Wood Encouragement Policies (WEP)

Wood Products Victoria supports and promotes WEP in Australia

Western Australia has now joined Tasmania to become the second state government in Australia to adopt a state-wide Wood Encouragement Policy (WEP). In addition, there are two local government authorities (LGAs) and sixteen local councils that have also adopted a WEP. The adoption of similar policies around the world is growing steadily, including Canada, Japan, France, Finland, Netherlands and the UK, who are all encouraging the use of natural, timber-based products in construction.

What is a WEP?

A WEP generally requires responsibly sourced wood to be considered, where feasible, as the primary construction material in all new-build and refurbishment projects. As such is it not intended to be a draconian, all-encompassing dictum, but rather seeks to ensure that wood is at least considered as the primary structural component in these buildings.

Why Governments & Councils Should Adopt a WEP

Timber is the only major building material that helps tackle climate change. It is both a naturally renewable and abundant resource. As trees, grow they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, known as carbon sequestration. When the tree is responsibly harvested the carbon is locked in the wood and remains there for the life of any products made with that timber. About half of the dry weight of timber is carbon.

In addition, the production and processing of wood uses much less energy – known as embodied energy – than most other building materials, giving wood products a significantly lower carbon footprint. As a result wood can be used as a low-emission substitute for materials that require larger amounts of fossil fuels to be produced. As a rule of thumb, if you convert one cubic metre of concrete for a cubic metre of timber, you will eliminate approximately one metric tonne (1000kg) of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere