Sustainable construction is one of the focus sectors at Hedgehog Company. In addition to guiding organisations in the construction sector towards greater sustainability, we are also active within the Timber Construction Covenant of the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam. Through this initiative, we aim to achieve 20% new construction in timber by 2025. Mees Eringa, Junior Expert in Sustainable Construction, provides more insights into this in the article below.
Tell us, Mees, what is the Timber Construction Covenant?
With Imme Groet, Senior Expert Sustainable Construction here at Hedgehog Company, I am part of the program team at Hedgehog Company for the Timber Construction Covenant of the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam, which also includes Bob van der Zande, Wouter van Twillert, and Rosa Kip. Through this covenant, we are committed to ensuring that by 2025, 20% of all new construction in the Amsterdam metropolitan region will be carried out using wood or other bio-based materials. This initiative is set to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 220,000 tons annually and significantly decrease nitrogen emissions.
A major part of our work is to disseminate knowledge and to inform and excite the market about developments in timber construction. We do this with the support of the covenant's executive steering group, comprised of key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, who set the strategic agenda and steer the objectives and agreements of the covenant. Additionally, the partners of the Covenant are crucial for facilitating the work of the Covenant.
What kind of projects are involved?
Our program team works on a variety of projects. For instance, we have recently been busy with a series of knowledge sessions that we organised together with CircuLaw. CircuLaw is a legal knowledge platform aimed at helping policymakers, project leaders, and purchasers make better use of existing legislation to promote the circular economy. They specifically include 38 existing legal instruments that municipalities can use to encourage timber construction.
The sessions of the knowledge trajectory focused on themes such as "tenders and timber construction" and "permitting and timber construction". These sessions were geared towards how municipalities can apply these legal instruments. Municipalities represent an interesting target group that can play a significant role in the transition to more timber construction projects.
Recently, the municipality of Amsterdam asked us to advise on setting criteria for a tender to encourage timber construction. For this purpose, we organised a private market consultation with leading parties who have signed the covenant. Together with these market parties, we drafted an advisory document for the municipality on how to encourage timber construction in projects with more than ten layers. This will assist the municipality in structuring future tenders to promote timber construction.
We recently launched the Locationmonitor, a website where users can add their projects. These projects may be in the realization phase or even in the exploratory phase. This tool helps us monitor whether we are on track with our goals. Additionally, we have developed a visual tool that displays on a map exactly where timber construction projects are located in the Amsterdam metropolitan region, serving as inspiration to seek out already built and completed projects.
And we work closely with Building Balance, an organisation that supports and stimulates national chains to accelerate the transition to a circular and bio-based construction economy. For instance, I am currently collaborating with them on a project to create carbon certificates for straw construction.
Voluntary carbon certificates are thus an instrument for financing the transition to bio-based construction. During the growth of crops used in bio-based materials, CO2 is captured and registered in a certificate. Entities with high CO2 emissions can offset their output by purchasing these carbon certificates.
This project investigates how market participants who grow straw for bio-based materials or use it in construction can apply for carbon certificates. The research examines how much CO2 is captured during straw cultivation, how much is used in construction, and how the carbon certificates are eventually distributed among the market participants contributing to this process. Carbon certificates can make it financially viable for farmers, processors, or builders to switch to growing bio-based crops or using bio-based materials in construction.
Recently, the municipality of Amsterdam asked us to advise on setting criteria for a tender to encourage timber construction. For this purpose, we organised a private market consultation with leading parties who have signed the covenant. Together with these market parties, we drafted an advisory document for the municipality on how to encourage timber construction in projects with more than ten layers. This will assist the municipality in structuring future tenders to promote timber construction.
2025 is fast approaching. How are we doing with the ambition of the covenant?
Aiming for 20% timber construction is quite ambitious. In the Amsterdam region, 391 timber construction homes have already been completed, and 470 are under construction. However, housing projects often have a long lead time, typically five to ten years. The major developments are still in the planning phase. Nearly 2,700 timber construction homes are in the tender phase, and almost 10,000 are in the 'exploratory phase'.
We are also proactively looking ahead to how we can continue our ambitions beyond 2025. It would be a shame if the development were to stall then. Additionally, this covenant focuses on new residential construction. There are also many opportunities for timber construction and other bio-based materials in the rest of the built environment. We are exploring whether we can align the covenant with Building Balance’s ambitions.
You also regularly organise events. Can you tell us more about that?
Yes, that's correct. The Timber Construction Covenant has been signed by 140 parties, including both public and private entities such as developers, municipalities, banks, educational institutions, architects, and the government. We regularly organise lunches and events for the partners or other broader project groups and knowledge pathways, to keep all involved parties updated on developments and to exchange knowledge and inspiration about timber construction. This exchange can be very practical, for example, dealing with fire safety or acoustics effectively.
Last week, for instance, we visited the De Houten Leeuw project with all the partners. Here, 56 social rental studios for young people are being fully delivered in timber. We have also recently launched the website https://www.convenanthoutbouwmra.nl/. Here you can find more about our work and all the events.
Furthermore, we work closely with Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam, where timber and bio-based construction is also one of their focus themes. We organise several lectures each year. And the major event, Houtbouw XL; a full day where attendees can learn about the latest developments and breakthroughs in the field of timber construction.
The next edition of Houtbouw XL is scheduled for June 25. We are currently in discussions with various parties to create an intriguing program, which will be launched at the end of this week.
And what do you personally find so interesting about the theme of sustainable construction?
I find it fascinating that there is a real development taking place. We work closely with a group of people who are all truly intrinsically motivated to make the construction sector more sustainable through timber construction and bio-based materialization. And this is a complex challenge; it encompasses the entire housing market with all the challenges that are currently present. We are truly pioneering in this respect.
At the same time, it's a very tangible theme; it also concerns my own living environment. How the city looks: because if the shift to more wood construction is really implemented, the streetscape will look very different in a few years. I find timber construction visually appealing, and it also has various health benefits.
That's why I hope that we are indeed at the beginning of the wood construction revolution, as some of our partners now call it. And I hope that timber construction will soon gain even more momentum, becoming a pillar of a sustainable construction sector.
Want to know more about sustainable construction? Then read the articles below or contact Mees or Imme.
