Sustainability

Now more than ever it is important to recognise the causes and impacts we have on climate change. Like any business in the 21st century we recognise our duty to combat climate change.

As all trees grow they are a natural carbon sponge, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the carbon sequestering process. By using wood or oak in construction there are two distinctive benefits.

Firstly more wood used in projects means less concrete and steel . A huge contribution to climate change is the production of concrete and steel. Therefore reducing the amount of these materials in construction builds will reduce the carbon footprint of the build and on a wider scale reduce how much carbon is emitted from production of construction materials. Additionally using more wood in a build means the gravitational load of the building is lower than usual, therefore less concrete needs to be used for footings.

Secondly, once oak is cut down although it no longer absorbs carbon from the atmosphere it acts as a carbon sink. Meaning all the carbon the tree has absorbed is stored and will not be released into the atmosphere again until the material is burnt or decays. Another benefit of using wood in any build is that it is a material that can easily be recycled by putting it into a new build or used for something else.

Oak provides the construction industry with the ability to use a completely renewable carbon negative material that has proved its durability for thousands of years.