The key findings from the IMPACTT project – a two-year initiative designed to bring greater transparency to timber supply chains – was unveiled at the ASBP annual Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo recently.
PEFC UK played a major role alongside project partners including Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP), Double Helix Tracking Technologies, Stora Enso, Woodknowledge Wales, Agrodome, Eurban, Timber Development UK, and CEI-Bois. The project was funded by Built by Nature.
Launched in 2023, Innovative Mapping and Processes to Advance Construction Timber Transparency (IMPACTT) set out to challenge misconceptions and debunk myths surrounding the environmental impact of sourcing timber products and to increase the transparency of timber supply chains from forest to the built environment.
The final report ‘The IMPACTT Project: Bridging the gap between construction and forestry’ attempts to answer a key question: “When specifying and using timber in construction, how much do developers, architects, engineers, contractors and the end-users of a building know about the impact it has on the environment – in particular on the forests in which it is grown?”
By integrating digitally advanced software and mechanisms (via Double Helix Tracking Technologies) to trace timber from its forest origin to the construction site, the project explored how to connect easily in people’s minds the role of sustainable sourcing practices to a completed building. This included introducing QR codes for timber buildings, allowing users to scan and access a map showing their locations and follow the complete supply chain of timber products, through sawmills to the source forests. The maps also included details of methods and routes of transport of materials along the supply chains.
The report unearthed a series of knowledge gaps via an online questionnaire distributed through the networks of ASBP, PEFC UK, Built by Nature and TDUK, alongside in-depth interviews with architects, developers, local authorities, and main contractors from organisations in the UK and the Netherlands.
As the final report outlines in detail, the results showed that industry knowledge is fragmented and patchy with a huge educational programme required to level out understanding and awareness of complex supply chains and the important role that certified commercial forests have in protecting and enhancing biodiversity.
Europe’s forest area has increased by approximately 9% since 1990, according to Forest Europe’s State of Europe’s Forests report. Much of this progress is attributed to enhanced legislation, economic incentives, reforestation programs, and growing public awareness of climate change and biodiversity issues. But within industry, misunderstandings about forestry practices, and differences between sustainable and unsustainable logging were common, with survey respondents calling for greater clarity on specific forestry practices and their sustainability impacts.
Amongst several key industry ‘takeaways’ was that ‘certification schemes play a critical role in verifying legality and sustainability, adding the additional level of verification that timber is sourced from responsibly managed forests.
The principle of responsible and sustainable forestry practices is about managing forests long-term to maintain and enhance the environmental, social, and economic benefits to protect them for future generations. Third-party, PEFC certification provides assurances that sustainable forestry management principles are being followed.
Key outcomes included:
Enhanced Supply Chain Transparency – a cornerstone of IMPACTT was the development of interactive supply chain maps that trace mass timber elements in buildings back to their forest origins. These maps give a clear, visual journey of where timber comes from, highlighting each stage of the supply chain, helping stakeholders better understand their sourcing choices.
Integration of Biodiversity Data – the project achieved significant progress integrating biodiversity and forest management data into timber tracing to offer a holistic view of the environmental impacts associated with timber sourcing. This ensures that forest management practices prioritise ecological health alongside timber production.
Technological Innovations – the introduction of QR codes on buildings represents a direct technological output from IMPACTT. These codes allow users to access detailed information about the timber’s origin and associated environmental data by simply scanning them with a smartphone. This engages everyone – including the public – to understand the environmental impact of timber construction, and that when using timber from sustainably managed forests this impact is a positive one.
Stakeholder Engagement and Education – IMPACTT found that many professionals in the construction industry had limited awareness of forestry practices and revealed a knowledge gap between the forestry and construction sectors and a need for better education around sustainable timber sourcing and forest management.
IMPACTT studied various mass timber buildings—choosing them based on factors including geographic diversity, homegrown vs. imported timber, material types (CLT, LVL, glulam), and different applications (commercial, public, educational buildings).
These case studies mapped out the full timber supply chain, focusing on forests with active biodiversity management. They also analysed how timber sourcing impacts carbon emissions and forest health, offering practical insights for making timber sourcing more sustainable.
“The final IMPACTT report is a culmination of two years of concentrated industry collaboration with our project partners,” said John Kirkby, PEFC UK’s Executive Director. “The findings and key takeaway points have revealed some significant holes in knowledge surrounding forest certification and supply chains that need to be filled, but it also shows that the desire to build using timber and sustainable materials has boomed in recent years. The case study projects and the creation of QR codes clearly signpost the sustainable journey from forest to final building, and we are looking forward to working with all project members and Built-by-Nature to see where we can take this next.”
Download the final report ‘The IMPACTT Project: Bridging the gap between construction and forestry’.