The Sustainable Forestry Initiative

BLE IATIVE T he construction industry is ripe for some creative disruption. Sustainable forestry is at the heart of innovative wood-based green building solutions, known collectively as mass timber, that are growing in popularity and reshaping the way buildings are designed and built. The next normal in construction: How disruption is reshaping the world’s largest ecosystem, from McKinsey & Company consultants, cites cross- laminated timber (CLT) as one example of mass timber offering advanced new materials that are disrupting the construction sector. CLT is a prefabricated engineered wood panel product as strong as traditional building materials like steel and concrete but with additional environmental benefits associated with wood. Highly technical and precise, CLT is made by compressing and bonding layers of wood together in alternating directions. Building with CLT is generally faster, safer, and more efficient than traditional building materials and processes. Nail-laminated timber (NLT), glue- AT A GLANCE THE SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE WHAT: Advancing sustainable construction through forest-focused collaboration WHERE: Across the U.S. and Canada WEBSITE: www.forests.org/better-building-solutions Mass timber bringing disruption to the construction industry and improving all our lives By Annie Perkins