SUSTAINABILITY
SECONDARY WOOD
Introduction
Wood that performs. Wood that would otherwise be lost
Wood is one of the construction industry's most widely used materials. It is renewable, versatile, and capable of remaining in use in a building for decades. Yet large volumes of usable wood are removed from production every year. In Denmark alone, approximately 395,000 tonnes of wood waste are generated annually. Much of this wood has not failed. It has simply been sorted out due to visual criteria. A board may be too short. A knot may fall outside a grading specification. A colour variation may not meet a product standard. In many cases, the material remains structurally sound and fully functional.
This is where a:gain works. We develop building products around existing wood resources, keeping valuable materials in use for longer and creating products with a significantly lower and documented CO₂e footprint.
Why wood matters
Wood takes time. Before a finished floorboard, facade board, or window element reaches a production line, the tree has spent decades growing. It has then been harvested, transported, sawn, dried, processed, graded, and in some cases surface treated before becoming a finished or semi-finished product. Every step requires resources, energy, and transportation. Every step contributes to the product's environmental footprint. This is why losing wood at the final stages of production matters. When a board is sorted out because it falls outside a visual specification, much of the value already invested in the material is lost. The wood itself remains. The technical performance remains. But the resources used to grow, process, and manufacture that product no longer deliver their intended value. At the same time, wood remains a valuable natural resource. Forests take decades to mature and provide important habitats that support biodiversity. Making better use of the wood that has already been harvested helps increase the value extracted from existing material streams before new resources are required. This principle forms the foundation of Bronsø, Funderø, and Hjælmø.
Wood streams
Three wood streams. Three products
While the principle is the same, a:gain works with three very different wood streams. In each case, the material has been sorted out not because it has failed, but because it no longer fits the visual or dimensional requirements of its original application. The technical performance remains. The challenge is finding the right use for the material.
Visual rejects from thermally treated pine production
Thermally treated pine is produced to strict grading standards. During the final quality assessment, boards may be sorted out due to knots, checks, grain patterns, or other natural characteristics that place them outside A-grade specifications. These characteristics do not necessarily affect the technical performance of the wood. The thermal treatment extends throughout the board, including around knots and checks, ensuring the durability and stability expected from thermally treated timber. Rather than treating these boards as unsuitable for us, a:gain selects material that remains within defined technical requirements and gives it a new application. The boards are then profiled to order and transformed into Bronsø, a thermally treated pine facade cladding that embraces the natural characteristics of the wood rather than hiding them.
The result is a documented facade solution with a verified EPD, PEFC certification, and a documented service life of up to 30 years. Compared to conventional thermally treated timber cladding, Bronsø delivers 69 % lower CO₂e and saves 7.74 kg of wood per m².
Finished parquet boards outside visual specifications
Hardwood parquet undergoes an extensive manufacturing process before reaching the final quality assessment stage. The wood has been harvested, dried, processed, machined, surface treated, and prepared for installation. At the final quality stage, some boards are sorted out due to visual characteristics such as knots, colour variation, tonal differences, watermarks, or dimensional deviations. Despite this, the boards retain the same structural performance and durability as boards accepted into the standard product range. a:gain performs an additional quality assessment and selects boards suitable for continued use. The natural variation that originally excluded the boards becomes part of the product's visual expression.
The result is Funderø, a solid hardwood parquet floor available in defined species combinations and laying patterns. As with many hardwood floors, minor visual irregularities can be addressed during installation to create a coherent finished surface while preserving the character of the material. Funderø delivers 77 % lower CO₂e than comparable conventional parquet flooring and saves 14.3 kg of wood per m².
Pine off-cuts from window production
Window production requires precise dimensions, generating off-cuts that are too short or too small for their original purpose despite remaining structurally sound. These pieces originate from FSC-certified pine sourced from Northern European forests and have already undergone significant processing before becoming surplus or off-cuts. Rather than losing the value already embedded in the material, the off-cuts are transformed into a new product. The pine pieces are finger-jointed into longer boards, planed and then cut again into uniform bricks, and manufactured into Hjælmø, an end-grain wood floor designed for high durability and long service life.
The end-grain orientation gives the floor both its distinctive appearance and exceptional wear resistance. Its solid construction allows it to be sanded up to 15 times throughout its lifetime, helping extend the useful life of the material. Hjælmø delivers 76 % lower CO₂e than comparable conventional pine flooring and saves 11 kg of wood per m².
What the numbers show
Keeping wood in use is not just a material story. It delivers measurable results
Bronsø is made from discarded pine
Reduction in CO₂e compared to similar products
Waste saved per m²
CO₂e per m²
*CO₂e footprint is based on Bronsø EPD, including phases A1–A3 and C1–C4. Phase B and D are excluded. The comparison is based on average available EPD data for virgin thermos wood cladding as of April 2025. Declared unit for all compared EPDs: 1 m³ of thermo pine, average density 400–450 kg/m³.
Funderø is made from offcuts of Junckers' parquet flooring production
Reduction in CO₂e compared to similar products
Waste saved per m²
CO₂e per m²
*CO₂e footprint (in kg CO₂e) is based on Funderø EPD including phases A1–A3 and C1–C4. Phase B and D excluded. The comparison is based on average available EPD data on virgin parquet flooring as of May 2025. The functional unit (FU) for the comparison is 1 m² floor with a 22 mm thickness and a density range of 650–780 kg/m³. For more info refer to ‘Explainer_Funderø_EPD_Comparison’ in our download centre.
Hjælmø is made from pine offcuts from window production
*CO₂e footprint is based on EPD MD-25165-EN including phases A1–A3 and C1–C4. Phase B and D excluded. Comparison is based on average available EPD data on virgin solid pine wood flooring as of August 2025. Scaled unit for comparison: 1 m2 of solid pine 22 mm. For more info confer ‘Explainer_Hjælmø_EPD_Comparison’ in our download centre.
Across Bronsø, Funderø, and Hjælmø, CO₂e reductions compared to conventional alternatives range from 69 % to 77 %, while significant quantities of wood are kept in productive use rather than being excluded from use due to visual or dimensional requirements. For architects, developers, and contractors, these reductions are fully documented through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and can be incorporated directly into building LCAs, DGNB submissions, and sustainability.
The exact reduction varies by product and application, but the principle remains the same: retaining the value already embedded in existing wood resources reduces both material waste and the need for additional processing and material production.
Designed to keep going
Wood is a durable material capable of serving multiple lifecycles when designed and maintained correctly
Where possible, a:gain products are designed to maximise the useful life of the material. Bronsø and Funderø can be disassembled and re-enter a:gains's take-back system for reprofiling and future applications, while Hjælmø's solid end-grain construction allows the floor to be sanded repeatedly throughout its lifetime. The goal is simple: keep valuable wood resources in use for as long as possible before additional processing becomes necessary.
By extending the life of existing material streams, we can preserve more of the value already invested in the wood while reducing the environmental impact associated with producing new materials.
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