A 'carbon sink' will be created when the University of Tasmania constructs its new campus at Inveresk.
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UTAS vice-chancellor Rufus Black said the university was committed to "modelling sustainability" and would construct its new buildings from timber to help offset the carbon released into the environment.
However, despite this commitment, UTAS will need to use mainland sourced timber to construct the buildings as Tasmanian timber companies don't produce the lengths and widths required for the build.
"We are deeply committed to creating sustainable buildings," Professor Black said.
"Concrete creates a lot of CO2 but timber locks it up, we take climate change concerns very seriously."
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A carbon sink is a natural or man-made environment that absorbs more carbon than it releases, acting like a sponge that soaks up carbon compounds, such as carbon dioxide.
It is either a natural or artificial reservoir that can store carbon for an indefinite period of time.
Professor Black said the buildings would be fitted out with Tasmanian timber to help the timber industry in the state and hoped industry would consider working with them on future buildings after this first build.
"We are open to working with industry and what we're hoping is that industry will see what we're doing and would work with us to ensure future buildings could be built from timber that is produced in Tasmania."
If there was an industry out there who would like to partner with the university on a project, Professor Black said they were "high encouraging" of fostering such a partnership.
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"We want to work with large laminated timber structures, so if there is anyone out there who wants to work with us on that in Tasmania then we'd be encouraging of anyone working in that space," he said.
Building materials are among the largest category of waste thrown away to landfill as a result of redevelopment activities and construction of steel and concrete structures releases carbon.
UTAS released its updated master plan for the Inveresk campus last week with plans for a four-stage construction timeline for the campus.
It's expected a development application for the first building, the student services and library building will be lodged with the City of Launceston Council by the end of June.
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