Short Background About The Wood App

The construction and operation of buildings are responsible for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Trees remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and fix the carbon as wood in its stem while releasing O₂ back into the atmosphere. Wood building products from sustainable forests are therefore storing carbon for its lifetime, and often has a net negative carbon footprint. Building products such as cement and steel, on the other hand, each has a significant carbon footprint. The increased use of wood from sustainable forests to replace other CO₂-intensive building products has immense potential as a tool to combat climate change.

The Wood App was initiated to help support the growth and development of a South African wood building culture through online educational resources. The initiative is being coordinated by the Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University. Various subject experts developed the individual online courses. Financial support from Sawmilling South Africa, the South African Wood Preservers Association (SAWPA), and Fibre Processing and Manufacturing (FP&M) SETA made the creation of The Wood App possible.