Innovate or stagnate

Sustainability is the driving force behind today’s construction industry – a force that has led many manufacturers to make bold claims about the environmental performance of their products and others to re-evaluate them completely.

So is timber truly a sustainable product? I would argue that yes it is, particularly when compared to the ‘greenwash’ that is sadly visible in some other manufacturing industries.

Engineered timber offers a breadth of design possibilities that have never been achievable using traditional steel or concrete construction methods. With the technology developing all the time, the environmental benefits and architectural visions for the future are virtually limitless. But to really understand the future possibilities, we must first look more closely at the origins of this industry sector.

For me it began in 1992. The UK construction market was in the depths of a recession but I was one of the fortunate few to find a home with an established structural steel fabrication business. Over the next 10 years I learned the value of offering a total design and construct service based on a core product, which in many ways is similar to the value demonstrated by the late Steve Jobs and the iPhone – ie encapsulating more than just a phone, but a ‘lifestyle’ contained within one package.

Challenging times

In 2002 I moved on to a much smaller steel contractor and was very much involved in the construction boom of the early part of the decade. However, with the crash in 2008/2009, the world changed and, being a subcontractor, we experienced it first hand. The serious regression of the industry, combined with a market that was already over capacity, meant maintaining a sustainable business was indeed a challenge.

Fortunately in 2006, remembering the lessons I had learned about ‘added value’ and a core product, we had embarked on a journey into designing a remarkable and truly sustainable timber material – glulam. The growth and demand at that time for green products was such that this new offering effectively replaced our steel business within a space of two years, despite the general downturn in the UK construction market.

Having taken the decision to make the engineered wood products the core product offering, while simultaneously rebranding the business to reflect this new steel and timber hybrid structures focus, the question was, could we make timber, which is an unquestionably low-carbon material compared to steel and concrete, into a sustainable business model?

The only way forward, as I had learned 20 years ago, was to put the timber product into the frame and fabric of a total building solution. Commercial examples now exist at supermarkets in Barnstaple and Dawlish, whereby we have designed a structural off-site manufactured timber roof and wall cassette, supported by a glulam and steel frame. The learnings from such projects have now equipped us with the knowledge of modular quick-build techniques, better U-value performance and better than estimated airtightness results, achieved through robust connection design.

Our peers from the steel industry believe that we have been truly innovative to move away from the steel industry. I believe we have only re-engineered the same need (a functional building) but using the oldest material on earth. What we have done is to create a unique environment that saves on energy usage, has a near carbon negative impact in the manufacturing and construction process, and is far more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Future-proofing growth

The question now is, can we continue to future proof growth in the use of timber engineered products, when the steel and concrete industries are fighting to survive the tough market?

The answer is simple – the government and the private sector have to maintain their positions on green construction initiatives and so the use of sustainable products will only continue. However, the timber industry must take a collective stance in order to correct the public perception of the steel and concrete industries’ PR greenwash.

Timber engineered products continue to evolve at a far faster rate than any other product purely because they are so versatile and adaptable, both in offsite and onsite applications. Innovation will continue as the UK timber industry grows but we also need more confidence in our products. This will come in time as UK structural engineers learn to appreciate the properties and capabilities of wood.

So is timber truly sustainable? With more products readily available, cut to size and designed to the optimum with zero waste then, yes, I would say it is. Can timber as a core product form part of a sustainable business model? Yes, definitely. Composite products that embrace the characteristics and strengths of steel and concrete can enhance the integration and help bring timber to the market without a premium.

I am no tree-hugger, I am a businessman with a passion for regressing climate change in our industry. I have spent the last 20 years realising that if we don’t innovate we stagnate, so for the next 20 years I want to create a business model that develops the technology for low carbon construction solutions and leaves behind a legacy for generations to come.