300 leaders unite to fast-track sustainable housing with biobased materials
Over 300 business, government, and knowledge leaders have agreed to accelerate the use of biobased materials like wood in housing construction. This shift aims to tackle material shortages, reduce CO₂ emissions, and meet the urgent demand for hundreds of thousands of new homes in the Netherlands.
| Key Data Point | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of participants | 300 frontrunners from business, government, and knowledge institutions |
| Market share of timber housing | Grew from 1% to 7% in ten years |
| Homes built with wood in 2025 | Approximately 4,500 |
| New standard introduced | NTA Biobased Construction (unambiguous definitions for biobased content) |
| Regional deal | 30 |
| Province leading commitment | Zuid-Holland |
| Event context | Biobased Construction Day during the Week of the Circular Economy |
The Dutch government plays a pivotal role in facilitating the transition to biobased construction by setting standards, fostering collaboration between sectors, and creating policies that encourage sustainable building practices. This initiative aligns with national goals to address housing shortages and reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry.
Read the full translated article below
Biobased construction crucial for accelerating housing development
300 frontrunners make national agreements
Biobased construction has evolved from a pioneering practice into an indispensable construction trend for addressing the housing challenge. This was emphasized by over 300 representatives from business, government, and knowledge institutions during the Biobased Construction Day in The Hague. They made concrete agreements to accelerate, make more affordable, and scale up the use of wood and other biobased materials in new construction and renovation.
The urgency is great. The Netherlands needs to build hundreds of thousands of homes, while traditional construction materials are becoming increasingly scarce, expensive, and dependent on fossil fuels and international logistics. Biobased materials offer a strategic alternative: they are renewable, largely locally available, and make a substantial contribution to CO₂ reduction. In doing so, they form a key to future-proof and accelerated housing development.
From ambition to execution
The focus of the conference was explicitly on moving from ambition to execution. Governments, clients, and suppliers made agreements on standardization, chain collaboration, and investment security. The goal is to position biobased construction not as an exception, but as a full-fledged and scalable part of construction practice.
‘Biobased construction requires leadership’
Biobased construction is rapidly developing into a serious economic construction trend. According to the National Monitor Biobased Construction, the market share of timber construction in housing grew from 1% to 7% in ten years. In 2025, around 4,500 homes were built using wood. The supply of biobased products, such as panel and insulation materials, is also steadily increasing. This growth shows that scaling up is possible, provided that demand, supply, and policy reinforce each other. Dorien Staal (Dura Vermeer): “Biobased construction is not a technical issue, but a leadership issue. It requires clear choices, shared standards, and administrative courage.”
Concrete tools for practice
To accelerate scaling up, several instruments were launched during the conference. For example, the NTA Biobased Construction has been introduced: a new standard that establishes unambiguous definitions and a determination method for the biobased content of products and buildings. This creates clarity and comparability for clients, builders, and governments.
Additionally, an updated guide with industrial biobased construction concepts and their performance, as well as a new timber construction detail manual by Urban Climate Architects, were presented. These enable professionals to apply biobased solutions concretely and practically.
New chain agreements
The commitment of the province of South Holland to biobased construction has led to new collaborations in the chain. For example, the Biobased Insulation Deal has been launched, in which real estate maintenance companies are working together to insulate homes on a larger scale using biobased materials. A regional 30|30|30 deal was also signed, in the presence of Deputy Anne Koning of Housing. In this agreement, municipalities, construction companies, and processors commit to using biobased materials in 30% of new construction and renovation projects by 2030.
Call to the sector
The message of the Biobased Construction Day is clear: biobased construction is a strategic choice for fast, affordable, low-CO₂, and future-proof construction. The 300 attendees, who are frontrunners in the field, are calling on the sector to join and collectively take the step from isolated examples to a new construction standard. The event took place during the Week of the Circular Economy, underscoring the importance of structural choices for a circular built environment.