Our future is made of wood 

Wood is used as a raw material in a wide variety of products. Some of those wood-based products we have known for decades, some only for a short time. In addition, several Finnish wood-based products and future solutions are taking their first steps outside research laboratories, on their way towards world markets.

In Finland, the forest industry has decades of experience and expertise in utilising wood fibre in various applications. Wood-based bioproducts already represent one of the most important industries in the Finnish economy. The New Wood project was launched in 2014 with the goal of increasing popular understanding of what wood is capable of, already now and in the future.

New Wood tells what wood can do

The New Wood project involves 20 Finnish organisations across the industry. We tell what kind of products and solutions are already available, what kind of societal significance these solutions have, and what the future of the industry looks like.

We take the message of wood-based bioeconomy to societal influencers and political decision-makers, increasing their knowledge of the significance and versatility of wood-based products as substitutes for fossil raw materials. At the same time, we support our member organisations in their joint communication promoting their extensive bioproduct expertise, in order to strengthen the recognition and acceptance of the forest sector and wood-fibre-based industry. We want to popularise the wood-based bioeconomy and, in longer view, influence consumer choices through decision-makers and influencers towards favouring wood-based products.

In the project, we showcase concrete examples of wood-based products and solutions, and promote them at events both in Finland and internationally. The New Wood project can be found online, in social media and events and meetings attended by actors and influencers in the field.

Participants of the EU decision-makers’ Forest Academy visiting the New Wood exhibition in 2023. Photo: Vilma Issakainen, Finnish Forest Association

The forest industry – a natural part of the bioeconomy

• Wood is a renewable and fully recyclable raw material that can be used to reduce dependence on fossil raw materials. Every year, considerably more wood grows in the Finnish forests than is currently utilised.
• Wood-based products help solve global challenges. Global phenomena such as resource scarcity, population growth and ageing, and climate change are permanently changing the world. Many of the changes caused by these megatrends affect consumer behaviour and create both ecological and commercial challenges – but also opportunities.
• The turnover generated directly by the forest industry in Finland totalled nearly 33 billion euro in 2021, and, factoring in indirect effects, 45 billion euro. The forest industry generated nearly 11 billion euro in added value, both directly and indirectly. The sector’s investments in Finland, taking indirect effects into account, averaged approximately 1,9 billion euro per year in 2017–2021.
• The development and manufacture of wood-based products creates well-being and prosperity throughout Finland. In 2021, the forest industry employed approximately 38,400 people directly and, taking indirect effects into account, nearly 83,000 people. The employment effect of the forest sector, including its indirect effects, amounted to nearly 100,000 people. The extensive domestic value chain is also reflected in tax revenue generated for the society.