Collaboration and dialogue for a circular future

2024 was a tough year for construction. In January, it was announced that Serneke Sweden was going bankrupt. And they were not alone. According to work-related news outlet Arbetet, over 2,000 construction companies folded during the year, the highest number in 30 years. Boverket’s latest forecast predicts
that housing construction bottomed out in 2024 and may now increase slightly in 2025.

For the Swedish sawmill industry, the tough situation resulted in the lowest deliveries to the domestic market in 20 years. However, exports ensured that total
production for the year came in at the same level as in 2023. Wherever in the world Swedish wood products end up, they create climate benefit on several fronts.

I hope that Boverket’s forecast is correct and housebuilding gains new momentum this year, and that our Swedish wood products will play an even greater role in transforming our domestic construction industry. What worries me is that the Swedish sawmills’ ability to contribute climate benefits risks being curbed if access to the raw material is restricted.

Raw material supplies are already under pressure, and many sawmills are now investing in advanced technologies that allow them to optimise yields from every log. The more wood can be produced, the more fossil fuel-intensive alternatives can be replaced. One of the fundamental problems in today’s forestry debate is that this substitution effect is not taken into account when looking at the benefits that forests deliver.

The way Sweden chooses to implement EU initiatives such as LULUCF and the Nature Restoration Act risks putting the raw material situation under even more strain, and will thus be crucial to how Swedish wood products can support the green transition.

What gives me hope is that the government has established a special council for the forest industry value chain, as a way to strengthen dialogue and collaboration on one of Sweden’s most vital industries for the future. Stronger cooperation is crucial for Sweden to lead the world away from fossil dependence towards a circular bioeconomy. I believe in the power of cooperation and dialogue and hope that common sense will ultimately prevail.

It is not just nature that is starting afresh. Starting with the next issue, the magazine you have in your hand will also be relaunched in a new format, with a unifying theme for each issue. The first theme is, appropriately enough, transformation. I look forward to hearing what you think about it!

Anna Ryberg Ågren