Abstract
The construction sector is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and consumers of energy, making it one of the most relevant sectors when planning reduction strategies and policies. The use of timber in the built environment has been identified as a key strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction sector. In this paper, we use the concept of policy gap analysis to identified underlying challenges in the implementation of timber construction on three Nordic countries, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. We carried out a series of semi-structured interviews with experts from the countries of study. The interviews came from industry, government, and construction companies. The use of the gap analysis approach was useful not only to identify areas that are being targeted but also those areas that were not covered by any programme at the time of study. The results showed that the studied programmes have a large level of coverage and congruence with the identified challenges. Moreover, they also showed that challenges related to fire safety regulations and insurance policies for timber buildings still need to be addressed, whereas the challenges of high price variability and lack of promotion are being addressed by multiple programmes. With this work, we have seen how timber construction is gaining momentum and how the challenges have been addressed systematically.
Highlights
We present the synthesis of the interviews and the literature review in two sections: (1) the identification of challenges for the use of timber in the built environment and (2) the identification of programmes that advance timber construction in each country
Some of the costs of timber construction could be reduced if, for instance, fire regulations were to consider that the safety levels provided by timber construction have increased in the last decade
The focus of the studied programmes was the development of their timber industry and the increase in the competitiveness of timber products in the real estate market
Summary
Growing concerns about the impact of human activities on climate change are leading governments around the world to reduce emissions in all economic sectors. Due to its size and relevance, emission reductions in the building sector are expected to play a significant role in achieving climate targets. In the European Union (EU), the building sector contributes over 42% of final energy consumption, 35% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 50% of waste [1]. One of the most promising applications for timber is timber-frame multi-story construction (TMC). This approach can increase the efficiency of the construction process while creating a lower environmental impact [3]
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