Dean sits down with Daniel Gudsell from Abodo to unpack timber, forestry and embodied carbon, and how material choices shape the long term impact of what we build.
Daniel shares the origin story of Abodo, from exporting timber into the Pacific Islands to developing thermally modified radiata pine as an alternative to old growth hardwoods.
Daniel also breaks down how fast growing plantation timber can store carbon more rapidly than slow growing species, and why the discussion needs to move beyond single issue sustainability
This episode is all about understanding forestry, carbon accounting, material performance and the trade offs involved in building at scale.
The conversation explores:
- Why native hardwoods became the benchmark for durability and aesthetics
- The limits of old growth supply in a housing constrained world
- Thermal modification and how it changes timber performance
- Plantation forestry vs native forest harvesting
- FSC certification and set aside biodiversity land
- Carbon storage in timber and how it’s measured
- Why embodied carbon is an immediate impact
- The limits of “carbon negative” claims
- Passive House, materials selection and lifecycle thinking
- Why composite decking may not be the environmental solution many assume
Links and Resources:
- Abodo: abodo.com.au
- Follow Abodo Wood on instagram: @abodowood
- Abodo's Environmental Product Declaration: abodo.co.nz/uploads/resource/Abodo-Wood-Environmental-Product-Declaration.pdf
- Watch Daniel's TedX Talk on The Future of Wood: tedxauckland.com/people/daniel-gudsell/
- FSC - Forest Stewardship Council: fsc.org/en
- PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification): pefc.org
- Green Building Council Australia: gbca.au
Hosted by Dean Ipaviz, builder & director at Verdecon, creating high-performance, low-impact homes across Australia. Follow Dean Ipaviz and @_thebuiltenvironment on Instagram and visit thebuiltenvironment.com.au
