Introduction
This webinar explores how biogenic carbon can be recognised, measured and rewarded as a meaningful climate benefit within the built environment. It will provide an overview of emerging approaches to quantifying long-term carbon storage in timber and other natural materials, including new certification and procurement initiatives that could help turn stored carbon into a credible, reportable and commercially actionable asset for the construction sector.
ASBP will be joined by experts from the industry to present the Biogenic Stored Carbon Quotient, LCA and Procurement, and the new ROOT to Market, with opportunity for questions and discussion during a live Q&A.
Context
At ASBP we have long been advocates of recognising and rewarding the fact that biogenic/natural products contain carbon, which is extracted from the atmosphere and then stored in the built environment. We see this as natural carbon capture and storage; proven, safe, effective and free! This is opposed to industrial Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) schemes, in which the UK has committed to investing as much as £21.7bn over the coming decades in its nascent CCS industry, as part of the nation’s net-zero strategy. [1]
In 2025, ASBP collaborated with Dr Morwenna Spear and Gary Newman on a project investigating how biogenic carbon should be viewed as a Greenhouse Gas removal mechanism. As part of this work, ASBP’s Simon Corbey interviewed the Timber Finance Initiative in Switzerland that had worked up a scheme to monetise the stored carbon in buildings.[2]
Biogenic Stored Carbon Quotient: Earlier this year Grown in Britain launched the Biogenic Stored Carbon Quotient (BSCQ), the UK’s first certification scheme to quantify and independently verify the long-term carbon stored in buildings using timber and other biogenic materials.This is a new certification which gives the construction sector a credible, independently verified way to measure and reward the long-term carbon stored in the built environment- turning an invisible climate contribution into a reportable, commercially actionable asset.
ROOT to Market: WoodKnowledge Wales recently soft launched ROOT to Market, a new national procurement Dynamic Marketplace, to accelerate mainstream adoption of regenerative and low-carbon materials across the built environment, creating significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in sustainable products and services. ROOT to Market is live and is actively seeking projects to procure through the marketplace.
[1] https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-does-the-world-need-carbon-capture-and-storage-to-reach-net-zero
[2] https://woodknowledge.wales/using-wood-in-construction-as-a-significant-greenhouse-gas-removal-mechanism/
Programme
- 12.00 Welcome to the webinar – Simon Corbey, Executive Director, ASBP
- 12.05 Introducing Grown in Britain and the Biogenic Stored Carbon Quotient – Rachel Lawrence, Business Manager, and Dougal Driver, CEO, Grown in Britain
- 12.20 An update on current and evolving standards in LCA and procurement – Dr Morwenna Spear, Research Fellow at the BioComposites Centre, Bangor University
- 12:35 Introducing ROOT to Market – Gary Newman, CEO, Woodknowledge Wales
- 12:50 Q&A
- 13:15 Close
Key details
- Date: Thursday 8th October 2026
- Timings: 12:00-13:15
- Location: Online (via Zoom)
- Costs: Free for ASBP members, £20+VAT for members of partner organisations*, £30+VAT general admission
*Partner organisations include: Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), AECB – Association for Environment Conscious Building, British Woodworking Federation, CIBSE, The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), CIRIA, Fit for the Future Network, Finishes and Interiors Sector, Good Homes Alliance, Institute of Demolition Engineers, Interior Design Declares – UK, National Federation of Demolition Contractors, natureplus, Passivhaus Trust, SuperHomes, Sustainable Traditional Building Alliance, The Green Register, Timber Development UK and Woodknowledge Wales.
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