BBC Radio Four, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society, presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet. Listen to Dr Michael Ramage in the ‘Wood for good’ episode discussing how cross-laminated timber may be the answer to sustainable building.
Dr Ramage and his research team have been investigating how cross-laminated timber can provide a sustainable alternative to reinforced concrete. This potential evolution in structural material may have taken around 150 years, but it provides humankind with a sustainable alternative.
Buildings built from cross-laminated timber would harness carbon from the atmosphere to help combat climate change. Meanwhile the avoidance of using cement could help to reduce 8% of annual CO2 emissions.
What about the sustainability of using cross-laminated timber? In Europe, the time that it would take to build a house for a family of four would take just seven seconds using trees sustainably grown, cultivated, and replaced three or fourfold. Canada alone can sustainably harvest enough trees to house around a billion people.
Learn more about this exciting innovation by listening to the full episode on the BBC website, where you can also catch the other 38 ways to save the planet.
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