Let’s start by asking, “what’s a bioeconomy?” The bioeconomy consists of economic activities that use renewable, well-cared for biological resources like agricultural crops, forests, and fish to produce goods, energy, and services. A circular bioeconomy takes things a step further by minimizing waste and making the most of resources — following a “remake, reuse, recycle, and regenerate” cycle — and pairs well with sustainable forestry.

Turns out New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) has been part of a circular bioeconomy all along, but we’re now more proactive and comprehensive in our approach to sustainable, climate-smart wood as we use it to fight climate change.

Just as the climate crisis demands we transition to renewable energy sources, so too do we need to transition away from non-renewable and climate-polluting materials — like plastic, concrete, and steel — to renewable materials like wood. Anyone who makes this transition joins the bioeconomy, a well-established concept in places like the Nordic countries, Brazil, Germany, and Canada.

Sustainability in the 21st century means moving toward a circular, biobased economy that runs on renewable materials, and moving away from the old model of “take, make, and throw away.” It means growing and harvesting wood-based materials in a way that regenerates the forest and other natural systems, rather than degrading them. And it is the key to addressing the climate crisis.

NEFF’s Bioeconomy Initiative works to foster a regional bioeconomy that benefits the people and forests of New England. It is the next evolution of our long-standing Build It With Wood program (whose standalone builditwithwood.org website now provides in-depth resources for experts like construction firms and forestland owners). The initiative includes three major areas of work:

• Grow Market Demand: NEFF uses outreach, communications and policy efforts to grow market — or economic — demand for sustainably sourced, local wood products.
• Facilitate Sustainable Sourcing: NEFF develops tools, guidelines, and partnerships to help building projects — and other wood consumers — source their wood from local, climate-smart, and exemplary forest management.
• Advance Wood Carbon Assessment: NEFF analyzes the carbon storage and substitution benefits of New England wood products, and works to capture the full environmental benefits of sustainable forest products.

Twolined Studio

Why Wood Is Good for the Construction Sector’s Climate Footprint

Global demand for construction materials is projected to double by 2060, essentially requiring enough material to build a new New York City every month for the next 40 years. If we don’t turn to climate-smart wood instead of carbon-intensive alternatives, we’ll be in trouble: 10 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions come from the mining, manufacturing, transport, and use of non-renewable building materials like concrete and steel.

At the same time, new innovations are taking wood’s sustainability benefits to new heights, as we are seeing the emergence of wood-based alternatives to many of the most harmful (and often ubiquitous) materials in our environment, such as plastic, concrete and steel. For example, mass timber — a suite of engineered wood products that are strong, lightweight, and fire resistant — provide an alternative to carbon-intensive building materials like concrete and steel, even in tall buildings. Mass timber is renewable, and its production generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions.