Roadmap released for Australia's bamboo industry

New economic analysis has shown Australia could build an engineered bamboo industry that contributes $906 million to national gross domestic product and supports around 1840 additional jobs by 2035.

The Bamboo Society of Australia has released Deloitte Access Economics analysis, alongside a new industry roadmap, ‘Bamboo Breakthrough’. This sets out how Australia could create a nationally competitive engineered bamboo industry to supplement our current construction materials.

“We have the land, the climate and the demand for high-volume, low-emission construction materials. We have non-invasive species already well established here. What we don’t have yet is a local engineered bamboo industry connecting these opportunities,” said Jennifer Snyders, President of the Bamboo Society of Australia.

“This analysis shows the size of the prize: a market opportunity of up to $847 million per year by 2035 that creates jobs and cuts emissions. Our roadmap sets out what needs to happen next, from growing bamboo at scale to manufacturing engineered products here for Australian buildings.”

The Deloitte Access Economics analysis has modelled what could be achieved under a high-growth scenario, in which Australia establishes domestic bamboo production and manufacturing capacity and demand for engineered bamboo grows across the construction sector.

Reaching that scale would require annual production of 250,000 cubic metres of engineered bamboo — enough for the equivalent of around 16,600 homes. At that level, engineered bamboo could cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 430,000 tonnes by 2035. This is equivalent to taking around 170,000 cars off the road, or about 1.5% of the built environment’s upfront carbon emissions.

The analysis points to practical opportunities for housing supply, regional jobs, agricultural diversification and advanced manufacturing, if production capacity, standards and markets can be established in Australia.

Standards Australia’s Bamboo Standards Report maps the international standards landscape for engineered bamboo and identifies areas for further consideration in Australia.

Together, the economic analysis, standards work and roadmap lay the foundations for engineered bamboo to become a mainstream construction material in Australia.

“The Bamboo Breakthrough roadmap gives Australia a practical pathway to grow bamboo from crop to construction specification,” Snyders said.

“Australia can build a new industry from the ground up, rather than simply importing a finished building product. We can create value here for growers, regional communities, manufacturers and the construction industry while increasing the supply of low-emission materials we will need as Australia builds more homes and infrastructure.

“We have the economic case, a pathway to the standards we need and a roadmap for industry. Now we need to turn this bamboo breakthrough into an Australian industry.”

Image credit: iStock.com/takahashi_kei