Wood flows in Europe: finding the untapped potential along the value chain

To maximize the environmental and economic benefits of Europe’s wood resources, the WoodStock project performs a comprehensive material flow analysis of wood and carbon from forest to end-of-life in Norway, Finland, and Slovenia. Integrating data from FAO, Eurostat, and national statistics, the study finds that only a small fraction of harvested wood enters long-lived building applications, while most products are short-lived or incinerated at end-of-life. Although by-products are efficiently used in pulp and energy, significant potential remains to boost carbon storage through construction timber and cascading reuse. The analysis underlines that forest-level decisions, improved downstream data tracking, and coordinated policy incentives are essential to unlocking this untapped value.