Major new network and grant-making fund, ‘Built by Nature’, launches ahead of COP26 to accelerate mass timber construction as critical climate solution
Amsterdam, 27 October 2021 – Built by Nature, a new network of industry and climate leaders and innovators, and a multi-million euro grant-making fund, launches today to accelerate the timber building transformation across Europe. The new organisation, founded by Laudes Foundation, supports the building sector’s pioneering developers, designers, investors, asset owners and insurers, alongside policymakers and city leaders, in the journey to fully decarbonise the built environment and work in unison with nature to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
With the built environment accounting for close to 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally1, Built by Nature’s mission is to drive forward the timber building transformation: radically reducing embodied carbon; safely storing carbon in our buildings for generations; and sequestering carbon by championing forest stewardship and regeneration.
Built by Nature’s vision is for a built environment that works in unison with nature. Its partners, who are each leading on critical solutions to the challenges of the timber building transformation, include the newly-launched Bauhaus der Erde; the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge University; the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA); Cities4Forests; and Climate-KIC.
Its network’s first cohort of industry frontrunners includes: global advisory, design, planning and engineering firm, Arup; sustainable architecture practice, Bennetts Associates; concept and project developer, BLOC; the sustainable home provider jointly owned by Skanska and IKEA, BoKlok; Buro Happold; international sustainable construction collective, CREE Buildings; timber engineers, Ergodomus Timber Engineering; global risk management and insurance broker, Gallagher; an architectural firm operating at the intersection of nature and urbanity, Guallart Architects; innovators of low-carbon building systems, materials and products, and the creators of Passivhaus-certified homes, Kiss House; globally integrated real estate and investment group, Lendlease; real estate professionals and creative entrepreneurs, Lingotto; consulting engineering group, Ramboll; European real estate investment management company, Redevco; financial services organisation bridging the gap between investors and the timber industry, Timber Finance Initiative; Finland’s sfääri;
leaders in low carbon architecture and pioneers of engineered timber, Waugh Thistleton Architects; and new-generation construction company, 011h.
Built by Nature’s Accelerator Fund has also launched, to fund teams and solutions that scale up timber building and raise the bar on the positive climate impact of building with timber from sustainably sourced forests. It offers grants of between €50,000-€250,000 to consortia of pioneering expert organisations for projects addressing the barriers to building with timber. Funded projects could include designing new business models and collecting business case data; innovations and frameworks to increase the climate impact of timber buildings; regulatory innovations; or feasibility tests for large city-scale projects that start to shift the norm for the sector.
At launch, the fund announced its first three projects: leading work by Holland Houtland, which aims to scale biobased building through a new blended finance and valuation model; a ‘New Model Building’ from the UK, setting out design principles that showcase an exemplar methodology for building residential developments using engineered timber, by Waugh Thistleton Architects in collaboration with expert fire engineers at University College London; and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya’s Valldaura Labs (IAAC), which is convening frontrunners and an exhibition of state-of-the-art solutions ahead of Barcelona hosting major events such as ‘European Forest City’ in 2022.
Alongside the fund, the Built by Nature network connects key actors across the built environment and forest communities through national and city networks and events, enables the research, innovation and regulatory work needed to go beyond pilots to spark city-scale projects, and amplifies stories of groundbreaking timber projects and solutions to change perceptions around timber construction. In close collaboration with its major partners and frontrunners, it aims to reshape the built environment system.
Built by Nature is supported by founding partner Laudes Foundation, which launched in 2020 and is part of the Brenninkmeijer family enterprise. Laudes Foundation supports initiatives that inspire and challenge industry to harness its power for good, at a time when philanthropic capital is increasingly recognised as a catalyst for change, and an essential part of crowding in private finance.
Through Built by Nature and to pilot its Accelerator Fund, the foundation has already made a significant investment in grants to partner organisations who are playing a leading role in the timber building transformation, including BLOC’s ZeroCarbonFund and the Association for Sustainable Building Products’ Timber Accelerator Hub.
Built by Nature is calling for the built environment’s climate leaders and innovators across European markets to join its network. Part of its strategy is to embrace hybrid solutions, and it will look to proactively work with similar initiatives on low-carbon steel and cement, to create the needed change in the sector.
Donald Brenninkmeijer, Chair, Built by Nature, says: “With building space expected to double globally before 2050, we must reimagine the way we build, from a carbon-intensive industry to one that helps remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it adds. Accelerating the timber building transformation, in a way that works in unison with nature, is critical to address the built environment’s carbon footprint.
“Built By Nature supports those leaders working at the forefront of this challenge. We connect industry and city frontrunners, enabling them to research, demonstrate and scale their innovations, and remove political and legislative barriers. We also amplify new narratives to change mindsets about timber construction – first in Europe, and then throughout the rest of the world.”
Leslie Johnston, CEO, Laudes Foundation, says: “Built by Nature is the foundation’s newest industry transformation initiative that will convene funders, alliances, and coalitions of industry leaders together to accelerate the use of timber in the built environment, while, critically, safeguarding our natural capital. We know that implementing systems change requires strong collaboration across the value chain, and brave thinking from leaders in all sectors, and we are proud that Laudes Foundation is playing an important role in recognising and catalysing innovation and impact through its philanthropic giving. The Accelerator Fund propels an ecosystem of innovative solutions and leaders, acting as a vehicle to pool donor funds into this exciting climate solution.”
James Drinkwater, Head of Built Environment, Laudes Foundation, says: “Just days away from COP26, and in a decade of delivery for climate action, Built by Nature believes in a solution for decarbonisation that harnesses the power of nature, and is one of humanity’s oldest answers: timber construction.
“The timber building transformation is already happening, but too slowly if we are going to stay within our carbon budget. Of all the natural climate solutions already available, forests have the greatest potential. It’s time that the sector wakes up to the need to work in unison with nature to enable carbon removal and storage, alongside - not in place of - deep emissions reduction.”
Andrew Waugh, Founder and Director, Waugh Thistleton Architects, says: “Construction needs radical change. The way we build now is directly responsible for millions of tons of carbon emissions; we need to re-focus our efforts onto using bio-based building materials – ones that we don’t scrape from the surface of our planet. This is going to take mass collaboration from the built environment industry – the sharing of innovation and experience.
“The New Model Building is a pre-warrantied system for a multi-storey residential building in engineered timber – and it will be open-source and adaptable. The time for change in the UK housing industry must be now; the industry urgently needs support, funding and legislation to kickstart that change. The funding we have received for this project will kick start the transformation that is desperately needed in UK house building.”
Neil Martin, CEO Lendlease Europe, says: "To achieve our target of Absolute Zero Carbon by 2040 we need to radically reduce the embodied carbon in the materials that go into our buildings. Accelerating the use of sustainably sourced timber will play a critical role in achieving that goal."
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Notes to editors
Additional Quotes
“Cities are complex systems in which policy, capital, and project scales all interact. We cannot ask cities to embrace net zero ambitions if we are not prepared to offer them the capabilities and resources to drive systems-level changes. Doing that demands that we push boundaries with businesses, finance partners, and city governments simultaneously. In this context, BbN is a convening and funding power that will enable a revolution in the way we think about innovation for climate action. One of the most interesting things we are learning is that once this approach begins, it leads to actions no one could have anticipated before we started. We cannot state strongly enough that the path to net-zero carbon requires a focus on innovation shaped to learn about what we do not yet know, rather than trying to do what we already know as fast as we can.” - Kirsten Dunlop, CEO, Climate-KIC
“We are very pleased to support Built by Nature and support the acceleration of the use of timber in the built environment. There is clear recognition that the real estate and construction market, one of the largest producers of CO2 has a major challenge ahead in order to reach net carbon zero – and building in timber has to play a huge role in reaching that target. Furthermore, we recognise insurance holds a huge key to unlocking this sector; and as one of the world’s largest global risk management and insurance brokers we have been campaigning within our industry to help educate insurers around the advancements in timber and the associated safety standards, and we hope to see a significant shift in their appetites for timber risks over the coming months and years.” - Dominic Lion, Associate Director, Gallagher
“The construction industry is in urgent need for low-carbon materials. In wood construction, the initial carbon spike and the life cycle emissions are significantly lower than in standard construction. Helsinki supports the development of the industry by reserving areas for wooden buildings. We also aim to offer our residents new, exciting and enjoyable urban environment by highlighting wooden areas of Helsinki.” Mayor of Helsinki, Juhana Vartiainen
“Kiss House is delighted to join construction industry pioneers and frontrunners as part of Built by Nature’s mission to drive the reduction of embodied carbon in construction. We believe collaboration and innovation are key to ensuring long lasting and meaningful change in the industry and are excited that Built by Nature is working to amplify best practice.” Mike Jacob, Director of Product and Innovation, Kiss House.
“I think one of the most important things about Built By Nature is closing the loop between the demand and the supply sides of the industry. Until now construction and better buildings have been quite separate from forest management. This has led to some understandable scepticism about the true value of sequestration. But understanding the link between buildings and forestry is crucial if we are to have transparently more sustainable supply chains and a credible understanding of carbon sequestration.” Peter Fisher, director, Bennetts Associates.
“The Built by Nature Accelerator Fund has made it possible for Holland Houtland to develop a full-value assessment framework for new social housing. We are an important catalyst for biobased building in the Dutch market and it’s so important to have Built by Nature supporting this ground-breaking work. With alliances such as these we can stay within the carbon budget of the Paris Agreement and help the Netherlands meet its target to build one million sustainable houses over the next 10 years.” Sandra Nap, Founder, Holland Houtland.
“Reducing embodied carbon is now top of the agenda for developers, architects and engineers and it is increasingly clear that bio-based materials play a pivotal role towards this aim. To overcome the major barriers and accelerate change, industry wide collaboration is needed through networks that connect us, across national borders and traditional business boundaries. Built By Nature will play an important role in this regard, cultivating these networks and supporting key stakeholders to bring about this nature-based transformation.” Joe Giddings, Projects and Campaigns Director, Timber Accelerator Hub.
"Mass timber construction is exceptionally well positioned to become the main player in the future of construction and the ecology of urbanisation. Built by Nature accelerates the presence of timber-based ecological construction in our built environment by bringing together and funding frontrunners’ key initiatives in this field." Dr Daniel Ibañez, Co-Director at Valldaura Labs, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC).
“If all new construction, over the next 40 years, is built with business-as-usual standards, the embodied carbon generated from it will equal more than six years' worth of global fuel combustion emissions. In doubling down on embodied carbon in construction, cities are moving full speed ahead on policies that aim to dramatically increase the use of timber in buildings. To be able to do this, cities must attract investors and partner with industry, academia and communities. Therefore, CNCA is thrilled to be one of the partners to Built by Nature, knowing that we can only move forward on timber together.” Trude Rauken, Interim Director, Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
About Built by Nature
Built by Nature is a network and grant-making fund, founded by Laudes Foundation, with a mission to accelerate the timber building transformation in Europe and a vision of a built environment that works in unison with nature. Its network connects and supports pioneering developers, architects and engineers, asset owners and managers, investors and insurers, city leaders, academics, researchers, non-profits and policymakers in their journey to decarbonise the built environment and protect the world’s natural capital. Its Accelerator Fund grants to initiatives that tackle technical, regulatory or financial barriers, or new approaches that increase the climate impact of timber buildings through circular thinking and regenerative sourcing. For more information visit buitbn.org
About Laudes Foundation
Laudes Foundation is an independent foundation joining the growing movement to accelerate the transition to a climate-positive and inclusive global economy. Responding to the dual crises of climate breakdown and inequality, Laudes supports brave action that inspires and challenges industry to harness its power for good. Part of the Brenninkmeijer family enterprise, Laudes builds on six generations of entrepreneurship and philanthropy, working collaboratively to both influence finance and capital markets and transform industry with a focus on the built environment and fashion. For more information visit LaudesFoundation.org
For more information, please contact:
Catrin Thomas, c.thomas@laudesfoundation.org, +44 (0)7753 612523
Rosie Cade, Rosie@elizabethcomms.co.uk, +44 (0)7838 368194
Sophia Paris, sparis@brunswickgroup.com, +44 (0)7715 039621
