Sustainability Seminar

He is a passionate and knowledgeable advocate for the environment and he is a strong believer in promoting fast growing renewable bio-based materials, as alternatives to conventional fossil based or carbon heavy extractives.
He is the author of five books on environmental issues and is currently writing another, exploring the benefits of sustainable forestry and associated timber industry.

As Pablo explained, globally, the construction and building industry, is one of the highest emitters of Carbon dioxide, and is responsible for the depletion of many mined materials. , the worlds resources are dwindling and some have a finite life of only a couple of decades left. So there is immense pressure to find alternatives.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we can have a resource that regrows several times in our lifetime, is a carbon sink, and has a positive impact on the environment?”

Well, we already have this, as Pablo points out, fast-growing temperate forests such as the large plantation grown Radiata Pine that we have here in New Zealand.

The only issue, as we all know, most fast growing softwood species such as Radiata Pine do not have good natural durability, and need to be impregnated with toxic chemicals to give them long term performance.
That was until recently. Now we have alternatives processes that modify fast-growing softwoods and can give them performance characteristics that exceed the best old-growth hardwoods.

 

Acetylated Radiata Pine, or Accoya, to give it its trade name, has revolutionized parts of the construction industry. The Acetylation process uses acetic anhydride (a concentrated form of vinegar) which enables a cellular conversion within the wood and modifies it to the core, creating a non-toxic timber that has outstanding durability and stability. Accoya carries a 25 year in ground, or fresh water warranty and a 50 year above ground warranty.

Accoya, a sustainably grown, non-toxic timber that can be used for weatherboards, decking, landscaping joinery and structural applications, that also has the best environmental certification available. As Pablo tells us, it is great to have a carbon negative construction material that re-generates every 28 years, but is also strong, versatile and durable, and is not harmful to humans or the environment.

Pablo, was also keen to point out he has great hope for the future of the building and construction sector, where Architects and designers are able to be innovative and creative with a conscience-free substrate that allows enormous design flexibility without compromising performance. He also believes, that with careful and informed selection of materials, we can create beautiful buildings that are much kinder to the planet.

For more information on the presentation given by Pablo, or more information on Accoya, please feel free to contact us