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From Forest to Future: How Sustainable Wood Can Transform Green Building | Oscar Crespo Pinillos

Author

Charlie Cichetti
October 29, 2026

QUICK TAKE

Every cubic meter of Garnica plywood locks away about 500 kg of CO2, and the mills behind it run on 100% renewable electricity.

ESG officer Oscar Crespo Pinillos explains why the hardest remaining emissions sit in the glue, and why architects should be asking manufacturers for more proof, not less.

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🌱BREAKING GROUND ON BETTER BUILDING

In this episode, Oscar Crespo Pinillos makes the case for the oldest carbon-capture tech on the planet: the tree.

[Key Insight #1] Plywood that stores more carbon than it emits

  • What's outdated: Many building materials come with a heavy carbon bill and a lot of greenwashing. Some products gain market share by claiming to be “less unsustainable” than the alternatives.

  • The innovation: Garnica makes its plywood from European poplar grown by small forest owners. Its mills run on 100% renewable electricity and close to 100% renewable heat, with the heat coming from biomass left over from production.

  • Impact: Each cubic meter of plywood stores about 500 kg of CO2. As Oscar puts it, we’re good at engineering and AI, “but we cannot really beat trees at this.”

[Key Insight #2] Once the energy is clean, the carbon is in the glue

  • What's outdated: Garnica cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by about 80% against its 2019 baseline. What’s left is mostly Scope 3, and most of that comes from the fossil-based resins that bind the veneer layers.

  • The innovation: Bio-based binders. Garnica’s Natu1 product swaps fossil-derived chemicals for bio-based glues, aiming for an engineered panel that’s as close to 100% bio-based as possible. More R&D is underway.

  • Impact: Greener glue makes the whole panel greener. It goes after the emissions that renewable power alone can’t reach.

[Key Insight #3] The documentation exists. Nobody’s asking for it

  • What's outdated: Garnica has published EPDs for years, tracked Scope 1 and 2 for more than a decade, and added Scope 3 recently. But demand for the data fades as products move through the supply chain. Architects care, and the steps in between often don’t.

  • The innovation: Specifiers and buyers should ask for EPDs, sourcing details, and carbon data at every step. They should also insist on trustworthy origins in a global market where some competitors face deforestation or forced-labor risks.

  • Impact: Asking rewards the manufacturers doing the work and pushes the whole supply chain to move faster. It also gives your project data it can defend.

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✅ CONNECT AND CONTINUE

🌿 Access full episode resources: Green Building Matters Podcast 

📄 Read the transcript: HERE

🔗 Connect with Oscar Crespo Pinillos:

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