Forest Products Industry

UPM Biochemicals, Selenis and Bormioli Pharma have partnered to produce the world’s first pharmaceutical bottles made from partially wood-based PET. Source: Timberbiz As the high regulatory and performance requirements for pharma packaging may limit the use of new or recycled materials, this bottle uses standard PET which is made with UPM’s world first wood based BioMEG, UPM BioPuraTM, to take a real step forward in the sustainable transformation of the pharmaceutical sector. The collaboration is driven by a shared vision to support the pharmaceutical industry’s move towards more sustainable packaging solutions, without compromising on product safety and performance. The new pharmaceutical bottles, containing UPM’s carbon negative BioMEG, are made from Selenis’ Selcare’s partial BioPET resins. They have recently been approved for use in accordance with European Pharmacopeia, Version 11.4, Monograph 3.1.15 and will be available worldwide at Bormioli Pharma from Q1 2025. “Our pioneering collaboration demonstrates that renewable, wood-based biochemicals can deliver the same high quality as fossil-based virgin materials, with significant environmental benefits. “Bormioli Pharma’s containers provide a relevant solution for a market with limited and strictly monitored options to accelerate the sustainable transformation. It also provides tangible proof that scalable solutions are present in the market today,” said Michael Duetsch, Vice President of Biochemicals at UPM.  

In an important step towards ensuring the raw materials coming out of a PEFC-certified forest comply with EUDR requirements, the revised PEFC Sustainable Forest Management benchmark standard was approved by the PEFC General Assembly in November. Source: Timberbiz This revised standard, PEFC ST 1003:2024, comprises several new and amended requirements that will enable EUDR alignment for PEFC-certified material coming directly from a PEFC-certified forest. This marks an important step in our PEFC roadmap to EUDR alignment. While the PEFC Sustainable Forest Management benchmark standard already covered a much wider spectrum of sustainability safeguards, reaching far beyond EUDR requirements and scope, some additions and amendments were needed to enable full EUDR alignment. The main elements included further structuring of the various forest input categories and specification for deforestation and forest degradation EUDR definitions. In addition, the modifications create a clearer and enabling environment for Trees Outside Forests (TOF) to contribute to sustainable supply chains in the PEFC framework. These additional features build on the national and regional forestry contexts while ensuring comparability at international level. PEFC’s national members will now amend their national and regional sustainable forest management standards to align them with this revised benchmark standard. This work will begin at the national level over the next few months. Following a successful assessment, the amended national standards will receive PEFC endorsement and will be ready for forest owners and managers in that country to start implementing and thereby producing PEFC-certified material that complies with EUDR requirements. PEFC will continue to monitor the developments within the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament (EP), following the 14 November vote for legislative changes in the context of the EUDR. If needed, the revised Sustainable Forest Management benchmark standard will be adjusted. The 31 December 2010 cut-off date relating to conversion or afforestation of key non-forest habitats was not changed and is EUDR compliant. However, PEFC has called a task force to explore options for the inclusion of a 31 December 2020 cut-off date, but only in conjunction with necessary safeguarding requirements for plantation forests and Trees outside Forests established through conversion or afforestation between 2010-2020. Ensuring EUDR alignment for material coming directly from a PEFC-certified forest complements the recently published PEFC EUDR DDS module, PEFC ST 2002-1:2024. The PEFC EUDR Due Diligence System (DDS) is designed to support PEFC chain of custody certified companies in demonstrating their compliance with the EUDR. It can be used by any organisation within the supply chain, no matter where the organisation is based or what their EUDR obligations are. Download the revised standard here.

Metsä Wood has developed a new wood wall panel solution that combines exceptional load-bearing capacity with material efficiency. This innovative wall structure offers significant benefits, especially as a load bearing and stiffening exterior and partition wall solution for high-rise residential and office buildings. Source: Timberbiz The new wall element is a structural glued wall element made of Kerto LVL beams and panels. It complements the Kerto-Ripa element concept, which has already proven its efficiency in roof and floor structures. The rational use of raw materials and material efficiency have become increasingly important objectives in construction. For investors and property developers, the new wall element brings added value, as thinner wall constructions provide more sellable floor space for residential or office buildings. According to construction calculations, the Kerto-Ripa wall construction allows, for example, savings of up to 50% in wood materials in the walls of a high-rise building compared to massive wood constructions.  The wall structure is also ideal for hybrid construction due to its high load-bearing capacity and allows for continuous wall elements up to 20 metres high. “Despite the smaller amount of material, the load-bearing capacity of the Kerto-Ripa wall element is excellent. This enables tall and heavily loaded buildings to be constructed in a material-efficient manner,” said Janne Heikkilä, Team Manager, Technical Customer Service at Metsä Wood. Metsä Wood’s long-term partner VVR Wood Oy has been manufacturing Kerto-Ripa roof and floor elements for several years. They see the new wall element as an excellent addition to their product range. “Kerto-Ripa elements are pre-fitted large elements with well thought-out solutions. Construction becomes more efficient by moving the construction work from the site to the element factory, and the time on site is shorter. Our first experiences with the new wall element are very positive and we believe that it can open up further business opportunities for us,” said Tero Vesanen, Managing Director of VVR Wood Oy. Metsä Wood does not manufacture the elements itself but offers a complete concept to element manufacturers. “Companies already manufacturing Kerto-Ripa elements can supplement their product range with wall elements. We believe that Kerto-Ripa wall elements have potential in hybrid construction with concrete due to their excellent load-bearing capacity,” said Jyrki Uimonen, Sales Development Director at Metsä Wood. Material efficiency reduces construction costs and uses less natural resources. “Although wood is a renewable material, it is always important to pay attention to the amount of material we use,” Heikkilä said. The Kerto-Ripa wall element offers property developers, construction companies and designers a cost-effective solution that supports the requirements of modern construction. This innovation helps to meet the future challenges of construction, both in terms of material and space efficiency.  

Sales of new homes continued to rise in October, continuing a trend that is increasingly evident in most markets across Australia. Source: Timberbiz The HIA New Home Sales report is a monthly survey of the largest volume home builders in the five largest states and is a leading indicator of future detached home construction. “New home sales in the month of October rose by 8.8% compared to September. This monthly rise was driven by an increase in sales in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland,” HIA Economist, Maurice Tapang, said. “This month’s strong increase in sales comes as unemployment remained at exceptionally low levels, interest rates remained unchanged for over a year and prices of home building materials stabilised. “Other indicators of future home building activity show a consistent story, suggesting that the new home market nationally has already reached the trough in this cycle sometime in mid-2024.” Housing finance data shows the number of loans issued for new home purchase and construction in the September quarter 2024 increased by 14.3% compared with the previous year and approvals data shows the number of detached homes approved in the September quarter 2024 rose by 13.1% compared with the previous year. “As anticipated however, the synchronisation of building cycles across all states and territories that was evident through the pandemic is no longer evident, with state government policies increasingly determining the length and depth of market downturns,” Mr Tapang said. “The depth of the trough in and subsequent rise in new home sales varies across the different states, affected by factors including the cost of residential land.” Western Australia was the first market to see an increase in sales in 2023, which has continued to flow through to new housing approvals and commencements. Queensland and South Australia have started to see an increase in sales this year, which is flowing through to approvals data. “Sales in Victoria appear to be slowly increasing, albeit off a very low base. This month, Victoria saw the strongest monthly rise in new home sales, up by 26.5% compared to the previous month,” Mr Tapang said. “If this trend continues, New South Wales will be the only laggard market for home building activity. This is driven by the high cost of residential land, particularly in Greater Sydney. “South Australia implemented changes to liveable housing and energy efficiency provisions in September, which led to a pull-forward in sales as households sought to avoid the additional cost. In the month of October, sales in South Australia fell by 18.0% as a result. “New home sales nationally are showing an upward trend, with sales in the last twelve months 8.0% higher compared to the previous year. “The rise in new home sales will see an increase in house commencements from early 2025,” he said. Sales in Queensland in the three months to October 2024 rose by 33.4% with the same time in the previous year. This was followed by South Australia (+20.4%). The other states recorded declines in sales over the same period, led by Western Australia (-27.8%), followed by New South Wales (-19.7%) and Victoria (-6.0%).

WorkSafe New Zealand is urging the forestry sector to reflect on what more it can do to improve safety, as the details of yet another worker death emerge from a court prosecution. Source: Timberbiz Jake Duncan was fatally struck when a log came loose and hurtled 325 metres down a hill at Tangoio, north of Napier, in June 2021. The 23-year-old was doing work known as breaking out, where felled logs are connected to a hauling machine for extraction. The log had been put in place as a ‘plug’ which acted as a bridge for other logs to slide over, until it gave way with tragic consequences. This uncommon method is known as plugging and bridging. The pre-harvest risk assessment only listed two hazards for the entire site, and did not properly consider the risks of the plugged log dislodging. The company should also have had better controls in place to minimise the risk of workers like Jake Duncan being struck. These health and safety failures led to WorkSafe charging Mr Duncan’s employer, Logged on Logging 2020 Limited. In a reserved decision, the Napier District Court has ordered Logged on Logging to pay reparations. Another company, Forest Management (NZ) Limited, was sentenced in late 2023 for its health and safety failures unrelated to the death. “Jake Duncan was a treasured father, partner, son, brother, and friend. The forestry industry owes it to whānau to ensure workers get home safely each day,” said WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul Budd. Businesses must manage their risks and up to date, site-specific risk assessments are a must-have in forestry. Plugging and bridging is an unstable method, and logs should be cleared as soon as possible to avoid coming loose. “Jake Duncan’s workmate only survived because he jumped in the opposite direction as the log came down the hill. The terror the two men must have endured as they saw the log coming towards them is unthinkable,” Mr Budd said. WorkSafe’s new strategy zeroes in on forestry because its fatality rate is nearly 20 times higher than the average for all industries. Our priority plan for the sector notes workers hit or trapped by a moving object as a specific source of high harm. WorkSafe’s targeted frontline activities in forestry will be increasing as there are opportunities to significantly improve health and safety, reduce acute harm, and address inequities.

The timber framing industry is on the cusp of a major update, with a collaborative research project led by the University of Tasmania and Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA). The Lightweight Timber Framing project funded by Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI), is part of a broader ‘Future Framing Initiative’ managed by FWPA. Source: Timberbiz In partnership with more than 20 industry stakeholders and eight universities, the project will provide the research and development background to bring contemporary products and systems into the Australian Standards that allow for streamlined design and approvals, with the goal of accelerating house construction across Australia. Timber remains the top choice for residential construction, with 80% of new homes in Australia built using timber framing each year. As a renewable resource, timber also plays a crucial role in the fight against climate change. The Lightweight Timber Framing project is one of eight selected through AFWI’s inaugural $5 million National Open Call for research, which targets sector challenges and promotes innovation. This project has received strong backing, with $1.1 million in contributions from industry partners. “AFWI is very proud to support this exciting and transformative project, it clearly demonstrates the support of industry, federal government and university sector for collaborative research that targets wood-made, carbon-positive solutions for the needs of the Australian community,” AFWI’s Interim Director, Dr Dean Williams said. “I am really delighted that AFWI is able to support this high-quality project with its enormous potential. “Being able to connect our current and future researchers with industry to deliver positive environmental, economic and social outcomes right across Australia is core to AFWI’s purpose. “And this is just the start, we have more projects in the pipeline that will deliver positive impacts all along the forestry and forest products value chain.” Dr Louise Wallis, Research Lead and Deputy Director of The Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood (CSAW) at the University of Tasmania said the research project aimed to modernise design and construction practices of timber-framed houses. “We’re focused on making it easier for builders, designers and engineers to work with lightweight timber framing, ultimately speeding up construction while using our forest resources more effectively. This project is all about productivity, there are other stages still to come in future with more universities collaborating,” Dr Wallis said. Andrew Dunn, CEO of the Timber Development Association and industry champion for this project, said the current timber framing design and construction practices no longer reflect modern building practices or the use of engineered wood products, making it difficult for timber to remain competitive in the housing market. “Timber framing is the preferred construction method, but we’re falling behind because builders, carpenters, and engineers need simpler and more straightforward compliance processes,” he said. “The design and approvals processes are outdated, still based on traditional sawn timber methods, while today’s homes increasingly use engineered wood products. Competing materials don’t face these challenges.” This research project brings together experts from eight universities and from across the wood products industry with the aim of updating the existing standards to better align with modern construction needs, while ensuring our homes are safe, perform well and are more affordable. “We’re starting with some straightforward improvements, looking at elements like wall studs, floors, and roofs, and how we can incorporate prefabricated components more effectively on-site,” Dr Wallis said. “Currently, the construction practices in a deemed-to-satisfy framework, for an easier pathway through design and approvals, aren’t tailored for prefabricated elements, which limits speed and efficiency. “By removing unnecessary timber elements, such as noggings and ensuring safe work practices that don’t add extra material, we can make the process faster. “We’ll also explore ways to use more of the current timber resource, which is sometimes rejected, and address issues like timber distortion to keep frames straighter. There are a number of innovative solutions identified by the industry, and we’re collaborating with eight universities to tackle these challenges.” Beyond updating standards, the project is committed to building the capacity of Australia’s forestry and forest product research community, a key objective for AFWI. “The project will fund additional hours for 10 HDR students and early career researchers to work on real-world problems and provide critical financial support so they can remain in the sector,” Dr Wallis said. “This is essential to keeping skilled individuals in the field and building capacity within the sector.” Mr Dunn said the support from AFWI was pivotal. “It’s not just funding the research; it’s also enabling direct collaboration between industry and academia, it’s rare to see this level of collaboration where researchers and industry jointly tackle a problem,” Mr Dunn said. The next $5 million Open Call for Research will be launched in early 2025. Updates and more information on AFWI’s projects can be found at www.afwi.au  

Australia’s forestry and forest products sector is warning that locally based manufacturing facilities are close to breaking point with spiralling energy, logistics and insurance costs taking a major toll on business operations. Source: Timberbiz The warning comes as Australia and New Zealand based paper and packaging manufacturer Oji Fibre Solutions this week announced it will likely end paper production at one of its major NZ mills because it’s no longer profitable. The closure will cost around 230 local jobs. The mill supplies paper to Oji FS’s three Australian packaging facilities. “The forestry and forest products supply chain is Australia’s 6th largest manufacturing sector and the processing and manufacturing facilities that employ local people and create local products, from timber house-frames to packaging, cardboard and paper and other home furnishing products are under extreme pressure with rising costs,” Australian Forest Products Association CEO Diana Hallam said. “The challenges we face here are the same as those across the Tasman. “One of AFPA’s member manufacturers has reported its future Queensland electricity contract will increase threefold from $50 per megawatt hour to over $150 early next year. “Rising energy costs like this, along with increasing transport and logistics and insurance costs, coupled with the depressed market for building and construction products like timber – is proving to be a very difficult storm for manufacturing businesses to weather,” Ms Hallam said. “Our sector is responsible for injecting $24 billion into the economy annually. We directly employ 80,000 people and indirectly employ another 100,000 on top. “Many of these jobs are the lifeblood of regional centres. It is vital to maintain the scale and integration of our sector – if the cost of one element in the supply chain becomes too difficult it will have a huge ripple impact across the rest of the sector. “The cost of local manufacturing and the flow on impact to local jobs and communities is shaping up to be a huge Federal Election issue in 2025. Large manufacturers need affordable and reliable power to run their equipment and make local products. Right now, those costs are out of control and flowing onto those other input costs like transport. “Forest products manufacturing needs a solution to this crisis and AFPA along with the rest of our sector will be campaigning on this issue ahead of the 2025 Federal Election,” Ms Hallam said.

In a world rife with counterfeit or illicit goods, Australian Timber Importers Federation members are facing one of the toughest battles to comply with some of the world’s strictest legislation aimed at combating the trade in illegally logged timber, and they are doing so unapologetically. Source: Timberbiz “It is a key part of the ATIF Code of Ethics that members not only refrain from dealing with illegally logged timber, but also avoid trading in conflict timber; material that may still be legally imported but is subject to heavy tariffs, such as timber sourced from Russia,” said General Manager Natalie Reynolds. “Any member found in violation of the Code of Ethics risks their membership in the leading association for timber importers.” Australia has not adequately invested in planting enough plantation resources to meet the domestic demand for timber. On top of this, insufficient investment in local manufacturing limits our ability to produce many of the timber products we currently import. To reduce inflation and meet the housing needs of the nation, the reality is that we must rely on imports. Simply urging consumers to “buy Australian” isn’t enough, many members of the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF) are also the largest domestic timber suppliers, and for that resource to be used, it must first exist. “The same regulations apply to domestically processed logs as to imports, and illegal logging is not only an international issue, but also occurs in developed countries, including here,” said Ms Reynolds. In making this statement, Ms Reynolds highlights the repeated instances where forestry companies and agencies have been caught illegally logging forests whether by exceeding harvest boundaries, violating regional forest agreements, or breaching other legal requirements. While such violations may often occur unintentionally, the reality remains. Merely reopening forests closed by State Governments is not a sufficient solution. These forests do not contain the structural timber needed for house frames, and, moreover, we lack the manufacturing capacity to meet the demand. To import timber for Australia’s homebuilders, importers are required to perform due diligence and obtain documentation verifying the timber’s source. Under recent legislation, they must also ensure the authenticity of the documentation provided. However, this can be nearly impossible when the documents are in a foreign language and refer to legal systems abroad. Despite these challenges, ATIF’s importer members do not complain they make every effort to comply. “No system designed to prevent organised crime can be effective if enforcement is limited to the point of import. It requires a coordinated, international effort at every stage of the supply chain to truly eradicate it. If addressing organised crime at the import level alone were enough, we would have already eradicated the global drug trade,” said Ms Reynolds. Country of origin labelling is also not practically possible. Using the example of the type of board used in every kitchen, there are often fibres in those boards from many different sources. So, there will not be a single country of origin. “Australian plantation forest fibre is sent to Asia to be converted into paper and then affixed to a composite board made up of many different fibres and imported again. This illustrates the country-of-origin labelling problem to a tee” Ms Reynolds said. Ms Reynolds has called for greater multinational collaboration, particularly with manufacturing countries that produce highly refined composite products, where illegally logged fibre can sometimes be hidden often without the knowledge of well-intentioned importers. ATIF is urging government intervention in these countries and the establishment of a taskforce to eliminate the practice of “switching out” fibre during the production of composite or refined products. This call is in addition to ATIF’s longstanding requests for government action, particularly from Border Force, to monitor and intercept structural timber that fails to meet Australian standards. Such timber can lead to structural collapses, causing serious injuries, fatalities, and significant costs to repair. “Non-compliant timber creates unfair competition for domestically produced and compliant imported products, and it poses a serious risk to public safety. Members of the building industry should only purchase from ATIF members who are committed to ensuring the quality, source, and performance of their products,” Ms Reynolds said. “The last thing ATIF members need is timber of questionable origin and quality being dumped onto the Australian market, competing with their legitimate imports or domestically resold products.” It is for this reason at that at the November ATIF AGM members reaffirmed their commitment to the Code of Ethics and spent the entire afternoon in an education session learning about timber testing techniques and how to identify fraudulent documents in accordance with internationally accepted mechanisms. They also have the guide to the Australian Standards as a ready reference and are providing it whenever possible to customers. “ATIF has also submitted recommendations to the government to help improve the regulations, ensuring they are practical and enforceable. We’ve even offered to pilot the regulations in real-world scenarios before they are finalised, to ensure their effectiveness,” Ms Reynolds said. “With similar legislative changes happening in the EU and other countries worldwide, reducing the risk of illegally logged timber entering the Australian market will help eliminate the market for this global crime. By doing so, we can ensure that timber, one of the most renewable building resources, which also stores carbon, remains a sustainable option, delivering superior environmental outcomes compared to alternative materials.”

The Timber Circularity Project team is conducting a survey to quantify the unused and wasted resources produced when using engineered wood products. Source: Timberbiz Offcuts and sawdust, for example, produced during fabrication of shop fittings, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, office furniture, and other commercial products will be investigated. Funded by prominent industry partners including Forest and Wood Products Australia, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia, and the Australian Forest Products Association, the project aims to understand resources that are currently wasted yet have potential for future reuse and recycling in a circular economy. As the Australian government aims for a circular economy by 2030, reducing waste and minimizing resources sent to landfill has never been more critical. “Quantifying resources, their location, and condition is an important step in finding circular solutions,” Professor Tripti Singh, Director of the Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, said. The project addresses the urgent need for solutions to manage unused timber resources, including offcuts and sawdust, which are often discarded. By identifying ways to reuse these materials, fabricators can reduce disposal costs while contributing to sustainability. “The engineered wood products industry is working towards closing the loop and transforming what was once considered waste and offcuts into valuable resources,” said Gavin Matthew, CEO of EWPAA. “The Timber Circularity project outcomes will help identify further opportunities and drive innovation within the sector.” The initiative aligns with circular economy principles, advocating for higher-value applications of timber rather than disposal methods such as burning. Professor Singh emphasized the project’s potential: “Integrating timber into a circular economy framework provides opportunities to enhance its value, reduce environmental impact which will contribute to climate change mitigation by promoting responsible and sustainable practices.” To support this endeavour, the Timber Circularity Project survey has been designed to help quantify and gain a better understanding of the resources. “The survey is an important step in mapping timber resources and determining solutions based on amount and type of resource available. It will help the industry pinpoint regional solutions, reduce disposal costs and value their timber resource,” Dr Pene Mitchell, Project lead, said. Participation in the survey takes less than 10 minutes and participants will be entered into a draw to win $100. The survey can be found here.

There is currently discussion about a carbon credit scheme that would reward native forest owners. On the face of it, this seems like a good idea because actively managed native forests sequester the majority of the carbon sequestered by the nation’s forestry sector. However, the idea being considered is that the scheme would apply where the forest owners ceased actively managing their forests. To me, this is not a good idea. Does anyone remember the brochure prepared nearly two decades ago by the Commonwealth Government’s own Forests and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (now the FWPA) along with the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting?  It’s called Forests, Wood and Australia’s Carbon Balance.  It’s well written and illustrated and could be found on the web by Googling that name. The brochure I have is the original, written using industry data from 2004.  (I believe there is a more recently written update and also that recent research reinforces the research behind the original brochure.) The researchers divided the nations forests into plantations (plantations), native forests actively managed for commercial purposes (commercial forests) and native forests such as in national parks and conservation reserves that will not be harvested (conservation forests). The researchers found that at that time, approximately three quarters of the forestry sector’s Australia’s net sink of carbon was in and from commercial forests, the rest being in and from plantations. The authors conducted extensive research into the ultimate fate of the carbon embedded in harvested forest products. This included doing things like digging up old tips to see to what extent the embedded carbon in buried waste wood and paper had been released back into the atmosphere. The authors’ conclusions included that where forests in Australia are actively managed by periodic harvesting, with the harvested forest then being allowed to regrow (commercial forests), then in the longer term these forests sequester twice the amount of carbon compared with conservation forests. Our family have for many decades practiced active management of our native forests where the active management has taken the form of periodic selective harvesting, which is the removal of part of the forest cover. Our belief is that in doing this we achieve true triple bottom line wins. For the environment this includes ensuring the biodiversity present in the forest is retained in a healthy state and the fuel load is periodically reduced to assist in the event of wildfires. Socially, these activities provide regular employment for those involved in harvesting, transport and processing of the forest products removed and support our state’s diversified demographic. The economic win is that we assist our state’s economy by providing a sustainably produced economic resource. Perhaps our leaders should read this brochure, to see whether current thinking is still in accord with the research outcomes contained within it. Rewarding good forest management, including the management of our nation’s native forests for their net annual sink of carbon is a great idea, but, please, let’s do this properly. John Lord is a tree farmer at Longford in Tasmania and was National Treefarmer of the Year in 2005 and Tasmania Treefarmer of the Year in 2006.