Forests are the foundation of Finland’s diverse well-being. The forest industry is one of the largest industrial sectors in Finland and plays an important role in Finland’s national economy. Finland’s bioeconomy strategy has set a target of doubling the value added of the bioeconomy by 2035 without compromising biodiversity and climate objectives. However, achieving all forest-related targets is difficult, and choices must be made. To support these choices, research-based analyses are needed to find an optimal balance between forest use, conservation and climate objectives.
The report published in 2024 by the Finnish Forest Bioeconomy Science Panel looks into the potential future product portfolio of the forest sector and the value added it can generate. The products considered have been divided into upgrades of existing solutions and new innovations. The new innovations include, for example, flexible packaging, product groups based on advanced specialty fibres and a broad range of lignin products. It is evident that a significant increase in forest harvesting is not sustainable. Thus, in the report a scenario is considered where value is added without increasing harvest volumes.
The report published is available: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-65456-3-9