The Case and Need for Mass Timber
The Case and Need for Mass Timber
As a supporter of Forestry For The Future, you’re familiar with many of the economic and climate benefits of building taller with wood. Unlocking the potential of Mass Timber across Canada will significantly address many key challenges given its ability to:
- Accelerate housing construction time by as much as 20%.
- Drive economic activities and create jobs in rural and Indigenous communities.
- Reduce carbon intensity of construction and providing long term carbon storage.
The mass timber industry is advancing, but there is still work to do. Canada’s forest sector is ready to scale efforts around mass timber to maximize those benefits and compete globally. In June, Canada’s Transition Accelerator launched its 2024 Mass Timber Roadmap was released, making the case and outlining the need for mass timber in Canada.
This report was a collaborative effort and represents the cumulation of insights from workshops with a group of over 50 participants from Canada’s mass timber value chain — including business, government, research institutions, Indigenous communities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Almost 700 mass timber buildings have been completed in Canada.
Over 140 projects are under construction or in planning stages.
As the demand for mass timber beams, panels, and buildings is strong and continues to grow, we need to adopt a strategic approach to our national resource that can boost our economy, build more homes and reduce our environmental impact.
And to compete globally, we need to create an efficient, integrated forest-to-buildings value chain. And time is the most important factor.
Canada needs net-zero building solutions and green jobs that a rapidly growing mass timber industry will bring to forestry communities.
The roadmap proposes an ambitious vision and calls on industry, business, stakeholders, and government to come together to advance and implement this vision.
Read more about what’s needed to support a mass timber industry in Canada:
Source: Forestry For the Future
