Sustainability is to be judged from effects on environment, economy and society, all the three of them. A true analysis of sustainability also has to

involve all the chain of actions related to the issue and will, thus, become very complex. The project Eforwood is developing a tool, ToSIA, for such analyses of sustainability in the forest-based sector. The ambition is to cover effects of operations all along the chains from the establishment of a forest to the use and recycling of the products, including wood-based and fibre-based products as well as bio-energy. It also includes influence on a large number of non-industrial aspects like health and recreation.

 

The allocation of suitable materials to mills, processes and products is crucial for the sustainability of these chains. If unsuitable material is allocated to a process, this will normally lead to losses in yield and value. The processing will normally be less efficient, with use of more material, energy, etc. per unit produced. It may bring increased costs and problems with product quality. Unsuitable materials may have to be redirected to other use, resulting in more transportation. The product functionality and customer satisfaction may be compromised. Optimal allocation of wood raw materials are, thus, important for all factors of sustainability.

 

Eforwood is funded by the European Commission within the 6th Framework Programme and a European consortium. Innventia manages its workpackage “Quality Assessment and Allocation”. Forest Resource Databases are used for information about properties and volumes in forest resources, to be matched with demands of mills and products.