Key Learning outcomes
- Expand use of wood-based products to grow a low carbon economy
- A source of sustainable jobs and growth - vocational training; reward low-energy manufacturing; keep costs competitive
- A vital role in building homes - zero carbon solutions; build more homes; clearer regulation and enforcement; consider full carbon impact
- The natural choice for health and wellbeing
- Reward management and expansion of woodlands
- Ensure National Curriculum drives understanding of the importance forests play in society
Published date: 19/11/2014
Introduction
By expanding the use of wood-based products, and boosting forestry and timber sectors, collectively the UK’s low-carbon economy can grow. The forest and timber industry is a key part of environmental and industrial heritage and a vital part of a low-carbon future.
Valued by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) at over £8.5 billion, the forestry and timber products sector is in the top 20 major industries in the UK. The industry provides significant employment opportunity across all regions and for all levels of skill and qualification – from forestry, land and habitat management, to joinery and manufacturing, engineering, and architectural design. In the construction sector alone, wood related trades account for around 10% of all jobs.
The Climate Change Act 2008 established a framework to develop an economically credible path to carbon emissions reduction. This commits the UK to reducing emissions by at least 80% in 2050 from their 1990 levels, which highlights the role the UK will take in tackling climate change under the Kyoto Protocol.
Timber is one of the safest and cheapest forms of carbon capture; the sector employs 150,000 people in wood related trades and has the lowest embodied carbon of any mainstream building material.