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A new roadmap to get聽Britain building with the use of sustainable and low carbon building materials, will help solve the housing crisis and achieve 2050 net zero targets.

New, ambitious plans to increase the use of timber in construction to boost the domestic timber industry, economic growth, rural jobs and housebuilding targets, have been announced by Environment Minister Mary Creagh聽today (Thursday 27th聽February) at the Timber in Construction (TiC) Summit in London.

The government has outlined new methods to deliver on its Plan for Change that will help to聽build聽1.5million sustainable and affordable homes, create a low-waste circular construction sector and drive further investment into domestic timber and wood-processing supply chains.

Speaking at the TiC Summit, Minister Creagh confirmed the government will recommit to聽the聽Timber in Construction Roadmap,聽which outlines聽measures to increase the use of timber in the construction sector.聽

Using timber in construction is one of the best ways to reduce emissions from buildings. Around 25% of the UK鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions are from the built environment, and larger buildings can store up to 400% more carbon when built out of engineered timber products聽compared to when built with聽concrete. Currently only 80% of the timber the UK uses is imported.

The new Timber in Construction Roadmap聽outlines聽more ambitious Government priorities and key actions including:

• Encouraging聽the聽use of sustainable,聽low carbon building materials, and聽ensuring聽carbon emissions聽are considering during聽the design, construction and聽use of buildings.
• Fulfilling聽the Government鈥檚 commitment to delivering 1.5m homes this Parliament聽by聽using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) including聽the use of timber, to boost productivity in housebuilding and deliver high quality, energy efficient new homes.
• Creating聽a circular economy聽by championing timber鈥檚 potential for a clean growth future聽-聽supporting聽the construction sector to use the most sustainable, low carbon materials and construction techniques.
• Accelerating economic growth聽by creating new and聽diverse green jobs in the productive forestry聽and timber sectors, as well as stimulating further investment into domestic timber and wood processing supply chains.

These actions will go alongside聽recommitting to existing plans such as promoting timber as a construction material, boosting skills and capacity across the supply chain and increasing the supply of sustainable timber products.

Environment Minister Mary Creagh said:

鈥淭his Government is getting Britain building.

聽鈥淥ur Plan for Change will build 1.5 million homes this Parliament. Timber will play a vital role benefitting development and nature.鈥�

Forestry Commission Chief Executive, Richard Stanford said:聽

聽鈥漈o reach net zero, we must increase timber production from homegrown trees and use that timber in our buildings to sequester carbon. The Timber in Construction Roadmap will propel聽forestry production聽in England to ensure timber security, reduce our dependence on imports, and address the nature crisis by boosting biodiversity, improving water quality, and providing more green spaces for people.

鈥淭he Forestry Commission will continue to collaborate closely with partners from the timber, forestry, and construction sectors in this critical area of work for many years ahead鈥�.

Alex Goodfellow, Chair of the Confederation of Timber Industries, and CEO of Donaldson Offsite said:

鈥淭he Minister鈥檚 support for the Timber in Construction Roadmap shows the Government鈥檚 firm commitment to a growth agenda: growth for forestry, for housing, for low-carbon skills and for the economy. The timber supply chain is a major economic player in the UK, connecting rural and urban environments.聽

鈥淭imber frame construction is a well-proven technology and business model for delivering houses rapidly and sustainably while improving quality.聽 By accelerating this growth we can build more low-carbon housing today while providing a market pull for expanding forests. As a supply chain we will support the Government to deliver on all of the goals in the Roadmap and help build a more sustainable future.鈥�

The amended Roadmap goes聽further than previous Government commitments, setting out more ambitious targets and actions to increase the use of homegrown timber in construction in a move to reduce carbon emissions, provide green jobs of the future, create affordable and sustainable housing, and drive-up economic growth.

Increasing聽the聽domestic聽production of timber will create new green jobs in the forestry and wood processing sectors, which contribute over聽拢3bn to the UK economy.