The Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) has called upon the international construction sector to act now to achieve net zero carbon, by increasing the use of structural timber without delay.
At this year’s MIPIM exhibition in Cannes, which was attended by 20,000 people, the CTI hosted a breakfast event in which it addressed the many structural capabilities and sustainable benefits that timber has to offer. This was part of the confederation’s efforts to bridge the knowledge gap between the timber industry and key stakeholders within the construction sector.
The CTI’s Net Zero Now campaign, which launched last year, argues that focusing on 2050 is a missed opportunity, when increasing the timber industries’ output could allow the Government to deliver on its economic, employment, housing, and climate targets immediately.
Photo: Stewart Milne Group
“The climate crisis has reached a tipping point, with action needed now to reverse the damage done,” said Andrew Carpenter, Director at the CTI.
“The construction industry needs to capitalise on the collaborative atmosphere created by this year’s MIPIM event in order to meet the key challenges it faces. MIPIM has always provided an ideal opportunity to speak with the whole supply chain in one fell swoop, as well as some of the major policy creators and decision makers.
“The event is the nucleus of the collaborative culture that we believe the construction industry needs to ensure it moves forward at the required pace. However, it is how that is followed up that will make the key difference when it comes to creating a truly integrated supply chain.”
The construction sector currently accounts for as much as 40% of all carbon emissions and as such, encouraging the use of more sustainable methods to develop the built environment is greatly needed.
Sharing his thoughts on the hopes of Net Zero for the construction sector, Andrew continued: “With an eye on 2050 as the target for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy, it is clear that this is not going to be anywhere near feasible for the construction industry if we aren’t working in lockstep.
“We as an industry are one of the biggest polluters on the planet, and we are at a crossroads in terms of how we tackle that. The CTI is currently working on developing new policies that will put timber at the forefront of UK construction. The value that it offers from a sustainable standpoint presents the only opportunity for the construction industry to achieve Net Zero.”
