A European platform has been established to promote the use of timber in construction.

At the beginning of December, a new European forum for promoting the use of timber was launched in Innsbruck, Austria. One of the goals of the European wood policy platform, or woodPoP, is to encourage the use of timber in construction.

"Exchanging best practice, joint reports and research on the timber industry, and promoting communication about the sector," is how Petri Heino, head of the Finnish Wood Construction Programme, described the areas of cooperation for woodPoP to the communications agency Audiomedia.

Following an initiative from Austria and Finland, the platform was created by 17 countries and 8 representatives of programmes that promote the use of timber.

"I am convinced that by using timber – a renewable resource – we will be able to protect the climate and work together to build a sustainable future through the bioeconomy," said Austrian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Norbert Totschnig (Norbert Totschnig), who chaired the woodPoP opening meeting, in a press release published by Fachverband der Holzindustrie Österreichs (Austrian Wood Industry Federation).

Timber structures sequester carbon

Timber is the only renewable building material that sequesters carbon. As forests grow, trees absorb carbon, which is subsequently stored in long-lasting timber products.

More than a third of Finland's carbon dioxide emissions result from residential buildings and construction work. Currently, one in four school buildings in the country is built from timber, and approximately 85% of load-bearing structures in detached houses are made of wood. However, for Finland to become carbon neutral by 2035, the use of timber must be increased, according to representatives from universities of applied sciences.