The EU-funded Horizon 2020 ROSEWOOD network enhances sustainable wood mobilisation from all sources by bringing together key players of the domain. The final aim is to stimulate the exchange of innovations and best practices among European regions.
Tackling climate change calls for environmental protection and greater sustainability of our value chains, both of which forestry and wood industry can contribute to. Forests play a central role in mobilising wood, but the entire wood value chain offers significant leverage points for cascading use and more resilient processes.
The ROSEWOOD Network Hubs – disseminating excellence in wood mobilisation and utilisation
Europe has a longstanding tradition in forestry and wood-processing industries. From the early days of log driving on the continent’s rivers to modern-day high-tech harvesters, the wood industry has come a long way. Today, digitalization opens up novel opportunities for efficient and sustainable logging, not to forget new ways of enhancing recycling and cascading use of wood.
To address these issues, the ROSEWOOD network identifies and capitalizes on innovative practices in wood mobilisation and utilization pathways validated by experts. In early summer 2018, the network launched four Hubs in North, South, East and Central Europe. They function as regional centres for sustainable wood mobilisation, connect local stakeholders across the wood value chain and facilitate cross-border knowledge and technology transfer. At the Hub level, experts screened and selected over 130 best practices and innovative projects, lighthouse initiatives and new technologies, contributing to a sustainable bioeconomy. The identified practices will not only be published on the ROSEWOOD network web page for individual access, but build the basis for inter-regional roadmaps for sustainable wood mobilisation.
Roadmaps towards a sustainable future of the wood value chain
The roadmaps shall serve as orientation for regional authorities and professionals, providing guidelines for enhancing the use of local wood resources, considering both primary and secondary sources. ROSEWOOD identified seven main domains – afore-mentioned digitalisation, cascading use of wood, logistics, wood marketing, forest ownership, forest management and education, which are target areas for innovation and knowledge transfer. On the basis of SWOT analyses conducted at Hub level, the roadmaps outline each region’s strengths and shortcomings per domain, matching them with sustainable best practices from other regions which may improve weaknesses and unlock potentials. The roadmaps will be published on the ROSEWOOD webpage at mid-term of the project in February 2019. The analyses have shown that especially the application of digital tools for forest growth monitoring or real-time wood sales offers a huge potential for developing and strengthening sustainable wood mobilisation many regions.
As the ROSEWOOD project advances, its database of best practices continuously grows and the roadmaps will be constantly updated. ROSEWOOD being a dynamic and living network, best practice and innovation cases can be submitted through the ROSEWOOD website by all actors along the wood value chain.
Mobilising wood by mobilising the value chain – ROSEWOOD network opportunities
The ROSEWOOD network is based on the philosophy that inter-regional exchanges together with cross-sectoral collaboration are key to building up sustainable wood mobilisation capacities in Europe. All stakeholders of the wood value chain, from forest owners to forest contractors as well as representatives of the various wood industry sectors are invited to become members of the ROSEWOOD Hubs to drive the ROSEWOOD knowledge exchange and benefit from the networks’ opportunities and propositions. ROSEWOOD goes beyond the mere dissemination of best practices by offering tailored coachings for companies, regional authorities and associations on how to transfer and implement best practices in their own contexts.
A ‘hackathon’ and other b2b events for the forestry and wood community
With experimental business idea creation workshops, ROSEWOOD will furthermore pursue a new approach to bring fresh impulses to the wood sector. Drawing on the celebrated concept of hackathons, the network will invite stakeholders, interested to pioneer innovations in the sector, to join likeminded actors in an idea brainstorming and conceive novel business concepts with the support of ROSEWOOD coaches. The goal is to award one innovative business idea per Hub that will receive further mentoring on the way to implementation. The first workshops will take place in February 2019 and will be announced soon. Besides workshops, ROSEWOOD will offer networking events for business to business collaboration throughout the project duration.
Become a part of the ROSEWOOD community
Creating lasting change and sustainable impact on wood mobilisation requires the support of stakeholders on regional and European level. If you would like to engage with the ROSEWOOD community, join one of the ROSEWOOD hubs. Registration is free-of-charge and one can choose between different levels of participation. Find out more about ROSEWOOD and the opportunities for Hub membership here.
For more information click here and see ROSEWOOD profile on Twitter: @NetworkRosewood
Contact: ROSEWOOD coordinator, Dr. Anthony Salingre (Steinbeis 2i GmbH); info@rosewood-network.eu
Text provided by Tabea Link, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum/Steinbeis 2i GmbH.
