MEDITE SMARTPLY explains why sustainable timber construction should be the only form of timber construction

The UK has recently been challenged to achieve carbon zero by 2050. It is widely assumed that cutting down trees for use in construction will have a negative effect on the environment – and certainly when it comes to destructive logging it does. However, within the sustainable forestry industry, something which MEDITE SMARTPLY has pioneered in Europe, the net effect of timber harvesting on the environment can actually be a fairly positive one.

In sustainable forestry, at least as many new trees are planted as are harvested. As long as timber does not burn or rot, the carbon that it contains stays inside. Therefore, when trees are harvested, their carbon is stored in the timber products they become and they are replaced by new trees. These absorb more carbon, giving the whole process the potential to be carbon negative, when managed sustainably. In other words, where sustainable timber is harvested and replaced, we have the power to create an even more effective carbon store than an undisturbed forest. Making sustainable timber production the only form of timber production could help us on our way to achieving carbon zero by 2050.

Ph: Woodfit Acoustics

All timber products produced by MEDITE SMARTPLY are sustainably produced from the thinnings of FSC® certified, fast-growing pine forests in Ireland. With a wealth of products that fit a wide range of construction, design and specification requirements, as well as cater to the needs of contractors who install them, there is little reason not to make a sustainable decision when it comes to specifications.

Ph: Woodfit Acoustics

Society is becoming increasingly environmentally aware, and the construction industry has an opportunity to lead the way into a more sustainable future through the conscious use of sustainable products. Environmental building standards, such as BREEAM, recognise architects and developers for their hard work in making more sustainable buildings that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them. They also help to protect natural resources, while making more attractive property investments. A decision as simple as choosing to specify a timber product that is FSC® certified can help a project on its way to a BREEAM rating.

Ph: Woodfit Acoustics

Dublin’s Central Bank of Ireland is now Ireland’s first ever BREEAM Outstanding-rated building. Contributing to this, MEDITE SMARTPLY supplied FSC® certified MEDITE PREMIER FR flame retardant MDF panels for its beautiful acoustic panelling that forms a central aspect of the interior. The panels themselves were carefully crafted and installed by Woodfit Acoustics. A powerful display of how a project, and by extension, a city, can come back from a point of economic and social despair, to reinspire, this building is the embodiment of what we would like to achieve for the future: beautiful, healthy spaces that allow us to prosper.

Ph: Woodfit Acoustics

This can only happen if we put the environment first in our timber and wider construction practices. In doing this, surely other achievements, such as the creation of indoor environments that are conducive to healthy living and working through the use of safe natural materials, will be all the more valuable.

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MEDITE FSC No.: C019958
SMARTPLY FSC No.: C020700