Promotion of wood construction and wood products in Finland
Wood has the unique ability to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to store carbon. There is therefore a justification from the climate perspective for increasing the use of wood in construction and the use of other wood products. As a material, wood has many positive qualities.
The promotion of the use of wood in construction and in the wood products industry serves many of current policy objectives in Finland, such as climate change mitigation, sustainable construction and housing policy, and promotion of the circular economy. At the same time, we can positively influence the vitality of rural areas.
In Prime Minister Marin’s Government Programme (2019), Finland set the objective of increasing the use of wood in construction and the use of wood products. At the same time, the aim is to increase the degree of processing of wood products and to find more diverse uses for wood and wood fibre. From the climate perspective, there is a particular emphasis on wood products in which carbon is bound for a long time.
Wood Building Programme promotes the use of wood in construction
The Wood Building Programme (2016–2023) led by the Ministry of the Environment is the most important strategy for promoting the use of wood in construction. The Programme’s objectives are to promote and develop the skills base in order to take construction with wood to an internationally competitive level and to support industrial wood material manufacturing in Finland, boosting exports.
Possibilities to increase the use of wood in infrastructure and farm structures is examined
Alongside the Wood Building Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is implementing a set of measures concerning the land use sector (LULUCF). Projects within the scope of the Catch the carbon project package supplement the Wood Building Programme. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is promoting, among other things, the use of wood in the construction and structures of farms and sparsely populated areas. In addition, Catch the Carbon projects promote the use of wood in Finland’s transport infrastructure, such as bridges. These projects also contribute to the vitality of rural areas. Links to Promoting the use of wood in farm construction in Finland and Promoting the use of wood in the infrastructure of Finnish private roads -projects can be found at the end of the page.
The Catch the Carbon projects also develop methods and calculators for estimating the amount of carbon bound in wood and wood structures. Efforts are being made to increase the amount of expertise in the sector by producing learning materials on wood structures and wood products. In addition, and as part of the Catch the Carbon project package, information related to forest carbon sequestration and the carbon storage of wood products has been communicated and disseminated. Link to Communication projects on carbon storage of wood products can be found at the end of the page.
Related topics:
Wood Building Programme - Ministry of the Environment
Wood in public construction - Ministry of the Environment
Circular economy in the construction sector - Ministry of Environment
Further information:
Kaisa Pirkola, Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Natural Resources Department, Unit for Forests and Bioenergy
firstname.lastname@gov.fi