Finally, We May Have the Tool Government Has Been Waiting For

FTMA National Research & Technical Manager Rhianna Robinson, and Tom Petty Co-founder of CarbonTrace

 

For years, Australia's forest and wood products industry has argued that timber has a vital role to play in reducing the carbon footprint of our built environment.

The science has been there.
The evidence has been there.
The international research has been there.

Yet despite Australia's commitment at COP28, alongside 16 other countries, to increase the use of timber in construction as a practical way of reducing emissions, meaningful policy change has been slow to follow.
At FTMA Australia, we have often asked ourselves one simple question. Why?

Perhaps the answer is that governments have lacked the practical tools needed to confidently compare the carbon impacts of different construction systems and make informed policy decisions.

If that is the missing piece, then we believe we are about to change that.

FTMA Australia is incredibly proud that our National Research & Technical Manager, Rhianna Robinson, will lead the newly funded Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) research project, Timber-led Decarbonisation of Australian Housing, in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast's Centre for Sustainable Futures.

This isn't simply another research project.

It has the potential to become one of the most important pieces of work undertaken for Australia's lightweight timber framing industry.

The objective is straightforward, create an easy-to-use, evidence-based embodied carbon calculator that enables meaningful comparisons between construction systems and demonstrates the long-term carbon benefits of timber housing.
Importantly, this is not about promoting one product over another.

It is about giving governments, builders, designers, regulators and consumers access to credible, transparent information that allows better decisions to be made.

For too long, discussions around embodied carbon have been complicated, inconsistent and often inaccessible to the people making decisions.
This project aims to change that.

When someone chooses a timber framed home, they are not simply selecting a structural system. They are choosing a building material that stores carbon throughout the life of the building while avoiding many of the emissions associated with more carbon-intensive alternatives.

Being able to clearly measure and communicate those benefits has enormous implications.
If governments genuinely want to reduce emissions from Australia's built environment, they need practical tools that quantify those outcomes.

We believe this project will provide exactly that.
It also comes at a critical time.

Australia faces the dual challenge of building hundreds of thousands of new homes while simultaneously reducing national emissions.
Those two objectives should not compete with each other.
They should work together.

The lightweight timber frame and truss industry already manufactures the structural backbone of around 80 per cent of Australia's detached housing. Every day, manufacturers across the country are delivering prefabricated structural systems that are efficient, renewable and capable of supporting faster, more sustainable housing outcomes.
Imagine the impact if governments could clearly see the emissions reductions achieved every time timber replaces higher embodied carbon materials.

Imagine if housing policy, procurement decisions and planning incentives were supported by robust Australian evidence rather than assumptions.
That is why FTMA Australia is so excited about this project.

It has the potential to move the conversation beyond opinion and into measurable outcomes.
The project also reinforces the growing leadership role our industry is playing in research and innovation.
Having FTMA Australia's own National Research & Technical Manager leading a nationally significant AFWI project demonstrates that our industry is not simply responding to change, it is helping drive it.

Rhianna Robinson brings extensive technical knowledge, practical industry experience and an unwavering commitment to ensuring research delivers real outcomes for manufacturers and the broader timber sector.
We congratulate Rhianna on leading this important work and acknowledge the outstanding collaboration between the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australian Forest and Wood Innovations, CarbonTrace, project partners and everyone who contributed to bringing the project together.

The real work begins now.

Over the coming months the research team will engage with industry, government and technical experts to develop a practical tool that has the potential to influence policy, support better building decisions and help Australia honour its international commitment to reducing emissions through greater use of timber.

At FTMA Australia, we believe this project represents more than research.
It represents an opportunity to give decision-makers the evidence they need to put timber at the centre of Australia's low-carbon housing future.

Kersten Gentle