5 Things Developers Should Know About Mass Timber

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2022. It has been updated throughout with the latest information as of September 2026.

The climate imperative facing the building industry has never been clearer. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report identified this decade as critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and recent climate data suggest the urgency is only growing. According to the World Meteorological Organization, there is an 86% chance that at least one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass the previous global temperature record, and a 91% likelihood that global temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels during that same period.

As global temperatures remain near record highs and communities experience increasingly severe heat, wildfire, and flood events, developers are looking beyond operational efficiency toward lower-carbon building materials. The need for action is particularly acute in the built environment, which accounts for approximately 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the IPCC projects that an additional 2.5 billion people will move to urban areas by 2050, underscoring the scale of future construction demand.

The architecture and engineering industries have responded to the climate crisis through collective action, with initiatives such as AIA 2030, the Mindful Materials and AIA Common Materials Framework, SE2050, and MEP 2030. At a U.N. climate summit in 2019, former Gensler co-CEO Diane Hoskins (now co-Chair) introduced the Gensler Cities Climate Challenge (GC3), our firmwide commitment to carbon neutrality in our work and operations by 2030.

The role of embodied carbon

Global greenhouse gas emissions can be sorted into two major categories: embodied and operational emissions. Embodied emissions are the ‘baked in’ carbon dioxide (and equivalent gas) emissions associated with material sourcing, manufacturing, and construction, and end-of-life. Operational emissions are associated with the building performance after completion. Both types of emissions are generally measured by carbon use intensity (kgCO2e/SF), and the two are combined to understand a project's overall carbon profile.

Although operational emissions typically account for 60-70% of overall emissions over a project's lifespan, embodied emissions will contribute approximately 75% of the overall emissions associated with new projects over the next eight years. As the IPCC report outlines, the next five years are the most critical in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Embodied emission reduction strategies are as important as, or more important than, operational emission reduction measures.

What are the materials that contribute to embodied carbon emissions, and what strategies do we have available to us to reduce these emissions? Structural materials such as steel and concrete account for most greenhouse gas emissions due to energy-intensive manufacturing processes. Concrete alone accounts for approximately 10-15% of global carbon emissions. To change the trajectory of the building industry, we must find alternatives to steel and concrete while simultaneously decarbonizing these ubiquitously used materials.

The promise and potential of mass timber

It is in the context of the climate crisis that the mass timber movement has taken root and spread. Mass timber is an umbrella term for a wide variety of engineered wood products that can structurally replace steel and concrete and drastically lower carbon emissions. There are two main reasons mass timber structural systems have relatively low embodied carbon profiles: avoided emissions from not using steel and concrete, and carbon sequestration through photosynthesis over the lifecycle of the harvested trees.

According to the IPCC report, strategic conversion prevention of forests and other ecosystems can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4 gigatons per year, second only to solar energy as a potential contributor to net emissions reduction by 2030. So, how does harvesting trees protect forest ecosystems? The purchase of sustainably sourced mass timber products assigns monetary value to forests, conserving existing forest stock by discouraging land-use conversion and promoting ecologically beneficial forestry practices.

Mass timber has many benefits that compound beyond its inherent sustainability. As mass timber is industrially prefabricated under high levels of control, it typically comes together on site 20-30% faster than comparable structural systems, with a significant reduction in construction waste and noise. Timber is often lighter than comparable structural systems, allowing for smaller or shallower foundations, which saves cost and provides versatility on sensitive sites. There are innumerable health benefits of biophilic design for building occupants, including increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. Taken as a whole, these assets to mass timber can represent a significant market differentiator for a variety of asset types.

Here are five things developers need to know to include mass timber in their next project:

1. Design teamwork is essential. Engaging manufacturers, structural engineers, and industry experts early and throughout the design process is key to success.

2. Project location matters. Timber availability and species have significant implications for costs and aesthetics.

3. Think long term. Although there is typically a 5-10% upfront material premium, the prefabricated timber construction process can save up to 30% on the construction schedule and lead to overall cost savings.

4. Know where your wood products come from. Mass timber products won’t help with carbon emissions if they are not harvested with sustainable forestry practices.

5. It’s not an all-or-nothing decision. Mass timber can be combined with concrete and steel in a hybrid system to reduce emissions and achieve programmatic constraints.

Although not a silver bullet, mass timber is one of many strategies industry players can leverage to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Timber is a renewable resource that is underutilized as a structural material. North American forests produce enough timber to build a 100,000 square foot mass timber building every seven minutes. Tree harvesting occurs on less than 2% of forest land annually, compared with nearly 3% that is annually disturbed by insects, disease, and fire.

Mass timber projects can contribute to holistic sustainability stories that are attractive to tenants, benefit the environment, and support the bottom line. What are we waiting for?