Exploring Environmentally Friendly Materials in Construction

Environmentally-friendly materials, also known as green materials, cause low environmental impacts with their production, placement, and maintenance. These materials can be used for sustainable construction.

FREMONT, CA: Traditionally, materials such as bricks, steel, and concrete have been used as standard materials in buildings. However, the construction industry has evolved over the years, which also includes a change in the materials used in construction.

Building materials and construction are responsible for over 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but this can be reduced through awareness and action. Construction companies looking to take this action can make use of sustainable materials and innovative construction methods to decrease the impact on the environment.

Environmentally-friendly materials, also known as green materials, are those which cause low environmental impacts with their production, placement, and maintenance. They have to be reusable, recyclable, or durable and preferably comprise recyclable materials in their composition, and they also have to be locally sourced. These materials have to be natural, such as cork, wood, soil, and straw, among others, and they must have the ability to withstand heat, cold, or even humidity.

Environmentally-Friendly Materials

Timber

Mass timber, which also includes laminated timber, is a sustainable substitute for concrete or steel and is also an effective construction material. It is created by combining soft pieces of wood, such as birch, ash, spruce, or pine, to create large pieces.

Wood is also a renewable resource, and when sourced and acquired from forestry operations that are certified sustainable, it is an apt substitute. It reduces embodied carbon and subsequently improves construction schedules.