Forests and forest-based industries play an important role in climate-change mitigation. According to the European forest-based sector, European forests are estimated to have a net annual carbon sink effect of around 806 million tonnes of carbon, corresponding to approximately 20% of fossil-based CO₂ emissions in the European Union.**In addition to being a natural raw material, wood extends the forests’ capacity to store CO2, making it a great alternative to materials of fossil origin.

The use of wood products can contribute to extending the storage of biogenic carbon beyond the forest ecosystem. Each cubic metre of wood stores approximately one tonne of CO₂ absorbed during tree growth, resulting in a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of approximately -1.0 tonne CO₂e/m³. Under the assumptions of this comparison, concrete presents a GWP of approximately 0.2 tonne CO₂e/m³ and steel approximately 23.5 tonnes CO₂e/m³***.