New Zealand Forest Owners Association Lauds New ‘Building for Climate Change’ Policy

The Forest Owners Association (FOA) of New Zealand was overjoyed with the announcement from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) of ‘Buildings for Climate Change.’ According to FOA President Phil Taylor, who has been waiting 3-years for this announcement, “Even though the MBIE announcement, just out, doesn’t mention wood at all, the inevitable result of a government attempt to drive down the use of carbon emitting building materials, will mean more wood is used in construction overall. So, it’s potentially better than having ‘wood first’ which would have been restricted to just the government sector.” Taylor realistically does not believe that construction in every town and every city will be all wood. The FOA does however, anticipate a marked increase as the policy is worked into the building codes. Taylor foresees “the biggest impact could be in mid and high-rise construction, so that builders of commercial facilities will use more wood. Technical advances, such as Laminated Veneer Lumber and Cross Laminated Timber, allow taller wooden buildings to be made.”