‘Sustainability’ and ‘eco-friendly’ are among the top buzz words of this past year. Everywhere you look, products are labelled as ‘100% recycled’ or ‘organic’. With so many claims thrown around, how do you know what’s sustainable or not?
Timber is a renewable resource and building material. Managed responsibly, wood from forests can produce durable and long-lasting structures, like garden buildings and log cabins.
But why is sustainability so important?
As trees are the lungs of the Earth and home to wildlife, it’s vital we protect them for future generations. So, the more sustainable wood we use in building materials, the greater the demand becomes for forests to be managed sustainably.
We’ll provide an overview of the sustainability of log cabins, including why FSC timber is important and the benefits of using timber as a building material.
What is FSC timber?
You may have seen this logo dotted around the place, whether on wooden products or on paper:
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is in charge of the responsible management of the world’s forests. They set the standards for forest products and determine if products are allowed to be labelled as eco-friendly.
When you buy an FSC approved timber product, you can rest assured that it’s been responsibly sourced. The FSC certification is important for giving credibility. Without this, there would be no way of verifying that timber products meet these specifications.
Using sustainably and responsibly sourced timber is incredibly important in the manufacturing process to lessen our environmental impact. And, the FSC also helps to positively impact workers and communities too!
What are the benefits of timber buildings?
Wood provides natural insulation
Timber is a naturally insulating building material. It keeps heat in efficiently, which means less energy is needed for heating.
Our 44mm log cabins have the thickest walls of all our models. Added to the professional draft insulation, this increases the power of the natural insulation. Because heat is contained so well, it helps to prevent water ingress and damp in your log cabin.
If that wasn’t enough, wood also acts as a natural humidity regulator because it’s an organic material. This allows it to absorb and release moisture in relation to the surrounding environment.
It can be used again and again and again…
When responsibly sourced, timber is a renewable material.
There are many tree planting schemes in place across the world aimed at regenerating our tree population and keeping this great source of materials alive. There’s even a way to help plant more trees just by searching the web.
In properly managed European forests, there are 5 trees planted for each tree harvested, making it a renewable mainstream building material.
Additionally, timber doesn’t need complex or harmful processing, and can be recycled into a variety of useful products across industries.
Source: Geyersbach Schonen #36
It helps to reduce carbon dioxide levels
But isn’t cutting down trees bad for the environment? And what about the damage caused by deforestation?
With sustainable forestry practices, we are still able to use wooden materials in construction – and reap the rewards, too.
Carbon storage is when the carbon that trees absorb becomes ‘locked’ or ‘stored’ in the tree when it is cut down. This takes carbon out of the atmosphere and leaves space to plant another tree and repeat the cycle.
Wood is the only building material which can store carbon like this. Approximately one tonne of carbon is stored for every metre cubed of timber used.
Wooden buildings are easily maintained
As well as all environmental benefits, opting for a wooden building is a great choice for easy maintenance!
Our log cabin maintenance guide offers an overview of how look after your log cabin, including treating the wood of your log cabin. As well as water-based and solvent-based treatments, there are also eco-friendly staining options, which can lessen your carbon footprint.
So, are log cabins eco-friendly?
Our forests are ultimately the lungs of the Earth – they absorb carbon dioxide and help with climate control.
Sustainable forests are the answer. If the demand for sustainable timber increases, so does the need for sustainable forests.
By taking advantage of the environmental benefits of timber whilst promoting the responsible management of forests, we can help to lessen our impact. Damaging logging operations harm not only the climate but also put endangered species and local forest communities at risk.
Here at 1clicklogcabins, we are committed to smarter development:
- A pledge to the sustainability of both woodland and forest throughout our manufacturing operations.
- Ongoing investment in sourcing good quality FSC timber from Europe, which leads to a first-class product.
Take a look at our range of sustainably sourced log cabins.
