Project

New ‘Green’ Methods to Support Forest and Wood Products Advocacy in the Built Environment

Project Description

FWPA / AFPA engaged the ARC Advance Timber Hub and Indufor to work with the key AFPA stakeholders to analyse and develop an outline of a new Methodology for measuring and reporting the emission reductions benefits from using Australian timbers in the built environment.

The Methodology used the Sumitomo Forestry’s Collingwood wooden office building project (‘the Project’)1 as a pilot on which to develop the methodology.

The project scope was focused around three key processes:

  1. Completing a data and literature review of both existing built environment carbon and data specific to the Project
  2. Preparing a preliminary methodology outline, building on the data and literature review, and complemented through engagement with key AFPA stakeholders
  3. Defining the differing implementation planning routes to formalize the new methodology, considering both voluntary and compliance-based markets for carbon credits and emission reduction benefits.

1 Sumitomo Forestry & NTT Urban Development (2021) Toward the creation of a Decarbonized Society Through Net Zero Carbon Buildings. Refer online: https://sfc.jp/english/news/pdf/20211006_01.pdf

This project was completed in November 2024.  To see the outcome of the Project please view video, presented by Blair Freeman, Indufor:

Please also view:

Timber 2032 Forum – Utilising timber in construction to lower emissions and reduce embodied carbon


Objectives/Deliverables

  • Support the analysis of carbon offset methodology development options to achieve carbon savings by using wood products in the built environment (ongoing with Indufor).
  • Piloting and evaluation of various ‘dynamic environmental impact measures’ to estimate embodied carbon in the forest-to-built environment value chain.
  • Review of opportunities to develop new standards for the application of preferred dynamic environmental impact measures.
  • Integrating dynamic impact measures with forest-to-built environment project specific narratives, to enable rigorous and transparent communication of the relative environmental merits of timber versus various other building materials at the building project level.

Project Leader/s

Paul Dargusch

Research Hub Deputy Director; Node Leader - Towards a Low-Carbon & Circular Economy

Monash University

Joe Gattas

Theme Leader - Innovative Solutions; Node Leader - Manufacturing Innovation & Value-Chain Innovation

The University of Queensland


Project Investigators

Fabiano Ximenes

Theme Leader - Transformative Benefits; Partner Investigator

NSW Department of Primary Industries

Blair Freeman

Partner Investigator

Indufor Asia Pacific


Lead Project Partner Organisation


Project Partners