Earlier in the year, Kebony, a global leader in the production of sustainable wood, launched its Sustainability Report 2021. Inspired by the GRI Standards reporting framework, the report provides a transparent assessment of Kebony’s environmental impact to certify its sustainable credentials.
Images by Kebony Wood
Norman Willemsen, CEO at Kebony commented: “Now more than ever, we are witnessing key disruptive trends in the construction industry, resulting in a need for more, safer, and greener products. This trend further strengthens (our) position
and it is our strong belief that a timber construction revolution is on the rise. Innovative wood products and increasing recognition of wood’s cost effectiveness, versatility and light carbon footprint are driving its expanded use in residential and non-residential buildings.”
The Kebony Sustainability Report for 2021, includes details of the company’s nonfinancial impact as well as its improvement initiatives, marking the beginning of their sustainable accountability as they strive to continually improve their ESG performance.
This is of significance to the South African timber industry, which has tended to be in the shadow of design and construction
initiatives that tend to use more fossil-fuel heavy materials of construction. Not so in recent times, where timber buildings
containing significant structural timber have been on the rise, including the recently completed regional office for Deloitte, called the Ridge, in the V&A Waterfront.
Locally, there is a range of South African National Standards (SANS) and some timber products used as alternative
building technologies also fall under, and require, the Agremént certification. Timber is already part of the National
Building Regulations SANS-10400 codes for structural timber and timber framed construction.
Kebony has its headquarters in Norway and supplies projects globally. It effectively diverts the need for deforestation
through the modification of sustainably sourced wood, acting with an ecofriendly conscience and a clear focus on
its ESG efforts. Readers can access their Sustainability Report here: www.kebony. com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KE_
CSR-SinglePage_2204062.pdf