Built by Nature awards €330,000 to three projects from its 'From Forest to Frame' Challenge initiative, launched in November 2022; goal is to increase transparency around climate impacts of decisions made along bio-based construction value chain

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands , October 2, 2023 (press release) –

Built by Nature, a network and grant-making fund with a mission to accelerate the timber and biobased building transformation, has awarded €330,000 to three projects from its first Challenge initiative. The “From Forest to Frame” Challenge was launched in November of 2022 with the goal to increase the transparency around the climate impacts of decisions made along the bio-based construction value chain. 

Little information on the impact of forest management practices on carbon, biodiversity, or climate resilience is known to biobased construction stakeholders, contributing to a lack of transparency which slows down the optimisation of the forest-to-frame value chain.  

In response, the Built by Nature Challenge was created as a call for proposals with a customised process and scope designed to push the field toward answering this complex, long-term and specific issue.  

“The Challenge differs from our established application process for the Built by Nature Fund through its prescribed scope and bespoke selection criteria”,

said Built by Nature CEO Paul King.

“We’re delighted by the quality, focus and creativity of the winning submissions, while the Challenge process itself has helped strengthen understanding on the topic of carbon accounting and sustainable forestry within Built by Nature.” 

Proposals were to directly address one of three categories: Human, through data-driven communications and storytelling; Legal, via improvements to certification and verification to improve the traceability, comprehension and accessibility of climate impacts from forest to frame, and Technological, with improvements to existing data and systems integration initiatives to facilitate the flow of data.  

Based on these categories and criteria, the three successful projects chosen are: 

• Research and education consultancy EVOLVING FORESTS, through its project “Facilitating change through sharing value chain stories”, will produce a series of curated films and media content to enhance the understanding of different stakeholders’ roles within the timber value-chain, and to build their understanding of sustainable forestry. 
• The ASBP (Alliance of Sustainable Building Products) will lead the IMPACTT (Innovative Mapping and Processes to Advance Construction Timber Transparency) initiative to increase traceability and transparency in mass timber supply chains, with a focus on biodiversity impacts, and input into the revision of key sustainable forestry standards and certification systems to better integrate carbon and biodiversity assessments. 

• W/E consultants’ project “ToP DATA: from Tree to Panel – Data for Accurate and Transparent Assessment” will work to generate better carbon accountability within the European cross-laminated timber value chain by proposing new and accurate calculation methods to serve as basis for Product Environmental footprints (PEFs) and Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs). 

In addition to the Built by Nature team internally scoring the initial submissions, the selection process benefited from a detailed review and evaluation of shortlisted proposals by an external expert panel of advisors, representing six international organisations: Cambridge University’s Centre for Natural Materials Innovation; ETH Zurich; the University of Washington; the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC); the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Climate Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP). During the expert review, advisors provided valuable counsel on technical details, critically reviewed the assumptions underpinning the proposals, and assessed the scaling potential and risks represented by each submission.  

Commenting on the successful submissions, expert reviewer Robyn van den Heuvel, Programme Director with the Climate Smart Forestry Economy Program (CSFEP) said: “We at CSFEP are encouraged by the direct link these Challenge projects can create to CSFEP’s flagship tool – the 3S Framework, which is a carbon accounting and decision-making tool, aiming to maximise the carbon Sink, Storage and Substitution effects of wood products. The Challenge calling for more transparency is a way to promote wider adoption of such tools and methodologies by the wider forest-to-frame value chain actors, ensuring we are maximising the potential carbon benefit.”

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Netherlands Chair Maarten Willemen, who also served as a reviewer, said: “The objectives of the Built by Nature Challenge are in alignment with PEFC. Sustainable forestry certification needs to constantly evolve to follow the requirements of society and industry in promoting a better understanding of the supply of wood products, and project submissions such as these help keep certification relevant and effective.” 

The three Challenge projects, whose geographic scope covers the UK, the Netherlands and other major European markets have formally commenced work during the summer of 2023, with project durations expected to range from 12 to 16 months.  

Expert Advisors 

Built by Nature wishes to gratefully acknowledge these advisors who have contributed their time and expertise to the review process:

• Harry Mills, Post Doctoral Research Assistant, Centre for Natural Materials Innovation, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) 

• Maarten Willemen, Chair, PEFC Netherlands, (The Netherlands) 
• Anastasiia Kraskovska, Value Chain Development Officer, FSC International, (Germany) 
• Robyn van den Heuvel, Director of Special Projects, Dalberg Catalyst / Climate Smart Forest Economy Programme (South Africa) 
• Prof. Dr. Jaboury Ghazoul, ETH Zurich (Switzerland) 
• Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington (United States of America). 

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