An empirical analysis of transport contributions to embodied carbon in timber construction: case studies from Norway

This study applied a location-sensitive cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment (LCA) model to evaluate how geography, infrastructure, and accessibility influence the embodied carbon emissions of structural solid wood components used in timber buildings across eight Norwegian cities. By integrating location-specific transport distances, transport modes, and fuel types, the analysis highlights the significance of logistics, particularly stages A4 (delivery to site) and C2 (end of life transport), which are often under-represented in conventional LCA. A scenario-based approach is used to compare alternative transport configurations under different geographic and infrastructure conditions. The results show that transportation in remote locations such as Tromsø can contribute up to 18.1% of total embodied carbon emissions, representing a nineteenfold increase compared with baseline assumptions using a generic 50 km fossil diesel truck distance. Hybrid (truck-rail) transport supported by Norway's low-carbon electricity grid reduces transport-related embodied carbon emissions by up to 10.2%. Across all cases, electric transport yields the lowest emissions, with reductions of up to 14.3%. These findings demonstrate the critical influence of transport distance, mode, and energy mix on embodied carbon emissions and highlight the need for location-specific logistics in early-stage building design and LCA practice for solid wood construction.