The seven-storey Kingsgate House on the King’s Road in West London provides 43 affordable residential units and it is the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) that has made it a world first

The CLT at Kingsgate House is the first to be PEFC-certified to acknowledge it came from sustainable sources, with the solid wood also acting as a natural, low carbon and renewable alternative to steel and concrete.

Project Chain of Custody certification recognises that not all parties involved in specific projects are certified and has been developed in recognition that the standard Chain of Custody model does not work with one-off activities such as construction projects. “The Project Certification of Kingsgate House is a global first for PEFC,” said Alun Watkins, who heads up PEFC in the UK. “We are very excited about it and feel the lessons learned and the promotion of the project will be valuable in moving Project Certification forward everywhere. The majority of solid wood solutions such as CLT and glulam are from PEFC-certified origin and schemes using these materials find PEFC Project Certification readily achievable.”

“CLT has brought many benefits to this project which is based in a densely populated and busy part of London,” said Julie Brooks, Environmental and Sustainability Manager for Willmott Dixon. “As a form of construction, CLT has saved time and money and reduced the amount of embodied carbon on the scheme. Willmott Dixon wanted to demonstrate that our processes and supply chain can deliver in line with our sustainable procurement policy. At Kingsgate House 100% of wood products supplied are certified as ‘legal and sustainable’ and we achieved 96.3% PEFC-certified timber by volume, which posed no difficulties in material sourcing at all.”

Alasdair McGregor of BM TRADA presents the PEFC Project Certification certificate to Julie Brooks and David Jowett of Willmott Dixon

“As firm believers that timber is the one truly renewable construction material but also a viable alternative to traditional methods of construction, KLH were delighted to be involved in such a prestigious project and help the team achieve PEFC Project Certification.” said Toby Reynolds, Commercial Director for KLH UK. “The whole supply chain had to follow strict guidelines and KLH learnt a lot along the journey. This is a massive step for the industry and is invaluable for the future of timber construction and we will definitely be promoting Project Certification in the future.”