Coming full circle: wood and the circular economy

Watch the Woodcircles video to discover how the project is helping the green transition of the construction sector, by developing sustainable and renewable solutions for circular use of wood in construction.

The construction sector is one of the largest contributors to climate change, consuming vast amounts of resources and generating significant waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Increased uptake of wood in construction is one of the most efficient ways of reducing the sector's environmental footprint. To ensure a better use of this renewable resource, Woodcircles develops circular solutions for the use of wood. It introduces pioneering concepts, such as the Urban Sawmill, which transforms urban waste wood into standardised, value-added products for new structures. This approach not only minimises waste but also maximises the economic potential of wood resources. Additionally, the project is designing wood-based building systems based on the principles of design-for-disassembly, as a way to enable easier re-use of wood in the future.

"We want to maximise the sustainable potential of wood construction materials by contributing to a more efficient use of resources," said Woodcircles Coordinator Anders Kjellow from the Danish Technological Institute. "Our multi-actor consortium gives us the perfect platform to develop environmentally, economically, and socially relevant solutions to the benefit of not only forest and construction sector stakeholders, but society in general."

Woodcircles is also developing innovative digital tools for resource estimation, wood waste handling, and building design. These tools are designed to streamline processes and make it easier for stakeholders to adopt sustainable practices.

The video is available here.

Provided by iCube Programme