Timber, cross-laminated timber, hemp, flax, straw, mycelium, bamboo, cork, cellulose insulation. The palette of bio-based materials available to construction professionals in Europe has never been wider — and the embodied carbon argument for using them has never been stronger. Unlike conventional materials, bio-based alternatives store carbon rather than emit it during production. They are renewable, often locally sourced, and in many cases easier to reuse or compost at end of life.
Yet specification remains patchy. Some materials are well established in certain countries and virtually unknown in others. A hemp insulation supplier thriving in France may have no visibility in Poland. A CLT manufacturer leading on traceability in Austria may be unknown to developers in Spain. The knowledge exists — it just isn’t shared.
This is where this community can do something useful. Beyond the debate on performance, regulations, and fire safety — which are real and worth having — the most practical thing we can do right now is map who is actually doing this well across Europe.
Which bio-based materials are you specifying or considering? And who are the suppliers, manufacturers, or service providers in your area that others should know about? Drop a material, a name, a region, a link to their website — let’s start building the map together.