Wood as an environmentally friendly alternative to other building materials

Visit of Green Party candidate Knut Kiesel, Carpentry Christ in Jossgrund

"We can only achieve the climate targets with a consistent turnaround towards resource-saving and sustainable construction", said Michael Christ, Managing Director of Zimmerei Christ in Jossgrund, during a visit to the Bundestag candidate of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Knut Kiesel. The candidate for the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, parts of Wetterau and Scots met Michael Christ and his father, the carpenter Thomas Christ, to talk about sustainable building materials, but also the challenges for smaller family businesses.

"Wood can make an important contribution to climate-neutral construction," explains Michael Christ. However, in order to promote sustainable construction, it is important that funding programmes consider a holistic concept of sustainable construction.

“For example, the focus on good thermal insulation is good for long-term energy consumption. But in order to achieve better energy efficiency, the sustainability of insulation should also be taken into account.”, says Christ. An ecological insulation made of wood fiber or cellulose, for example, is more sustainable than polyurethane hard foam (PU) or mineral fiber, but may need more thickness.

Although they can make an important contribution to climate-friendly and sustainable construction from regional materials with their materials, carpentry, such as that of the Christ family, is increasingly facing problems. "Since February, prices for construction materials made of spruce have been around 100-300% "They have risen," said Christ. This means increasing costs for the company, because who has to pay for these increasing material costs, differs from customer to customer and a part must take over the carpentry itself.

Another challenge is to discriminate against smaller companies with the necessary certifications. They are not economically worthwhile for small sawmills. This leads to a reduction in the number of sawmills and thus also to longer transport routes. In turn, they reduce the climate friendliness of the materials. However, a lot of bureaucracy also challenges carpentry itself, which is why Michael Christ calls for better support for micro-enterprises.

"If we want to achieve the climate targets in the next few years, then we must also rely on sustainable, regional materials, such as those from Zimmerei Christ, in construction," says Knut Kiesel. "But not only because of the environment, we should find ways to support these companies, but also for economic reasons. Better framework conditions and reduced bureaucracy mean more innovation and jobs, including in the Main-Kinzig region.”

Picture: Knut Kiesel (left) and Michael Christ (right)