Sustainability Language

Circular Economy & Materials

Cross-laminated timber (CLT)

An engineered mass-timber panel of crosswise-glued lumber layers, used as a low-carbon structural alternative to concrete and steel.

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Definition

Cross-laminated timber is an engineered wood panel made by gluing layers of sawn lumber together with each layer oriented perpendicular to the adjacent ones, producing strong, dimensionally stable panels for walls, floors and roofs. CLT is roughly five times lighter than concrete by volume and behaves predictably in fire by forming a char layer; as a mass-timber product it stores biogenic carbon, enabling mid- and high-rise timber buildings of up to 18 storeys in some codes.

References

SmartTEH

construction, weight and fire behaviour

Overview

What it means

A structural material that turns buildings from carbon sources into carbon stores, while cutting construction weight, time and waste.

How it is used

CLT features in green-building certifications, embodied-carbon strategies and public-procurement policies favouring timber; supply depends on certified sustainable forestry.

Why it matters

Substituting mass timber for concrete and steel is one of the most concrete (and contested) pathways for cutting the built environment's embodied emissions.

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