70% of the overall emissions over the lifespan of a project, embodied emissions will contribute approximately 75% of overall emissions associated with new projects over the next eight years. As the IPCC report outlines, the next five to 10 years are the most critical in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Embodied emission reductions strategies are equally, if not more, important than operational emission reduction measures.