Comparative LCAs of Conventional and Mass Timber Buildings in Regions with Potential for Mass Timber Penetration

Maureen Puettmann, Francesca Pierobon, Indroneil Ganguly, Hongmei Gu, Cindy Chen, Shaobo Liang, Susan Jones, Ian Maples and Mark Wishnie
Additional contact information
Maureen Puettmann: The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
Francesca Pierobon: College of the Environment, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
Indroneil Ganguly: College of the Environment, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
Hongmei Gu: USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA
Cindy Chen: Population Research Center, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA
Shaobo Liang: USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA
Susan Jones: atelierjones LLC, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
Ian Maples: atelierjones LLC, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
Mark Wishnie: BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Seattle, WA 98107, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Manufacturing of building materials and construction of buildings make up 11% of the global greenhouse gas emission by sector. Mass timber construction has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by moving wood into buildings with designs that have traditionally been dominated by steel and concrete. The environmental impacts of mass timber buildings were compared against those of functionally equivalent conventional buildings. Three pairs of buildings were designed for the Pacific Northwest, Northeast and Southeast regions in the United States to conform to mass timber building types with 8, 12, or 18 stories. Conventional buildings constructed with concrete and steel were designed for comparisons with the mass timber buildings. Over all regions and building heights, the mass timber buildings exhibited a reduction in the embodied carbon varying between 22% and 50% compared to the concrete buildings. Embodied carbon per unit of area increased with building height as the quantity of concrete, metals, and other nonrenewable materials increased. Total embodied energy to produce, transport, and construct A1–A5 materials was higher in all mass timber buildings compared to equivalent concrete. Further research is needed to predict the long-term carbon emissions and carbon mitigation potential of mass timber buildings to conventional building materials.

Keywords: mass timber; buildings; life cycle assessment; embodied carbon; embodied energy; Pacific Northwest; Northeast and Southeast (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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