SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY Council has adopted a wood-first policy, requiring the use of wood as the primary building material where practical in all new and modified South Dublin County Council funded buildings.
The policy was adopted after a motion from Green Party Councillor Francis Noel Duffy was tabled earlier this week.
Wood is a sustainable and versatile building material that stores, rather than emits, carbon dioxide. By using wood, the impact in large-scale developments is a reduction of up to 2,432 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to other construction materials, the equivalent of taking around 500 cars off the road for a year.
Duffy, who is the Green Party Spokesperson on Planning & Housing said:
“I am delighted this passed unanimously, which will allow South Dublin County Council to lead the way in sustainable procurement practices, with a view to shaping public perception of sustainable construction methods.
“Growing native timber for the construction industry locally also creates sustainable employment, and offers many side benefits, including recreational facilities, water purification, arrests soil erosion and flooding.”
South Dublin County Council is the first council in Ireland to adopt the strategy, but not the first around the world.
“It is scientifically evident that timber can play a sustainable role in the Irish construction industry through actively storing carbon unlike other materials, reducing CO2 emissions and embodied energy in the production process.
“SDCC is the first Council in Ireland follow international policies including the ‘Wood First Act’ in British Columbia, Japan’s ‘Law No. 36’ promoting the use of Wood materials for public buildings, and closer to home, Hackney in London became the first Local Authority to promote timber construction in its planning policy.”
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