News — construction materials

New regulator established to ensure construction materials are safe New national construction products regulator set up to ensure homes are built from safe materials. Published 19 January 2021 National regulator established to ensure homes are built from safe materials Action taken as Grenfell Inquiry reveals manufacturers ignored safety rules Independent review will examine faults in the system and recommend how abuse can be prevented Residents will be protected through the establishment of a national regulator which will ensure materials used to build homes will be made safer, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced today (19 January 2021). The regulator...

Change in Construction Materials Could Transform Buildings Into a Global CO2 Sink Buildings can become a global CO2 sink if made out of wood instead of cement and steel. A material revolution replacing cement and steel in urban construction by wood can have double benefits for climate stabilization, a new study shows. First, it can avoid greenhouse gas emissions from cement and steel production. Second, it can turn buildings into a carbon sink as they store the CO2 taken up from the air by trees that are harvested and used as engineered timber. However, while the required amount of timber harvest...