Timber is a renewable and biodegradable resource that is sourced from a variety of tree species with varying strength and durability. In New Zealand, timber is sourced from trees grown in managed forests. Timber is used in different formats for framing and structural use.

• Durability and performance: Timber is vulnerable to rot from insect and water damage, especially when used for framing or external structures. Different kinds of treatment with a variety of hazard levels may need to be used, depending on its use. Good detailing is key to timber survival, rather than treatment
• Suitability for passive solar design: Timber is not a good conductor of heat, and provides only little insulation. For passive solar design suitability, timber should be avoided for flooring, and instead, high thermal mass materials such as concrete should be put in place
• Health effects and emissions:Timber preservation techniques use toxic chemicals with significant impacts on humans and the environment, especially in New Zealand where we use Copper Chrome Arsenate (CCA), which are highly toxic chemicals
• Sustainability of processing: The energy spent on felling, extracting, milling, drying, and preserving wood to create construction timber is energy expensive
• Embodied energy: Timber still maintains a relatively low embodied energy, especially if it is sourced from New Zealand forests which is more sustainable than importing from other countries. If it comes from local mills near by you, this will reduce the transportation and therefore EE

Bamboo is a woody grass that grows rapidly. It is commonly harvested in the far east, such as China, and is an excellent alternative to wood for indoor applications such as flooring, panelling, stairs, and countertops.

• Durability and performance: Very durable after vertical or horizontal lamination under high pressure. It is stronger than oak, maple, and beach, while being very stable and less prone to expansion and contraction caused by changes in temperature
• Suitability for passive solar design: Bamboo is not a good conductor of heat, and provides only little insulation. For passive solar design suitability, bamboo should be avoided for flooring, and instead, high thermal mass materials such as concrete should be put in place
• Health effects and emissions: Bamboo is very safe for use in homes. Toxic binders in the lamination process are less sustainable
• Sustainability of processing: Bamboo grows rapidly so crops can be harvested every 4 to 6 years, which is sustainable, however, laminated boards usually require toxic binders which are harmful, but there are other solutions that have been worked on
• Embodied energy: Due to being generally sourced from China, it requires transportation over long distances, however, its other ecological advantages outweigh the energy costs

Cork is derived from the outer bark of the evergreen cork oak, a tree native to Spain, Portugal, southern France, north Africa, and Italy. Cork can be turned into floors or walls.

• Durability and performance: Cork is a natural, healthy, material that makes a warm, resilient surface for floors or walls. It is naturally rot and mould resistant, and it makes a great sound-absorber and insulator
• Suitability for passive solar design: Cork is not a good conductor of heat. For passive solar design suitability, cork should be avoided for flooring, and instead, high thermal mass materials such as concrete should be put in place
• Health effects and emissions: Less harmful binders are often used to hold the individual cork granules together today, so cork flooring/walling is safe
• Sustainability of processing: Cork oak naturally sheds its thick outer bark every decade and can be harvested without any damage to the tree with little wastage
• Embodied energy: The collection of the cork itself is very sustainable, however, it depends on where you need the finished product to be shipped to, as cork oak plantations would be less sustainable in countries where they are not native, and so long transport distances may be common, giving a relatively high embodied energy, although cork is very sustainable itself

Concrete is made from Portland cement, an ingredient that helps concrete set, and is mixed with sand, gravel, fillers, and water. The wet mix can be poured and cured on site, or commercially pre-cast in slabs, where it can then be transported to site. Concrete is used in different formats such as foundations and walls.

• Durability and performance: Concrete is strong, highly durable, and low-maintenance, contributing significantly to creating a long-lasting, energy-efficient building
• Suitability for passive solar design: Concrete effectively absorbs heat when exposed to direct heat such as the sun due to its thermal mass. In summer, it absorbs heat from the air and cools the house during the day, while in winter, it absorbs sunlight that hits the ground and releases heat overnight to warm the home. Any floor or wall must be insulated from the outside for the concrete to maintain this heat within the building
• Health effects and emissions: Solid concrete has no emissions once cured and dried, however, and dust from cement and concrete grinding should be avoided
• Sustainability of processing: Concrete and cement rely on plentiful but non-renewable gravel and sand that can’t be over-exploited. Cement manufacture is environmentally problematic, requiring high energy levels while releasing great levels of CO2
• Embodied energy: Concrete has a relatively high embodied energy, but if used in small amounts, its suitability for passive design can be justified for future energy savings

Aerated Concrete is concrete containing air cavities which makes it one fifth the weight of solid concrete. Blocks of aerated concrete are cut from a ‘cake’ formed by mixing combinations of chemicals, sand, pumice, cement, lime, water, and steam.

• Durability and performance: Aerated concrete has better thermal insulation than solid concrete due to the air it can retain, but supplementary insulation is still recommended. It has good sound insulation also, but requires an external finish that is weather-tight but breathable
• Suitability for passive solar design: Aerated concrete is a relatively good heat absorber as walls, and works best with a solid concrete floor
• Health effects and emissions: Aerated concrete has no toxic emissions. Indoor air quality can be created providing low-toxicity coatings are used inside. Precaution is needed with the dust produced from sawing into aerated concrete to create blocks
• Sustainability of processing: Aerated concrete experiences similar energy uses and emissions as solid concrete. However, as aerated concrete uses less raw materials, it is more sustainable, especially with transportation
• Embodied energy: Aerated concrete has a relatively high embodied energy, a bit less than solid concrete. Its contribution to passive design can be justified for future energy savings

Metal provides a sleek and sophisticated finish which is becoming widespread in modern buildings. Steel and other metals such as aluminium, copper, and zinc are strong, durable, and pest-resistant, however, they aren’t very sustainable but they can be easily recycled.

• Durability and performance: Metal such as steel is strong and durable, holding large loads with beams, making buildings last longer, while making them safer. Aluminium roofing helps collect rainwater safely and can clad whole buildings
• Suitability for passive solar design: Metal is not suitable for passive solar design because it conducts heat so well, metal framing in windows, for example, will create cold bridges that significantly reduce a buildings energy efficiency as heat is lost, and encourages condensation and mould
• Health effects and emissions: The processing of metals is problematic for the environment. While in use, metal itself doesn’t release emissions, however, it can encourage condensation and mould which is bad for human health
• Sustainability of processing: The extraction and mining of metals can desoil habitats, while processing is a significant polluter, making processing highly unsustainable. Metals have easy recycling, however, due to their expense, where their recycling is better established than that of other materials, so this sets against the significant drawbacks
• Embodied energy: Metal has the highest embodied energy of all materials commonly used in building, some 300 times that of timber which is very poor and bad for the environment due to its processing

Glass is a mix of sand, soda, and lime, which are abundant and widely available resources, heated at more than 1,500 degrees celsius. Glass is widely used in buildings to enclose homes from the elements, maintaining high energy efficiency within a home through glazed units.

• Durability and performance: Double- and triple-glazed units, where panes are separated by an air- or gas-filled cavity of cavities, are highly insulating and effective
• Suitability for passive solar design: Using double- or triple-glazed units provides great insulation. Paired with locally sourced wood which is married with low maintenance powder-coated aluminium (creating a composite frame), will increase a windows insulative properties greatly, reducing heat loss. Low-emissivity (low-E) glass, coated with many thin layers of silver oxide, reflects infrared energy back into the interior of a home, dramatically reducing heat loss, and conversely, coatings can reflect radiant energy before it reaches the interior if you need to keep the interior cool. Aluminium and PVC frames alone should be avoided
• Health effects and emissions: When glass is in use, there are no health effects, unless smashed where it can create a safety hazard
• Sustainability of processing: Although the ingredients of glass are widely abundant, the process of melting them at temperatures of more than 1,500 degrees celsius consumes huge amounts of energy, so is very unsustainable. However, glass can be easily recycled without a decrease in quality
• Embodied energy: The collection of glasses raw ingredients and the high temperatures at which it is melted consumes large amounts of energy, giving glass a relatively high embodied energy, however, it can be easily recycled and can greatly save energy through glazed windows when used in buildings

Linoleum is a natural product with good environmental credentials, used commonly for flooring in areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, family rooms, etc. 

• Durability and performance: Lino gets tougher as it matures with age and is anti-bacterial so is great wherever easy-care hygienic flooring is required. It is also anti-static so repels dust and is therefore a great flooring solution for asthmatics or those suffering from allergic reactions. It is also warm, matt, resilient, and comfortable underfoot
• Suitability for passive solar design: Lino is not a good conductor of heat, and provides only little insulation. For passive solar design suitability, lino should be avoided for flooring, and instead, high thermal mass materials such as concrete should be put in place
• Health effects and emissions: When lino matures, it releases a small amount of VOCs, which are harmful, however, at a much less harmful concentration to those off-gassed by vinyl
• Sustainability of processing: Linos ingredients of linseed oil, pine resin, powdered cork, wood flour, powdered limestone, and pigment are natural and widely available. The process of pressing them onto a jute or hessian backing and baked at high temperatures is also environmentally friendly. 
• Embodied energy: Lino has a relatively low embodied energy and its environmental credentials make up for the energy used in processing 

Paper is a thin sheet made from the pulp of wood, and accounts for a high proportion of timber construction. Recycling of newspaper and paper eases demand and can be processed into materials that perform many of the same functions as wood.

• Durability and performance: Relatively low durability, great for wall finishes
• Suitability for passive solar design: Not suitable
• Health effects and emissions: Mainly compressed cellulose, so has no health effects
• Sustainability of processing: Sustainable, especially if done at home for projects
• Embodied energy: Relatively low, especially is recycled