Building sustainably requires rethinking the logic of how we build

Abandoning the take-make-waste economy and transitioning into a circular one will be crucial to allow us to thrive in the future. Construction industry is one of the industries under heavy pressure to change: currently, the sector is very material intensive and contributes also significantly to carbon emissions globally. ¹ 

When building in a future-proof way, it is not enough to change the materials but rethinking the logic of how we design, and build is needed. We should first consider reusing and renovating existing spaces, and only after that build with sustainability in mind.  

Transitioning to circular economy calls for designing buildings in a way that they adapt to the changing needs throughout their life cycle. This sets new requirements for modern building materials: in addition to being durable, they need to be renewable, reusable and eventually recyclable. 

Wood enables modern, circular way of building 
Metsä Wood develops wood-based solutions that help to accelerate the circularity of the construction industry. The philosophy is simple: the valuable raw materials are kept in the cycle for as long as possible, while maintaining its value and minimising waste and emissions. 

”Construction industry needs to cut down both emissions and total raw material usage. Whether it is building new or renovating old properties, Metsä Wood can offer renewable circular solutions that at the same time increase the carbon storage of the building, decrease emissions compared to fossil-based products, and optimize the wood-usage”, says Rosa Zabihian, Sustainability Manager from Metsä Wood. 

Metsä Wood’s Kerto^® LVL beams are designed and manufactured to be an extremely durable construction material, that can be used for 100 years. When designed right, buildings made with Kerto LVL elements can be disassembled, and reused further for other purposes as the elements can be modified and reused, and the entire buildings can be moved to another location if necessary. Wood also acts as a carbon storage throughout its life cycle: it first sequesters carbon through the growing period, then stores it while being used in buildings. The longer the wood products are being used and re-used, the longer the carbon is stored. 

Accelerating circularity across Europe 
Metsä Wood solutions are already used for modular construction projects across Europe, showcasing how buildings become circular in practice by using Kerto LVL elements. For example, in Sweden one of the largest reuse projects was carried out by using prefabricated wooden elements, that enabled to convert a temporary market hall into sports hall. Other similar projects have been carried with partners in the Netherlands and Finland. ^{2, 3, 4} 

Metsä Wood continues to work together with leading partners to discover new ways to add wood to construction and create smarter, resource efficient ways to build with less emissions. It is the power of collaboration that enables the real transformation towards a more sustainable future. 

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References:
1: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/what-is-the-linear-economy#:~:text=The%20linear%20economy%20linear%20economy,extracted%20to%20make%20products%20that 
2: https://www.metsagroup.com/metsawood/news-and-publications/references/padel-hall/ 
3: https://www.metsagroup.com/metsawood/news-and-publications/references/building-demountable-hybrid-construction/ 
4: https://www.metsagroup.com/metsawood/news-and-publications/news/2022/little-finlandia--innovative-volumetric-modular-construction-that-embraces-the-circular-economy/