Dezeen has launched Timber Revolution, an editorial series “exploring the potential of mass timber that asks whether going back to wood as our primary construction material can lead the world to a more sustainable future”. In one of its first pieces, Smith Mordak, incoming CEO of the UK Green Building Council, argues that, “We should definitely build with timber, but not because nature is there for us to pilfer and not because it's a silver bullet for balancing the carbon budget. We should build with timber because we and trees evolved in the same oxygen-rich environment, so we can cohabitate; we can share our water and nutrients and carbon and lifecycles.” Read the article and more here

“How can governments take the lead in creating the new economic systems we need to secure flourishing futures for people, place and planet?” On February 1, the RSA brought together Economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato and Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, to discuss the need for state leadership to align economic growth and climate goals. Watch the recording here

Musicians including Brian Eno and Anna Calvi are to name the Earth as a co-writer of their music, in order to divert a portion of their royalties towards environmental activism, reports The Guardian. A royalties percentage of their choice will be given in perpetuity to EarthPercent, a charity of which Eno is a founder and trustee, that raises money from the music industry to fund environmental activism. Full story here

The CreaTures Framework “sets out how creative practices can stimulate action towards socially and ecologically sustainable futures”. It’s the result of “three years of intense research and collaboration between creative practitioners, artists, policy makers, funders and others both inside and outside the CreaTures project”. The researchers analysed 140 creative projects, commissioned 20 experimental art projects and ran the same number of seminars to inform their recommendations. More here

Retrofitting the UK’s historic buildings could increase economic output by £35bn a year and create over 100,000 new jobs, according to a new report from property company Grosvenor in collaboration with the National Trust, Peabody, Historic England, and The Crown Estate. The report explores how heritage sites could be made compatible with the UK’s Net Zero goals and “claims that a UK-wide retrofit of historic buildings could become a booming industry in its own right, delivering far-reaching economic gains that would deliver benefits for associated sectors such as heritage and hospitality,” according to Business Green. Full story here

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