Timber construction vs. solid construction - which construction method is more sustainable?

The story that timber construction is better than solid construction catches on very easily and is very easily digestible for the average consumer. When you think of wood, you think of forests, which are green, and that fits in well with the sustainability theme. But the story doesn't end there. Often, people only look at the pure construction costs. But sustainability is decided over the entire life cycle.
When it comes to sustainability, it's important to look at a product from the cradle to the deconstruction or reuse of the materials. We find that the construction method is not the decisive factor. My advice: we should rather use the energy spent on trench warfare to make progress in the crucial areas: It's high time something got moving.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the individual building materials?

CO2 is stored when a tree grows. Here, you enter the life cycle with a low CO2 footprint, but during the process, the biogenically bound CO2 is released again.

With mineral-based building materials, it's the other way around: production costs me energy due to binding agents such as cement, quicklime, etc., but then I have the advantage that I can reduce the CO2 footprint. energy, but then I have the advantage that they store CO2 over their life cycle - permanently. They act as a kind of eternity store for CO2. And I can use the materials because they flow back into the production cycle of new building materials, so I even save raw materials.

This means that if you compare the construction methods, the CO2 balance for the different construction methods does not make a big difference, but is significantly influenced by the energy quality.

What can we do as manufacturers to ensure greater sustainability?

Sustainable construction must become the new normal. From my point of view, mineral building material manufacturers have two major construction sites: They must do their part on the decarbonization path - e.g., continue to convert manufacturing processes to renewable and low CO2 energy sources, and this must also happen in cooperation with cement and lime manufacturers. The second important challenge is to move toward closed cycles, circularity. But this discussion will now gain momentum.

Watch the expert video below (German with auto-translated subtitles)

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