In a recent survey of building specifiers, the majority perceived wood to be the most environmentally friendly building material. Compared to other major building materials, this is due mainly to:

• the renewability of wood
• the low energy consumption required for production
• the low levels of pollutant emission during manufacture

Lately, environmental considerations have acquired more importance in the specification of materials. Technical and economic aspects of building materials have always been primary considerations for specifiers. Increasingly, however, they are considering the environmental effects when selecting appropriate building materials for their designs.

Architects, engineers and designers require accurate information to assess the true environmental consequences of the materials they specify.

The environmental impacts of various building materials have been examined by a Canadian Research Alliance using the internationally accepted method called Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA). The Alliance consists of researchers from the wood, steel and concrete industries as well as university groups and consultants.