Autumn 2014 – Sustainability Issue
- Dame Pauline Green promotes 2011 sustainability resolution;
- What’s new in sustainable forest management;
- Best practices in Germany, Sweden & Canada
- Sustainability resolution and endorsement;
- Co-operative Housing International’s NEW website
Download this issue here
Welcome Message from the President
Greetings, and welcome to this autumn 2014 edition of the Co-operative Housing International’s e-Bulletin.
In this edition we are focusing strongly on sustainable forestry practices, the subject of a resolution proposed to the Alliance’s General Assembly in 2011 and subsequently adopted. Housing co-operatives engage in construction and therefore look to ways in which they can make their construction practices more sustainable. Using wood products that come from sustainable forestry practices is one very important way to adopt responsible construction methods.
In this bulletin you’ll find a wealth of information on new developments in the sustainable use of forest products and some good practices from different countries. And we will return to the original General Assembly resolution, and show you how you can adapt it for adoption by your co-operative housing organization.
Dame Pauline Green Promotes the Sustainability Resolution Adopted by ICA in 2011
I wish to commend our sectoral organization Co-operative Housing International (CHI) for its commitment toward sustainability. Back in 2011 CHI submitted a resolution to the General Assembly in Cancun promoting the use of certified timber. As you may remember the resolution was widely supported by the delegates. This commitment aligns with our ambitious plan laid out in the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade.
The Blueprint calls on each of us as co-operators to become an “acknowledged leader in economic, social and environmental sustainability”. One of the goals set in the Blueprint is to “position co-operatives as builders of sustainability”. CHI is calling on all of you to endorse the sustainability resolution and adopt procurement policies that commit your organization to use certified timber and other forestry products in your business operations.
Let’s not delay. Let’s join together in the promotion of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative by endorsing the Sustainability Resolution and adopting a procurement policy for your organization.
Our Sustainability Resolution Revisited
At the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance in Cancun, Mexico, in November 2011, ICA Housing passed a resolution that asked all ICA member co-operatives to make a commitment to support and promote within their own organizations, the use of sustainable timber and other forest products certified as such by reputable organisations like the Forest Stewardship Council or PEFC International (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and to adopt procurement policies and practices that honour the principle of sustainability in forestry management.
This e-Bulletin revisits the resolution that was adopted in 2011 and reports on some advancements in sustainable forest management, and certified sustainable wood products and explores how those products are being used in housing construction and specifically co-operative housing development and capital repairs. This is in follow up to the work we have already done.
What’s New in Sustainable Forest Management?
The Forest Products Annual Market Review 2013 reports that the development of new refinement processes has led to the production of new and more affordable wood based products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT). The report states that cross-laminated wood panelling is being used more widely in the construction of wood buildings and multi-storey timber buildings due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. The product is designer-friendly, easily assembled and is extremely strong (e.g. earthquake resilient). This is just one of many products under development and being used in the construction and housing market.
Engineered Wood Products – CLT – Cross Laminated Timber
Wood pellets for heating and power generation
Wood pellets are manufactured from compressed wood fibres and other forest residues such at sawmill and logging residues, tree tops and branches and low grade logs. They can be used as a coal substitute for power generation and also for heating, cooling and hot water in residential and commercial buildings.
Best Practices: Germany
by Guido Schwarzendahl, Bauverein Halle & Leuna eG
Sustainable forest management and the use of sustainable wood products in residential buildings in the German market
This report focuses on the experiences and practical application of timber and other forest products from sustainable sources in the construction of residential buildings In Germany and specifically in the German co-operative housing market.
The principle of sustainability in our cooperative
The Bauverein Halle & Leuna eG housing-cooperative in Halle, Saale with nearly 8000 flats and more than 17,000 occupants, is focused on the principle of sustainability. We determine that a housing co-operative is sustainable if it is following its economic objectives and meets social responsibility standards.
Unfortunately, up to now we have no experience in the use of timber and other forest products from sustainable sources in construction, refurbishment or extension of residential buildings. In 2014 we discussed the interesting and new possibility of a building extension module which is made of wood from sustainable sources.
We are also looking at an application for pre-fabricated houses (slabs), to improve housing accessibility for disabled or elderly people in these buildings (TESEnergyfacade – see below).
Advantages of sustainable wood products in the housing construction market
The municipal housing company of Munich, Bavaria (GWG München) created a very impressive report on the use of timber in the housing construction and produced an impressive ecological balance sheet.
As an example, the annual German timber-harvest of 70 Million cubic metres could provide 45 Million cubic metres of wood construction for residential buildings. Just one third of this theoretical amount would be enough to erect the whole yearly German residential housing construction volume.
An additional ecological benefit is the capture of carbon dioxide in the timber. One cubic metre will capture one ton of carbon dioxide for the lifetime of its use in buildings – this means at least 80 – 100 years.
Due to the increasing prices for construction steel, copper and a lot of metals, non-renewable resources will lose their importance in the construction sector. Timber however is renewable and re-growing.
Use of sustainable wood products in the housing construction market in general in Germany
There are two impressive examples for the use of sustainable wood products in the housing construction market in Germany.
One is the project planning company named ReBuild Generalplanung GmbH, which planned the construction of a residential building extension owned by the municipal housing company in Augsburg, Bavaria. With the so called Projekt Grüntenstraße (winner of the German award for the refurbishment of residential buildings in 2013) ReBuild created a demonstration model of the European joint project smartTES and E2ReBuild. TES-EnergyFacade is an international research project, which aims at developing a method for the energy-efficient renovation of the building envelope, based on woodframed prefabricated facade elements for the improvement and modernization of facades (under the leadership of the TU München (Technical University of Munich, Bavaria, Professor Stefan Winter and Professor Hermann Kaufmann).
The other example is the municipal housing company GWG in Munich, Bavaria [pictured right], which also used the E2ReBuild incentive programme for the refurbishment and extension of an existing residential building in Munich, Badgasteiner Straße 4, 6, 6a. The extension is a building which is four storeys high and is made of wooden prefabricated façade elements.
http://www.buildup.eu/publications/36348
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj1VOCkwc44
http://www.deutscherbauherrenpreis.de/projekt/augsburg-hochzoll-gruntenstrase/
Best Practices: Sweden
HSB Trädgården Housing Cooperative in Luleå, Sweden
Located just two kilometres from central Luleå in the northern part of Sweden, a tenant-owned housing cooperative is under construction. Great care has been taken to make the new houses fit in with the surroundings.
In the centre of the houses a garden will be planted with fruit trees and berries and the children will have a playground with natural materials. The apartments are built from a both practical and personal perspective in an environment that encourages a sense of community.
Made from FSC-certified timber, the houses are built using an industrial technique that minimises construction time on-site.
The housing cooperative consists of 41 apartments that vary in size from 1 to 4 bedrooms, 64-120 square meters.
Best Practices: Canada
Canada has approximately 400 million hectares of forest land and almost 94 % of this is publicly owned and managed by the government on behalf of Canadians. The forests are managed under very tough laws and as a result of these laws, less than one half of one per cent of managed forest is allowed to be harvested each year and these laws demand that all public forests that are harvested must be successfully replanted.
The Forest Products Association of Canada reported on new research being undertaken by FPInnovations to develop new biomaterials from wood products. This is the latest project in developing wood bi-products called cellulose filaments CF, which are flexible fibres extracted from pulp into a wide range of products such as plastic packaging, photographic film and panels in building construction.
Examples of sustainable wood products in construction – green buildings – green design
Below are some interesting examples of the use of sustainable wood products in construction from Wood Works Ontario, a program of the Canadian Wood Council and the Ottawa Construction News site.
Multi-Unit Wood Design Award Winner – Woodland Village Stacked Town homes, London, ON;
Architect: Orchard Design Studio Inc. and GB Architect Inc.; Engineer: Strik Baldinelli & Associates Ltd. (CNW Group/Ontario Wood WORKS!)
This building was created using natural materials and locally sourced products such as granite, heavy timber, cedar shingles and wood siding. The materials were chosen for their renewable and recyclable properties to minimize the buildings environmental footprint.
Sponsored by OWL Distribution Project: Algonquin College, Perth Campus, Perth, ON Architect: GRC Architects Inc. Engineer: Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd.
Green Building Wood Design Award Winner – Algonquin College, Perth Campus, Perth, ON ; Architect: GRC Architects Inc.; Engineer: Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd. (Credit: Roy Timm, c/o Algonquin College) (CNW Group/Ontario Wood WORKS!)
Algonquin College’s Perth building is a wood structure. Its exterior cladding and interior finishes make this a comfortable, easy to maintain, energy efficient campus building. The majority of the wood products came from FSC certified distributors. The design and construction materials used contributed to this project winning LEED gold award. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
Promotion of Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability: The Use of Sustainable Timber and Forest Products
The ICA at its General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico on November 18, 2011
Acknowledges that forests are essential to life on earth; that forests are reservoirs of fresh air, pure water, and innumerable forms of life; and that forests protect against soil erosion, desertification, flooding, loss of biodiversity and unsustainable concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere;
Recognises that the current unsustainable model of forestry development threatens biodiversity: 33 per cent of animal and plant species have colonized 70 per cent of the land on earth, while forests, harbouring 67 per cent of all animal and plant species, occupy only 30 per cent of dry land;
Realises that deforestation is fuelled by economic imperatives that drive communities toward agriculture, conversion of forest land to other uses and tourism—significant contributors to the release of GHG emissions—as the fastest ways to earn their livelihood;
Understands that the forest industry is responsible for the production of 17 per cent of GHG emissions in the world: recent research attributes 217 to 640 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, including the GHG emissions from soil, to wood cutting conducted by non-sustainable methods;
Acknowledges that all humanity deserves a decent livelihood and that many communities depend on forests for their survival;
Supports internationally recognized efforts to develop model programs for sustainable forestry that respond to the needs of the flora, fauna and people living in and through forests;
Recognises co-operative businesses’ buying power and their need for forest products and the availability of such products certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification;
Wishes to promote sustainable conduct in the spirit of the unanimous resolution at the General Assembly of 2009 in Geneva calling on ICA members and the worldwide co-operative movement to embrace a vision of energy efficiency and renewable energy;
Calls on ICA members and the worldwide co-operative movement, as conscientious consumers, positively to commit only to use timber and other forest products from sustainable sources certified as such by reputable organisations like the Forest Stewardship Council or PEFC International (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and to adopt procurement policies and practices that honour the principle of sustainability in forestry management.
Promotion of Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability: The Use of Sustainable Timber and Forest Products
We (name of your organisation)
Acknowledge that forests are essential to life on earth; that forests are reservoirs of fresh air, pure water, and innumerable forms of life; and that forests protect against soil erosion, desertification, flooding, loss of biodiversity and unsustainable concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere;
Recognise that the current unsustainable model of forestry development threatens biodiversity: 33 per cent of animal and plant species have colonized 70 per cent of the land on earth, while forests, harbouring 67 per cent of all animal and plant species, occupy only 30 per cent of dry land;
Realise that deforestation is fuelled by economic imperatives that drive communities toward agriculture, conversion of forest land to other uses and tourism—significant contributors to the release of GHG emissions—as the fastest way to earn their livelihood;
Understand that the forest industry is responsible for the production of 17 per cent of GHG emissions in the world: recent research attributes 217 to 640 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, including the GHG emissions from soil, to wood cutting conducted by non-sustainable methods;
Acknowledge that all humanity deserves a decent livelihood and that many communities depend on forests for their survival;
Support internationally recognized efforts to develop model programs for sustainable forestry that respond to the needs of the flora, fauna and people living in and through forests;
Recognise co-operative businesses’ buying power and their need for forest products and the availability of such products certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification;
Wish to promote sustainable conduct in the spirit of the unanimous resolution at the General Assembly of 2009 in Geneva calling on ICA members and the worldwide co-operative movement to embrace a vision of energy efficiency and renewable energy;
WE (name of your organisation), as conscientious consumers, positively commit only to use timber and other forest products from sustainable sources certified as such by reputable organisations like the Forest Stewardship Council or PEFC International (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and to adopt procurement policies and practices that honour the principle of sustainability in forestry management.
Our New Website!
Here at Co-operative Housing International we are really pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website www.housinginternational.coop. It is clean, bright and easy to use and, with continual updates, will be a great resource for co-operators interested in co-operative housing all over the world.
The site contains information about CHI and its work commitments, its members and the skills they offer, and the state of housing co-operatives by country. Its resources section is split into 6 sections – Sustainability, Financing and Development, Legal, Governance, Management and Community. These sections will be expanded over time. The site also has quick links to our latest e-bulletin, the Global News Hub, the ICA Global site and to the social media tools currently utilized by Co-operative Housing International.
We would like to ask all members to update the links you have or create new links to the site on your own websites where appropriate. You can also edit your own member page and add resources really easily. To do this you will be granted a single user ID that is associated with your member role.
To request an ID and password please email Jane Cameron, Website Co-ordinator, we will also send you a user manual to help you with the process.
Tell us what you need from Co-operative Housing International
A key part of Co-operative Housing International’s strategy is to offer support and respond to the needs of members. Please contact us if you need information and/or assistance and let us know what additional services you think we could provide to members.