Wood-based alternatives to drive emission reductions and sustainable product innovation

Current situation and challenges faced

Crude oil is used in a variety of ways, not only to power our vehicles and generate electricity, but also to create a variety of platform chemicals that eventually find their way into many everyday products including clothing, furniture, electronics and even pharmaceuticals. Our dependence on crude oil has however had a detrimental effect on the planet. Hence new ways to sustainably produce these chemical building blocks and products are urgently needed.

While many alternatives are being investigated, substituting fossil-based platform chemicals and products with wood-based alternatives, without any compromises on quality or product characteristics, is already a reality in many sectors, e.g. in construction. Concrete, a composite material made of cement, water, sand and rock, is the most widely used building material in the world which unfortunately has a massive carbon footprint. The most carbon-intensive step in the process is to make the intermediate product cement, accounting for at least 8% of global emissions caused by humans.

Replacing concrete with wood in new building constructions brings a significant climate benefit, by reducing emissions and allowing for carbon removal and long-term storage. In addition, wood is the only construction material that is completely renewable and organic. Recognising these benefits, several policies and initiatives across Europe have been introduced to promote new wooden buildings, e.g. the governments of Finland and France have pledged to use at least 50% of biomaterials (including wood) in all new public administration buildings from 2022 onwards.

The diverse applications of wood from various sources illustrate its potential as a crucial resource for reducing long-standing dependence on crude oil

Wood-based materials are also being used to replace plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables, confectionery products, etc. In the most common case, wood is first transformed into a slurry called pulp and then used to produce packaging material such as cartonboard. Compared to plastic packaging, emissions generated during the life cycle of wood-based packaging alternatives are considerably lower and the recycling thereof provides additional emission saving possibilities.

Special grades of pulp are also already being used to produce wood-based textile fibres such as lyocell that hold the potential to replace fossil-based textile fibres such as polyester. Furthermore, the forest industry and its residues could be deployed to produce liquid biofuels and a variety of bio-based chemicals, replacing fossil-based versions as drop-in solutions.

Looking ahead

The climate benefit of substituting fossil-based platform chemicals and products with wood-based alternatives is already being realised across the globe. In 2021 for example, the EU saved 390 million tonnes of CO2eq emissions by substituting fossil-based materials with wood-based alternatives in various applications, namely:

• Wood products, instead of concrete and plastic, used in new wooden buildings, pallets and packaging, joinery and furniture, as well as other construction applications
• Using paper and cardboard instead of plastic for packaging, graphic paper, and tissue paper. Paper and cardboard can also be used in many other ways
• Wood-based textile fibres, instead of synthetic textile fibres, for apparel, home textiles and nonwovens
• Biofuels and biochemicals from pulp mill side streams, bimass-based biorefineries, as well as e-fuels, instead of fossil-based fuels and chemicals

Wood-based material consumption in 2021 in the EU

Those emission savings are approximately equal to the annual emissions of about 50 million people living in the EU, roughly equivalent to the population of Spain. Provided there is legislative support and technology advancements are made in the next three decades, emission savings could further increase to more than 560 million tonnes in the above-mentioned applications alone. As a result, substitution of fossil-based platform chemicals and products with wood-based alternatives will be crucial in reaching net-zero targets by 2050.

On the topic of technological advancements, Europe has been the frontrunner in wood-based innovations and the continued focus by industry and academia will enable wood-based materials to be used for an even wider range of applications. These include, e.g. wood fibre insulation, bio-based glues and resins, novel barrier solutions for packaging applications, novel wood-based textile fibres, sustainable aviation fuels and even batteries.

Looking at the bigger picture, the forest sector plays a key role in the climate transition in several ways. Forests sequestrate CO2 from the atmosphere, store carbon in biomass and are a source of renewable raw material that can substitute fossil-based materials. Furthermore, wood and wood-based chemicals and products store carbon throughout their life cycle. Maintained or improved growth of forests through balanced active sustainable forestry practices that recognise local needs and conditions, combined with methods that prioritise and enhance biodiversity, will catalyse both CO2 sequestration and substitution benefits.

Annual emission savings using wood-based alternatives in the EU (Mt CO₂eq)