Commissioner Jessika Roswall: ‘Wood is not a material of the past – it is a pillar of the future’
The EU’s bioeconomy strategy, set to be updated this year, places sustainability, circularity, resilience and competitiveness at its core. Finland brought a bioeconomy exhibition to the European Commission, showcasing products of the future that are already in production.
‘It’s fantastic to see bioeconomy innovation in action. In Brussels, we spend much of our time talking, writing, and analysing – but today is a refreshing change,’ said Commissioner Jessika Roswall in her opening speech at the New Wood exhibition.
The Swedish Commissioner Roswall is responsible for environmental issues, water resilience, and competitive circular economy. She opened the New Wood exhibition on Monday together with Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah and the EU’s Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
The exhibition showcases more than 30 innovative wood-based products from Finland.
In her opening speech, Roswall emphasized the importance of bio- and circular economy for solving future challenges. Bio-based materials and ensuring their efficient circularity are ways to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and resilience. Roswall reminded that wood is one of the oldest and most versatile natural resources, now revealing entirely new potential thanks to new bioeconomy.
‘Wood is not a material of the past – it is a cornerstone of the future,’ Roswall said, stressing the importance of innovation for the bioeconomy strategy and Europe’s competitiveness.
The opening of the New Wood exhibition also called attention to the role of primary producers. Bioeconomy is expected to drive job creation and diversify the income sources of forest owners and farmers.
‘Our farmers and forest-owners provide the biomass that forms the basis of the bioeconomy value chains. It is important that these innovative bio-based materials and solutions can be scaled up and developed, to create value within a competitive European bioeconomy,’ said Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
A sector of exceptional importance
Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essayah, stressed in her opening speech at the New Wood exhibition the exceptional importance of bioeconomy in Finland. In 2023, it generated an added value of 29 thousand million billion euros, accounting for 12 percent of the national economy’s added value.
‘Finland’s strategy for 2022 to 2035 aims to double the added value of bioeconomy,’ Essayah said.
‘Finland believes that the key objective of the bioeconomy strategy should be to ensure the EU’s competitiveness. The objective should be to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and raw materials, promote industrial renewal, and advance the economies of rural areas in line with the EU’s rural vision,’ Essayah summarized.
The New Wood exhibition showcases the latest innovations
The products shown at the New Wood exhibition at the European Commission’s main building, the Berlaymont, range from wood-based textiles to packagings that can replace fossil-based plastics.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is a bathtub made entirely from wood composite. Compared to traditional ceramic products, the new material can reduce the carbon footprint of bathroom furnishings by up to half.
‘Using wood is part of our everyday life, even if we don’t always think about it. The New Wood products – both everyday and future-oriented – help people understand the full potential of wood and where its use as a renewable material is essential,’ says New Wood project manager Virpi Korhonen.
In a circular bioeconomy, wood is fully utilized. Every part of the tree is used – in sawmills, pulp production, biorefining, or energy generation.
‘The New Wood exhibition showcases the latest innovations we have developed from paper pulp, wood chips, sawdust, lignin, and tall oil, raising their value-added processing to an entirely new level,’ Korhonen said.
The New Wood exhibition at the European Commission is organized by the Finnish Forest Association, the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. New Wood is funded by its member companies and the Finnish Forest Foundation.
The exhibition is open daily until 6 June to all those with access to the European Commission’s Berlaymont building.
Forest.fi and the New Wood project collaborate to produce the Innovations page, which also contains more information on all products presented in the Brussels exhibition.