WOOD FUTURES “COUNTDOWN TO ZERO” CONFERENCE TACKLES THE CHALLENGE OF ZERO CARBON

17th November 2008 - Medite2016 Forum Event

In 2006, to celebrate its 30th anniversary in Europe, Medite - Europe's leading brand of MDF - launched a 'future-gazing' project called ‘Medite 2016', looking at how the industry will develop and change by 2016. This initiative takes a hard look into the future of wood products through a wide range of independent professionals from a cross section of industries - from government ministers to artists and designers - and this November a conference designed to address the UK government's 2016 deadline for zero carbon homes, was held for over 140 leading industry delegates at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The Wood Futures “Countdown to Zero” conference, hosted by TTJ, in partnership with the Medite 2016 Forum - sponsored by Coillte Panel Products and in association with the Timber Trade Federation and TRADA - was designed to highlight the opportunities and challenges presented by the UK government's zero carbon housing target for the timber trade and take a closer look at some of the key issues.

The opening speaker Bob Ledsome, deputy director for climate change and sustainable development at the Department for Communities and Local Government, set the scene for the challenge that is the 2016 zero carbon deadline. With planning still in the early stages, the UK government has set up a Zero Carbon Task Force; a cross-sectoral committee co-chaired by the Housing Minister Caroline Flint and Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the HBF. Their task at present is to consult and establish a definition of “zero carbon”, which is necessary for the industry to clearly understand how to achieve code level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which will be required for all new housing in 2016.

Speaking at the Wood Futures Conference, Ledsome said the department needed to work through recent reports on the definition, including the one released earlier this year by the UK Green Building Council, with the intention of publishing a document on the definition of “zero carbon” shortly.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the newly formed Zero Carbon Hub and Francis Rottenburg of the Carbon Trust continued the zero carbon theme. Launched in the summer of 2008, the Zero Carbon Hub aims to make zero carbon homes a reality. Jefferson asked, “What does zero carbon mean for housebuilders? New build will become increasingly differentiated from existing housing stock and the benefits of a zero carbon home - including cheaper bills and quality of life - need to be promoted to homebuyers. It is technically more difficult as they will be built to higher standards, and the construction practice becomes critical. Zero carbon needs to pay.”

Francis Rottenburg from the Carbon Trust reminded the conference that climate change has huge implications; that there are pressures on companies, including cost reduction, regulations, reputation, and competition. Carbon management is important because the UK government has committed to an 80% reduction in CO2 by 2050, and a reduction of 26-32% by 2020. Customers and clients will start asking suppliers for carbon footprint data in tender documents – this will not just be on the company and their products, but the entire manufacturing and supply chain.

In the lively question session which followed the first presentations, it was noted that there appeared to be little or no consideration of materials in carbon reduction and that the debate centred on design and technology. With consultation only just beginning, and particularly as wood is the greenest building material known to man, should materials not be included? Responses were varied; Neil Jefferson acknowledged that there are clear benefits in using timber, but that other materials are also relevant, however Bob Ledsome emphatically stated that the initial definition of ‘zero carbon' would not include embodied carbon in materials as, he said, “There is a big enough job in identifying the definition for design and operation of zero carbon homes without the huge set of issues which surround embodied carbon in material.” He expects the government to return to the matter of materials once a definition of ‘zero carbon' has been agreed. Francis Rottenburg added that evaluation of the manufacture and supply chain for wood products is essential in making timber more competitive and carbon aware.

Geoff Rhodes, marketing and business development director for Coillte Panel Products and chairman of the morning's zero carbon session, said “Timber fights its corner against other materials and earns its place on merit. We must keep developing products which meet future government regulations and agendas so both policy makers and designers recognise and embrace wood products.”

Timber Trade Federation chief executive John White told the conference in his introduction to the next presentations that the timber trade needed to be evangelical about wood and its benefits: “Timber does grow on trees, but it's not enough just to have a renewable resource.”

Rupert Scott, TRADA's building regulations and codes consultant, addressed the issue of wood waste, identifying it as a big issue and highlighting the difference in definitions between reusability (the possibility of reuse) and the actuality of material being ‘reused', and between recyclability and the actuality of being ‘recycled'. “All materials reuse and recycle. Wood can and should do much better. There is also increasing government tax on waste which is a vital cost to consider.”

Mike Botting, editor of Wood Based Panels International, asked Mr. Scott about the implications of biomass as a fuel source, stating that “Wood-based panel manufacture is suffering in Europe because waste previously used in panel manufacture is being burned as pellets and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.” Mr Botting continued that differentiation needs to be made between fast-growing species specifically for biomass and the others which are better suited to panel manufacture. Mr Scott suggested that wood as fuel is a growing market, and the timber industry can have more positive input and influence if it is acknowledged. “There is waste which is not suitable for panel manufacture – maybe we need to get better at grading waste as an industry.”

Tim Pollard, Wolseley's head of sustainability, explained how sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – has become a key driver, and that resource depletion, waste, pollution and climate change are ever increasingly important issues. “Construction is a high level government target, and it is Wolsely's goal to have life cycle assessment on every product, mainstreaming ‘sustainable' products,” he said. “People are hungry for information. This is no longer a tomorrow issue; this is a today issue.” Both speakers questioned the methodology of the BRE's Green Guide to Specification. “I do not yet understand how a PVC window is as sustainable as a timber one,” said Mr Pollard.

Design guru Wayne Hemingway also gave the conference food for thought. Fashion designer, founder of Red or Dead, and champion for good quality housing design and best practice, Mr Hemingway is the chairman of Building for Life, a partnership between several national agencies led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation. Mr Hemingway said that he was “quietly celebrating” the credit crunch as it could mean the end of faceless box apartment developments built partially to serve the now dwindling buy-to-let market. “A new paradigm of housing will emerge. Social sustainability is what is really important. Sustainability is about happiness; it makes people want to put down roots,” he said. Mr Hemingway also suggested selling people something they can't build for themselves such as reliable, environmentally friendly public transport, well placed schools, farm shops and local services; infrastructure outside of housing creating sustainability.

His comments come the day after the government unveiled draft planning rules for the EcoTowns initiative, where developments must feature zero carbon houses.

Paul Newman, technical director at modern methods of construction (MMC) specialist Kingspan Off-site, followed Mr Hemingway and looked at the challenges, technical and otherwise, in reaching the zero carbon standards required by 2016. “There has been great progress in technology and products, but we need consumers to buy into the green lifestyle - not just walking to the shops or buying local produce, but living it 24/7.”

Ben Cook, Barratt Developments' senior land manager explained how Barratts rose to the carbon challenge with Hanham Hall - the first site in the government's Carbon Challenge initiative and which is scheduled to become one of the first zero carbon communities in England. The 200-home Carbon Challenge development in Bristol, features structural insulated panels and timber windows supplied by Kingspan TEK and Jeld-Wen respectively, as well as a community wood-fired boiler.

Finally, Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects described his practice's focus on social housing and housing development, and their work on the Wood Award-winning ‘Stadthaus'. This new nine-storey residential building in Hackney provides both private and affordable housing. Constructed entirely in timber, when completed it is set to be the tallest modern timber residential building in the world.

In closing, Mike Jeffree, editor of the Timber Trades Journal praised the Medite 2016 Wood Futures initiative as an answer to the need for the industry to work together.

Geoff Rhodes concluded, “Medite 2016 is of growing importance and interest, not just to Medite and Coillte Panel Products, but to the wood and wood product industry as a whole in the UK, Europe and beyond. Its unique positioning and proposition, as well as high profile and successful outputs such as this “Countdown to Zero” conference help increase the perception of Coillte's panel products brands as forward thinking and progressive leaders in their field.”

Medite 2016 has its own website - www.Medite2016.com - on which articles and presentation are posted, providing a platform for a variety of major topics.