Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2024: Launching initiative for responsible use of timber in construction

Low-carbon construction using timber has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage. However, scaling up the use of timber in construction globally requires strong leadership and policy to reduce forest loss, increase restoration, and support sustainable development. On Monday, 7 October, Bauhaus Earth convened an accelerator session focused on advancing the responsible use of timber in construction at this year’s Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC), organized by the UNDP, the German government, the Otto Environmental Foundation and the City of Hamburg. The new initiative builds on the commitment of 17 signatory countries of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) to develop and implement guidelines for the responsible use of wood by 2030.

Developing guidelines for responsible timber use

Bauhaus Earth organized the session at the HSC, titled Blueprints for Climate Neutral Cities, in close cooperation with the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) and Built by Nature. Together, participants from organizations and governments around the world kicked off the development of “Guiding Principles for Responsible Use of Timber in Construction”. The resulting guidelines are set to be launched at COP30 in Brazil next year.

The meeting brought together representatives from the environmental, regulatory, business, and finance communities, as well as representatives from FCLP member countries, to discuss the opportunities of a bio-based construction economy. This includes bringing value to forests and much-needed investment in forest restoration, while at the same time using forest building products for healthier, carbon-storing buildings and cities. To ensure that the transition is nature- and climate-positive, that value chains and business models are equitable and financially responsible, and that unintended consequences are avoided, global working groups will be established with leading experts from the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Background

Launched at COP27, the FCLP is a voluntary partnership of 32 countries and the European Union. It is committed to implementation, accountability, and innovation for political leadership on forests, land use and climate. Since its launch, more than 140 world leaders have endorsed the initiative. At COP28 in 2023, a coalition of 17 FCLP signatories made a definitive commitment to promote low-carbon construction using sustainably sourced wood by 2030, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage:

“Recognizing that wood from sustainably managed forests provides climate solutions within the construction sector, we commit to, by 2030, advancing policies and approaches that support low carbon construction and increase the use of wood from sustainably managed forests in the built environment. Such policies and approaches will result in reduced GHG emissions, and an increase in stored carbon”
– Coalition on Greening Construction with Sustainable Wood

The Hamburg session built on this commitment to not only formulate and publish guiding principles for the responsible use of timber, but also to develop detailed and actionable guidance for country-level implementation.

Blueprints for Climate Neutral Cities at the HSC was a continuation of Bauhaus Earth’s global policy work. Read our previous position papers such as the Policy Guidelines for Securing the Future of Our Forests and Cities, prepared at COP28 (DUBAI, UAE) in December 2023.

We thank all those who attended and participated in the event in Hamburg. Philipp Misselwitz, CEO of Bauhaus Earth, convened the session. Other participants included, amongst many others:

Zandra Martínez, Vice Chair, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Board of Directors
Jamie Lawrence, Co-Founder, Xilva
Paul King, CEO, Built by Nature
Nasra Nanda, CEO, Kenya Green Building Society, Chair of World Green Building Council’s Africa Regional Network
Simone Mangili, CEO, Climate Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA)
Alex Dodoo, President, African Association of Standardisation, Director-General, Ghana Standards Authority
Holmer Savastano, University of São Paulo, Brazil
Wolfram Schmidt, German Federal Institute of Materials Research and Testing (BAM)
Lyndall Bull, Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Alan Organschi, Director Global Labs, Bauhaus Earth