The CO2 content in the atmosphere can be reduced in two ways: either to decrease and eliminate emissions or to store CO2. This means diminishing carbon sources and increasing carbon sinks. Wood does both. The usage of wood improves the forest management and thus the forests are growing more and binding more CO2 from the atmosphere as a form of carbon and O2 is released back to the atmosphere.

When comparing different construction materials to each other, there are three factors that have to be taken into account: the energy used for the manufacturing process of the material and the product, its ability to conserve energy during its lifecycle and recycling, and final disposal of the material.

Wood can be a substitutive material in many applications where aluminum, steel, concrete and plastic is used. The substitution effect of one cubic meter of wood is 1,1 ton. One ton of CO2 is approximately 367 kg of carbon. This means that every cubic meter of wood as a substitute for other construction materials is reducing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere 1,1 ton in average.

Among other things, wood products´ production requires less energy than the named other materials. When energy efficiency requirements are becoming more important in Europe, wood is coming capable to compete against other construction solutions. Wood is also an excellent insulation material and it isolates thermal energy efficiently.

Production process and transportation of wood consume less energy than the wood stores in photosynthesis. Manufacturing process of a wood product produces also by-products, such as sawdust, chips and logging waste. Koskisen utilizes efficiently by-products from the production, for example in energy production and as a raw material for other materials.