Empowering climate-smart, circular, and zero-waste use of underutilized wood from the forest and building stock in the construction sector to support the New European Bauhaus

Project Information

WoodStock

Grant agreement ID: 101181021

DOI

10.3030/101181021

EC signature date 10 October 2024

Start date 1 November 2024

End date 31 October 2028

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 6 861 253,27

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WoodStock (Empowering climate-smart, circular, and zero-waste use of underutilized wood from the forest and building stock in the construction sector to support the New European Bauhaus)

Reporting period: 2024-11-01 to 2026-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The construction sector is one of Europe's most resource-intensive industries, but wood has considerable potential to help reduce its climate impact. Many wood resources that could be used in long-lasting buildings, remain underutilised, including hardwood, low-quality timber, damaged wood, and post-consumer wood, which are often burned or discarded. At the same time, construction relies heavily on a relatively limited range of commercial softwood species.

Assessing the climate benefits of wood also remains challenging. Existing methods are often complex, and do not always fully account for how long carbon remains stored in wood products. Regulations, standards, business practices, market conditions and public perceptions can also limit the wider use of circular wood solutions in construction.

WoodStock was established to tackle these challenges and support the New European Bauhaus by developing climate-smart solutions that increase the use of underutilised wood in construction. Its work combines four main areas.

Mapping wood resources, material flows and climate impacts:
WoodStock measures and maps wood resources, tracks material flows from forests to buildings and develops methods to assessing climate impacts. This includes a dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (d-LCA) approach that better captures how carbon storage in wood changes over time, within a broader sustainability framework that also considers social and economic aspects.

Developing zero-waste and circular solutions:
WoodStock develops zero-waste and circular designs for products, building elements and buildings, using underutilised wood, while also considering human health, well-being and cultural acceptance.

Addressing policies, standards and market barriers:
WoodStock investigates regulatory, standardisation, procurement and business barriers and develops strategies and guidance to support wider uptake of circular wood construction.

Developing the European Wood Construction Observatory:
WoodStock is developing an open digital platform, bringing together knowledge, good practices, standards, guidelines and building monitoring information for the wood construction sector.

Across six Living Labs in Slovenia, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Norway and Poland, WoodStock brings together researchers, architects, engineers, manufacturers, students, public authorities, industry representatives and citizens to co-create and test solutions in real-life settings. The Living Labs explore cultural acceptance, social and economic barriers, well-being and stakeholder perspectives, influencing the uptake of circular wood solutions. By improving knowledge about wood availability and climate impacts, enabling greater use of underutilised wood, and supporting circular design and market uptake, WoodStock aims to reduce pressure on newly harvested timber and contribute to more sustainable wood construction in Europe. Its participatory approach connects these technical and market developments with the New European Bauhaus ambitions for a more sustainable, inclusive and high-quality built environment.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WoodStock established a common approach for co-creation sessions and research data collection across its Living Labs. 15 co-creation sessions and 8 student courses were organised, engaging 366 stakeholders and providing input to the project’s research and development activities.

WoodStock made substantial progress in mapping wood resources, modelling material flows and climate impacts. A baseline of wood use was established for Norway, Finland, Ireland, France, Poland and Slovenia, using harmonised European and international data, while a complementary study examened how wood use in the European building stock varies according to construction period, structural system, and building size. A multilayer Material Flow Analysis (MFA) model was developed to quantify wood and stored carbon flows from forests to building products for Norway and the 27 EU member states. Work also started on a dynamic MFA model to explore future wood availability under different scenarios. A historical comparison of harvested wood product (HWP) trends was completed for Norway, Finland, Ireland, France, Poland and Slovenia.

Research also advanced on a dynamic LCA (d-LCA) approach that better reflects how carbon storage in wood changes over time. A new dynamic LCA framework now allows climate impacts to be assessed for different tree species, wood component, climatic conditions, and storage periods. Initial results indicate that some underutilised wood streams may offer greater climate benefits than conventional softwood. Work also began on integrating environmental, social and economic dimensions into a broader sustainability framework.

For zero-waste and circular solutions, WoodStock analysed 108 case studies, 123 articles, and 44 technologies, identifying 78 relevant technologies and 10 strategies. Four main categories of underutilised wood resources were characterised. Reviews of 193 applications of zero-waste product concepts and 103 case studies of building concepts were completed. 6 co-creation sessions and 7 student courses on zero-waste design were organized in Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands),  Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway),  University of Bordeaux (France) and Ghent University (Belgium), engaging over 200 students and all relevant stakeholder groups, explored how these findings can be translated into product and building concepts. Circular design guidelines are under development. Preparations were also completed for a grant programme that will support four projects with up to €50,000 each to test, validate and scale up climate-smart and zero-waste wood construction solutions.

Research into health, well-being and cultural acceptance also progressed. An international survey on cultural acceptance of underutilised wood was launched in seven languages, and received more than 472 responses from eight countries. Physical wood wall elements and experimental set-ups were developed to study how visual and environmental conditions influence people's responses and well-being in built environments.

WoodStock also examined conditions affecting the uptake of circular wood construction. Stakeholder mapping and a framework for analysing sector challenges were developed. A co-creation session in Bordeaux identified higher costs, fragmented supply chains, limited standardisation and perceptions of reclaimed wood as important barriers. Research on policies and standards was initiated in Norway, Ireland, and at EU level, and a structured template was developed to support the review of sustainable public procurement policies.

The development of the European Wood Construction Observatory advanced substantially. Its core technical architecture includes artificial intelligence-assisted information retrieval, mechanisms to assess source credibility, automated document retrieval and a platform for monitoring sensor data from buildings. These functions reached the testing stage and will be available for the public from July 2026 onwards.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Not applicable to the current reporting period.