With an area of approximately 90,000 hectares, the forest covers more than one third of the country. Every year, some 750,000 m3 of wood are produced in the country’s forests, of which 500,000 are actually harvested.
The timber industry in Luxembourg comprises around 1,285 companies – of which almost 90% are SMEs – and represents a total of 19,500 direct and indirect jobs.
On 17 May, Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, and Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, presented the visual “Eist Holz”. This new communication tool aims to highlight the transformation of the linear economic system towards a more circular value chain that focuses on maintaining the value of the resource in the region. It puts the spotlight on the players active today in this value chain, and showcases some of the tools that are available to support this transformation towards a circular economy.
Three major initiatives
“This presentation is a key step for the development of the forestry and wood sector in Luxembourg,” says Philippe Genot, manager of the Luxembourg Wood Cluster at Luxinnovation. “This message and the political support jointly conveyed by these two ministries underlines the strong link between the forest and the wood value chain in Luxembourg.”
Three major initiatives were presented at the press conference:
- Klimabonus Bësch: a bonus to support private forest owners participating in measures to promote climate action by implementing close-to-nature forestry. This sustainable forest management also helps to better adapt forests to the effects of climate change and contributes to the implementation of the integrated national energy and climate plan.
- Certification of the regional origin of wood products: The “Holz von Hier” label, already established in Germany and Austria, certifies the regional origin of wood, with a control system for recording, regulating and certifying the transport distances along the processing chain (i.e. from the forest path to the place of use)
- – “e-Holzhaff” platform: in order to facilitate the connection between supply and demand within the wood industry, a digital marketplace solution is being developed and will be operational from this autumn. Launched by Luxinnovation through the Wood Cluster and the Ministry of the Economy, this “Digital Timber Trade Platform” will be dedicated to the market of raw timber (directly from Luxembourg forests) and circular timber (recycled wood). It will also bring together the wood processing services offered by local companies (processing, sawing, drying, etc.).
The Wood Cluster on the front line
“Wood can only be considered a sustainable material if the forest management is also sustainable,” says Philippe Genot. “We are also currently seeing that regional value chains are becoming more and more important. They are an important factor of resilience. This makes it essential to work together with all the players on concrete structural tools for this sector. Hence the importance of the ‘Holz von Hier’ label and the forthcoming establishment of the e-Holzhaff platform.”
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Carole Dieschbourg, has announced the launch of an information campaign for interested sectors. This will include information workshops organised in collaboration with the Luxembourg Wood Cluster managed by Luxinnovation.
“We are of course a key partner in this process, both in supporting companies in the sector in their innovation processes (digitalisation, industry 4.0, new products, etc.) and in developing flagships projects such as the e-Holzhaff project.”