The Future of Wood Building Products in a Changing Climate

October 27, 2021

The Yale Forest Forum is excited to announce the next speaker series for the fall 2021 semester, jointly hosted by the Center for Industrial Ecology and the Yale School of Architecture.

The Future of Wood Building Products in a Changing Climate

Wood is a renewable resource that has wide material applications in many industries. Wood products sourced from sustainably managed forests store carbon and can play an important role in combating climate change. Recent innovations in the use of wood have led to the development of new products that can replace traditional fossil-based carbon-intensive materials, particularly in the construction and energy sectors. Understanding the potential environmental impacts and societal implications of increases in both conventional and emerging wood products across their respective life cycles, as well as their possible reuse in a circular construction economy, is critical in assessing the climate mitigation potential of wood vs. other materials.  

What is the future role of forest products in addressing climate, resources, societal, and environmental challenges? What are the environmental, economic, and societal implications for using more forest products? Hear from speakers representing forestry, industrial ecology, architecture, conservation, and academia.

Join us every Thursday from September 16-November 18 from 11:30am-12:10pm US EDT. Note: there will be no webinars on October 21 and November 25.

Click here to register. Register once to attend all webinars and to view the recordings.

Date Speaker Organization Talk title Speaker Information Webinar
Sept. 9 Steve Marshall Mass Timber Strategy Solid Wood Products of Tomorrow: A case for mass timber Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Sept. 16 Galina Churkina Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany Climate Impacts of Timber Construction Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Sept. 23 Mark Wishnie BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group

Tomorrow’s World: Future Forests, Timber Supply, and the Bioeconomy

Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording

Sept. 30

Ana Leite Bastos Urbem The Brazilian Forests and The Mass Timber Market Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Oct. 7 Rachel Pasternack & Ethan Belair The Nature Conservancy Building It Right: Understanding Potential Forest Impacts from Mass Timber Construction

Biography & Abstract Reading

Slides, Recording
Oct. 14 Yuan Yao Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale University Wood Products as Sustainable Materials Biography & Abstract Reading Slides, Recording
Oct. 28 Niko Heeren Norwegian University of Science & Technology Environmental Impact of Buildings Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Nov. 4 Mokena Makeka Dalberg Advisors The Challenges and Opportunities in the Global South Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Nov. 11 Alan Organschi Innovation Lab, Bauhaus Earth, Germany Building the Carbon Positive City Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Nov. 18 Ana María Durán Calisto Yale School of Architecture Forest Remediation and Communal Life: Restoring the Sumak Kawsay in Ecuadorian Amazonia Biography & Abstract  Reading Slides, Recording
Dec. 2 Tom Chung Leers Weinzapfel Associates XL to XS: Mass Timber Architecture across size and typology Biography & Abstract Slides, Recording

Photo by Ema Peter. Wood Innovation and Design Center. Michael Green Architecture.