Why wood must be used on the Olympic Site

The wood industry has come together to campaign for a greater use of wood products on the Olympic site, particularly in its stadiums, village and legacy housing to help the Games meet its overall sustainability targets, whilst staging a successful event.

We believe that the wood industry through ‘Wood for Gold’ can help deliver the neutral carbon foot-print that the Games is seeking to achieve through the use of the only verifiably sustainable and renewable source of building material, wood. Wood is particularly suited for use in the Olympics because it is grown in an environmentally sustainable way. It is a safe building material, which will allow buildings to be constructed off-site before being transported to the Olympic Park, thereby spreading the benefits of the Olympic legacy beyond the city boundaries and reducing transport onto the site.

 

Those working in wood are skilled craftsmen and there is a potential employment payoff which will benefit all those across the full range of skills levels. This will provide employment within the immediate vicinity of the Games site as well as throughout the UK.  Reinforcing what is a thriving industry sector which expects to see increasing demand for wood based homes to meet global environmental concerns. Finally the use of wood in such a high profile development will provide the UK wood industry with a platform from which to sell their products to the world and to demonstrate the very best in wood based design.

 

The UK has a tradition of using bricks and mortar, but at a time of increased climate change, the challenge is for designers, architects and planners to reach out and expand the breadth of materials used in buildings to reduce energy consumption and protect the earth’s natural resources.

 

And it is not only the wood industry which has this view - “Forestry practices can make a significant contribution [to reducing global warming] by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through increasing the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere by the national forest estate by ….using wood as a substitute for energy-intensive materials such as concrete and steel.”

 

 

Outcomes sought

 

Therefore this campaign seeks to argue the case for five separate outcomes. It aims to:

 

1. Maximise the use of wood in the Olympics highlighting the renewable nature of wood as a building material and reinforcing understanding of the benefits of using wood, including in mitigating climate change

 

2.  Highlight the benefits that can be derived from using wood in terms of increased skills levels and employment among the local and national workforce

 

3. Influence the Government and ODA to implement a timber procurement policy that is both environmentally responsible and responsive to the needs of the industry.

 

4.  Create an exemplar project using wood on the Olympic site

 

5.  Contribute to a successful Olympics and subsequent legacy and provide a catalyst for more industry growth, reinforcing the industry’s standing with key stakeholders

 

The campaign is supported by a wide range of interested parties including cross party political support, who are keen to ensure that wood plays a prominent role in the range of projects and developments on the site.

 

The challenge is for those designing, planning and specifying the architecture on the site to innovate using this most environmentally sustainable of materials.

 

The campaign aims to create pressure to support the use of wood among those influencers and decision-makers working directly on the Olympics or ensuring the best use of public money on the Games. Therefore it seeks the support of MPs, peers, Assembly Members and local councillors to push for wood to be used.