Dive Brief:
- A lumber industry-supported group is looking to fund U.S. cities’ efforts to encourage more mass timber use in construction.
- The Softwood Lumber Board announced on Aug. 6 that it is accepting applications from cities for investments of between $100,000 and $250,000 each to help them launch mass timber accelerator programs.
- The industry group has invested in such programs in Boston, New York City and Atlanta as climate-minded officials look for ways to lower the greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials.
Dive Insight:
Some cities are paying more attention to mass timber as they look at ways to lower buildings’ embodied carbon. Much construction relies on materials with notoriously high carbon footprints, like steel and concrete. Mass timber, which refers to engineered wood products created by joining together smaller pieces of wood, presents a more climate-friendly alternative, its proponents say.
Some researchers, however, have warned that wood can be associated with high emissions and negative ecological impacts depending on where it comes from, and that the building industry needs to learn to distinguish between wood products with positive and negative climate impacts.
Boston launched a mass timber accelerator in 2021, supporting 10 projects. The city released a final report earlier this year, finding that while mass timber can result in more beautiful, faster-to-construct buildings with lower embodied carbon, challenges remain, including a limited supply of the material and the need for mass timber-related building code updates.
Late last year, New York City made its bid to become a national leader in mass timber construction by launching a “mass timber studio.” The studio provides technical assistance and grants to design teams looking to build with the material. The selected teams will work on projects including a public library branch, mixed-use multifamily buildings and a recreation center. The Atlanta mass timber accelerator closed applications in November 2023.
“The mass timber accelerator programs have given participating cities a faster way to meet their sustainable development goals and to develop knowledge of low-carbon building methods within their building communities,” Soft Lumber Board President and CEO Cees de Jager said in a statement.
