bookmark & share environmental credentials of wood Building
professionals who care about the environment are choosing wood
products for green construction – both new structures and
renovations. Wood grows naturally, using solar energy; it is
recyclable and renewable. Wood products need less energy to
extract, process and transport, and wood buildings can require
less energy to construct and operate over time. Research shows
that wood products need the least amount of energy to
manufacture, and that this process has the lowest impact on air
and water quality. Using wood can offset climate change since
trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and the resulting
products continue to store much of this carbon for decades or
even centuries. Wood has low thermal conductivity and good
insulating properties, and light wood-frame technology lends
itself readily to the construction of buildings with low
operating energy. It also has lower embodied energy – the energy
required to extract, process and install raw materia