Traditionally, the construction and real estate industries have focused on carbon emissions in their life cycle assessments. The new Wood vs. Concrete study broadens the perspective by including more environmental impact categories.
When it comes to impacts on biodiversity - or biodiversity as it is often referred to in research - there is a lack of established methods in the construction and real estate industry to quantitatively measure the effects.
- "Now we have measured the impact of building materials on biodiversity using Swedish soil data together with more environmental impact categories to get a better understanding of the whole. I think we are the first in the market to do this," says Astrid Berglund, report author and sustainability strategist at the software company Plant.
Two almost identical apartment buildings will be built and compared in the study, one with a wooden frame and one with a concrete frame.
- We in the housing industry calculate carbon dioxide emissions, but other environmental impact categories, such as biodiversity, have not been calculated in new construction. As biodiversity is one of the most vulnerable planetary boundaries, we need to add it to our analysis when selecting building materials," says Patrik Schön, Construction Manager, Sveafastigheter.
Housing companies have often focused on increasing biodiversity at the management stage, including through meadow plantings and insect hotels. Where the impact of construction materials on biodiversity has been studied, it has been limited to the land use of material extraction. Forestry uses larger areas and thus has had a greater impact.
- Using the ReCiPe LCA model, we include more parameters than just land use. This gives us a more comprehensive picture of today's most used materials and a completely new result. At Plant, we are now conducting life cycle assessment of biodiversity and will also include it in our software, so that buildings can be designed and optimized based on the impact on biodiversity," says Astrid.
Chalmers, Plant and Sveafastigheter are participating in the study. The project is the first part of the larger research package Wood vs Concrete. The second part is expected to be published later in 2025 by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute with method development and in-depth study on biodiversity.
- "Part one of the Wood vs. Concrete study gives us a solid overview of the impact of wood and concrete with today's calculation methods, where wood was the winner. We look forward to taking part in an in-depth study when it comes to biodiversity to see if the results from part one also hold true then, concludes Patrik Schön.
The Wood vs. concrete study and annexes are available here
