1.0 Abstract

Most modern designs consider energy as the most important factor in the sustainability of buildings; however, it is not only the energy a building consumes that impacts on its overall sustainability. Materials form a very important factor when analyzing their embodied energy, reusability, recyclability, and impact on both their occupants and the environment as a whole. Materials require to be carefully selected, taking into account their whole life cycle, including their raw material composition, energy mix, production location, durability, long term effects and end use.

The FAO Forestry Department promotes, among others, the responsible use of wood as an environmentally friendly raw material. In the last decades, wood and wood-based products have been faced with stronger competition from substitute materials, such as plastics, concrete, steel, glass or aluminium, as these materials appear to offer wider options to the customers. Some of the factors that can influence customers' decisions on what kind of end products to acquire include marketing efforts, product prices, quality, durability and image.

Buildings and building components, particularly windows, have been the subject of numerous studies seeking to recognize and quantify the environmental impacts caused by processes in the product life cycle.