European Forest Industry: Future and Vision

CEI-Bois has published a press release on the EU forest industry in 2050, its vision of sustainable choices for a climate-friendly future and its key role in achieving carbon neutrality. The press release conveyed the idea of innovations to be introduced in the EU forest industry in 2050.

Presentation of the vision

In 2018, the European Commission presented its vision for a "Clean Planet for All", a long-term strategy to create a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050.

In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen's (President-elect of the European Commission) policy program for Europe proposed a European Green Pact, which should be the first European climate law to enshrine in law the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

An ambitious project

In response to this ambitious project, the European Confederation of Wood Industries (CEI-Bois), the European Confederation of Paper Industries (CEPI), the European Panel Federation (EPF), the European Furniture Industry Confederation (EFIC), Bioenergy Europe and the Forest Sector Technology Platform (FTP) have come together to present their 2050 vision and their key role in contributing to the carbon neutrality goal.

Their vision encompasses the entire European forest products value chain - from forest owners and managers to the processing industry, universities and research institutes. The focus is on forest solutions and their contribution to meeting the growing expectations of European citizens.

Role in the bioeconomy

Europe's forest industry plays an important role in strengthening Europe's low-carbon circular bioeconomy as it forms a smart industrial ecosystem where materials, by-products and waste are sourced along the entire value chain, maximizing resource efficiency, including through reuse and recycling. This mitigates climate change throughout the system and brings other benefits of forest management to society.

To achieve this goal, the forest industry has identified 5 ambitious targets for a sustainable and inclusive climate-neutral economy

1. Decarbonize Europe by 2050 by replacing critical or CO2-intensive raw materials and fossil fuels with forest alternatives.
2. Eliminate waste in the circular economy by closing material cycles with a sectoral target of at least 90% raw material collection and 70% recycling in the industrial value chain.
3. Improving resource efficiency in the forest industry value chain by increasing productivity in all areas (including materials, production and logistics).
4. Meeting the growing demand for raw materials by maximizing new secondary flows and securing primary raw material supply from sustainably managed forests.
5. Meet the growing demand for sustainable products by increasing the use of wood and wood products in our daily lives.

The European Union's forest industry has a vision that their sector will become the most competitive and sustainable provider of zero-emission solutions through research and innovation, advanced technologies and increased recycling and reuse. This vision is also supported by European forest owners, farmers, printers, flooring manufacturers and agricultural contractors. If all the measures presented continue at the same pace, we will soon see good results.