Sustainability impacts of wood- and concrete-based frame buildings – a Lithuanian case study

Abstract

<p>In recent years, wood has received increased interest in the European building sector. The trend is driven by the recognition that wood, as an environment friendly material, can contribute to bioeconomy development and climate neutrality by 2050. In Lithuania, the main construction material among residential and public buildings is cement, even though Lithuania has a strong woodbased industry and sufficient timber resources. On the other hand, Lithuania has a strong cement industry, which gives an opportunity to compare wood- and concrete-based building materials sustainability impacts throughout the production value chain – from raw material extraction to manufacturing using the same method, while documenting and assessing the material sourcing stages consistently and transparently. In Lithuania, multi-storey wood-based building is still at the level of policy and political discussions. Therefore, the presented research focuses on quantification and comparison of the sustainability impacts of both wood- and concrete-based building materials value chains and provides applied scientific knowledge relevant to decision-makers and in this way contributes to mitigation of the climate change. In this study, we designed two- and five-floor woodand concrete-based building material alternatives in order to compare the impact of the construction size on sustainability values. In discussion with study partners twelve environmental, social, and economic indicators were selected to perform the sustainability impact assessment of selected building materials and designed buildings. Building materials were compared by using a decision support tool ToSIA. The relevant data was gathered from local, well-known companies in the national and international arena. Findings revealed the potential of glue-laminated timber frames as a more sustainable alternative to precast reinforced concrete in the construction of public low-rise buildings in Lithuania, and they showed great promise in reducing emissions and increasing the sequestration of CO2. An analysis of environmental and social indicators shows that the replacement of precast reinforced concrete frames with glue-laminated timber frames in the construction of lowrise public buildings would lead to reduced environmental impacts, alongside a range of positive social impacts. <p/>