Log Homes and Timber Frame Homes may have the lowest carbon footprint of any other type of construction. A carbon footprint is the measure of carbon dioxide released as a result of the use of a particular product or other human activity. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere and the main contributor to global warming.

A report prepared by the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Management (ECCM) compared the carbon dioxide footprints of three structures and the benefits when more wood was introduced into construction. The results were amazing. ECCM estimated that there could be up to 88% reduction in greenhouse gases by using log or timber structural elements wherever possible instead of other conventional building materials. Greenhouse gas reduction was achieved by replacing materials with high energy, high CO2 production values, such as steel and concrete, with solid wood. The report states that the production of steel and concrete materials accounts for 10% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. These materials have a high CO2 emission created during the extraction of raw materials, refining, processing and manufacturing of the finished product. As reported in a study published by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, the energy consumed to process a tree into finished lumber is about one tenth of the production of steel.

In another report prepared by the Consortium for the Research of Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) four different structures using different wall systems were compared: two made of wood, one made of concrete and one made of steel. The report found that the steel wall system generated 33% more greenhouse gases than wood and the concrete wall generated 80% more greenhouse gases than wood. The study also reported that wood structures outperformed steel and concrete homes in energy use and impact on air and water quality.

Wood walls are usually framed or solid. Conventional framed walls use a combination of various materials, including engineered wood products such as plywood or other laminated wood products, fiberglass insulation, exterior siding, interior sheetrock, and some type of wall covering. Solid wood walls using logs or beams basically have one product: the log or the wood. The energy consumed and CO2 produced in the production of logs and timbers is a fraction compared to the production of all the various materials in a conventional frame wall.

Consumers are much more aware of the environmental impact of using different materials and are increasingly sensitive to the dangers of exposure to chemically processed materials. The trunks and wood are 100% natural. As a natural product, they do not emit VOCs or other pollutants indoors or outdoors. Trees are produced from soil, water, and air combined with the energy of the sun, in a miraculous process of photosynthesis. From an ecological and environmental point of view, solid wood is the only building product that is renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, energy efficient and extremely beautiful.

Sustained and plantation forest growth actually reduces greenhouse gases by consuming CO2 from the atmosphere as the trees grow. The political pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol, will surely continue and it will become increasingly important to find a solution. The use of solid wood constructions, such as log houses and wooden houses, can have a positive contribution.