CityLab Daily: Is Building With Wood Greener Than Concrete or Steel?

Housing construction with traditional materials is carbon intensive, with concrete, steel, glass and brick making up a combined 9% of global CO2 emissions. Mass timber — engineered wood that’s strong enough to hold up an office tower or apartment block — has emerged as a greener alternative, and is growing in demand.

But establishing just how much carbon is saved isn’t straightforward. While there are tools to estimate the carbon costs of timber over the whole life of a building, they leave out considerations like how the forest where the wood grew is managed. Eric Roston investigates how the material stacks up to conventional sources — and what it might mean for the world’s land-use emissions if mass timber becomes mainstream. Today on CityLab: Just How Climate-Friendly Are Timber Buildings? It’s Complicated