Sustainability goes to the core of construction, right down to the level of materials used for building.
The drive toward more sustainable building is gathering pace. Despite the spotlight of attention often focusing on cars, electricity generation or air travel, in fact 40% of UK carbon equivalent emissions come from households. Of course, a significant amount of that comes from heating and powering homes, but the energy used in the construction of homes is also a factor.
The UK government has been pushing for greater sustainability in construction for some time, while also noting that new homes produce less carbon than old ones, thanks to technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps.
But new technologies are not the only method of reducing carbon emissions coming from homes. Choice of building materials has a significant impact.
Timber, when growing, naturally absorbs carbon dioxide, so it is often considered among the best choices when it comes to selecting an environmentally responsible building material. In addition, it has low embodied energy, meaning less energy is expended turning wood into usable timber for construction. Indeed, increasingly, embodied energy is being calculated in a building’s overall energy performance and here using timber is an easy win.
Our commitment to sustainability
Nuneaton Roof Truss is committed to acting sustainably and manufacturing sustainable products. Last year, we were awarded FORS Silver accreditation, a standard for monitoring fleet, including reducing environmental impact. Since then, we have also purchased our first electric vehicles and installed our own charging stations.
Also in 2021, we installed carbon neutral heating in our factory in the form of a biomass boilers: two Froling T4e wood chip boilers, and a Viessmann Vitoligno 250-S wood gasification boiler.
Our products are sustainable, too. Our wood, wood products, and non-timber forest products are PEF certified, guaranteeing they have been sourced from sustainably-managed forests and been manufactured with due respect for workers’ rights, while our BM TRADA certification provides independently-verified assurance that the wood we use originates from responsibly sourced forests and that the material has been tracked through every stage of the process from forest to end-user. So not only is timber a natural product, but Nuneaton Roof Truss uses only sustainably-sourced timber in the production of our roof and attic trusses, floor joists and spandrels – and we have the certification to prove it.
We are currently in the process of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification, which will be another feather in our cap as it measures the entire lifecycle of a product. In this area, timber cannot be beaten. Forests are a natural carbon sink removing harmful emissions from the air, but beyond that timber, as a natural material, involves less energy in its production than do synthetic materials. As a result, timber, when sustainably sourced, is one of the most environmentally-friendly materials available, being truly renewable.
Why choose Nuneaton Roof Truss?
Nuneaton Roof Truss is the manufacturer of choice for all engineered timber requirements. Whether you’re planning one house or many, housebuilders and construction firms all over the UK put their trust in us.If you’re interested in our industry-leading, eco-friendly services, click here to get a quote or call us on 02476 327722 to find out how we can support your business and projects.
