Analysis Tool Targets Hidden Sources of Carbon in Mass Timber Projects
Mass timber buildings are popular for their claimed carbon neutrality and sustainability compared to conventional concrete and steel structures. But is that common assumption true across the board?
That is the question two architects at design firm Corgan have studied since a 2023 World Resources Institute report outlined sources of carbon emissions in the timber supply chain that were not being well documented. “[These] timber-harvesting practices often unaccounted for in our industry’s life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis,” says Varun Kohli, principal and director of sustainability at Corgan, New York, who partnered with Mahdi Afkhami, Corgan design researcher.
Kohli and Afkhami published their own report addressing issues impacting mass timber biogenic carbon emissions, including “slash,” the residual parts of trees including branches, twigs, roots and bark left in the forest during harvesting.
