Future Framing, Builder Advocacy and FTMA’s Collective Carbon Impact

The WoodSolutions Renewable Timber Framing Campaign has built valuable momentum across Australia over the past 2 years with its free promotional tools, communication resources and customised big builder collaborations helping builders promote the benefits of timber framing at a time when housing supply and sustainability are front of mind across the construction sector.

Supported by industry funding partners including FTMA since its initial inception back in 2018, the campaign has evolved and today  is focused on turning builders who already use timber framing into public advocates for it, equipping them with practical tools and client-facing materials that help communicate the value of timber framing to home buyers.

With complimentary other initiatives supporting the light weight timber framing market in Australia such as the Future Framing Initiative (FFI), the campaign will be paused for FY27 to enable these initiatives to be better coordinated and optimised for the category’s ongoing preferred status as the structural material of choice by the majority of Australian home builders.

Progressing industry advocacy through builder engagement

One of the strongest themes that has emerged is that builders want support explaining why they build with timber - not just how.

Whilst the campaign is paused, the resources to help builders explain why they prefer to build with timber will remain key content on the WoodSolutions website and also continue to have “why timber framing” content on its socials.  WoodSolutions will continue to share  builder-ready resources including:

•    downloadable social media content
•    builder and homeowner-facing educational materials
•    the WoodSolutions Timber Framing Carbon Calculator for measuring and leveraging carbon impact.

A recent collaboration with the Future Builder Co. highlighted the growing appetite for practical advocacy tools on the ground. Following discussions around timber framing benefits and builder engagement opportunities at their recent online education event “Monday Masterminds”, a number of Future Builder Co. members have taken up the offer of co-branded site signage promoting timber framing for use on street-facing perimeter fencing across residential projects. 

The signage is designed to help spark conversations with homeowners and local communities while reinforcing timber framing’s role in delivering thermally efficient, sustainable and durable homes.

The big builder outreach over the past 2 years has worked directly with major builders across Australia, including Hickinbotham, South Australia’s largest builder, now sharing ‘Timber Framing Carbon Certificates’ with their clients, and Henley Homes sharing pro-timber framing resources across their website. 

Future Framing Initiative (FFI) launches at FTMA conference

Earlier this week WoodSolutions were proud to brief  FTMA Conference attendees on the Future Framing Initiative (FFI).

 
Coordinated  by Forest & Wood Products Australia, the FFI brings together manufacturers, suppliers, researchers, designers, educators and builders in a coordinated effort that’s focused on:

•    developing a new industry standard for lightweight timber-framed mid-rise buildings
•    supporting modern methods of construction (MMC)
•    streamlining compliance pathways
•    supporting productivity and faster build times
•    strengthening technical capability across the industry
•    supporting resilient, low-carbon construction outcomes.

Importantly, the initiative aims to support broader timber adoption across a growing range of building classes including detached homes, townhouses, apartments, schools and aged care facilities.
The discussions at the FTMA event highlighted the scale of collaboration already underway across the supply chain, and the important role frame and truss manufacturers play in helping deliver the next generation of smarter, scalable construction solutions.

The collective carbon story of FTMA members

FTMA members may have seen the launch of the WoodSolutions Timber Framing Carbon Calculator last month, a tool that lets builders and industry calculate how much carbon their choice to produce, build with or own a timber-framed home has stored out of the atmosphere. 

Using available industry data, it’s estimated that the combined annual carbon-saving impact of FTMA member manufacturing activity is:

•    70,680 prefab detached timber-framed homes
•    659,680 m³ of softwood timber used
•    473,650,240 kg CO₂e stored
•    Equivalent to approximately 5.9 million one-way Melbourne to Sydney flights offset.

Importantly, the timber required to achieve all this is easily regrown by Australia’s softwood plantation in less than 12 weeks! 

The figures help demonstrate the significant role timber framing already plays in reducing embodied carbon and supporting lower-carbon housing outcomes across Australia. FTMA members are encouraged to share this tool with their builder customers and encourage them to use it to calculate their own business carbon savings as a tool for sharing their sustainability story with clients: https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/carbon-calculator. 

Help us help the timber framing industry: share our campaign with your customers

WoodSolutions encourages FTMA members to continue sharing the campaign’s resources and tools with their builder customers. By simply directing builders to our website (https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/timber-framing), you can help strengthen timber framing advocacy at all levels of the supply chain.

For example, the WoodSolutions Timber Framing Carbon Calculator remains available free to builders, allowing them to calculate and communicate the carbon benefits of their timber-framed homes through downloadable certificates and homeowner-facing materials. The campaign also offers a suite of downloadable ‘plug and play’ social content, factsheets and flyers and other promotional materials that anyone can use to share the benefits of timber framing. 

The work of the WoodSolutions Timber Framing Campaign is made possible through the support of our generous funding partners, including FTMA.