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WOOD-BASED PANELS
ARE AN INTEGRAL PART
OF OUR DAILY LIFE

wood by-products from the sawmilling sector and recovered waste wood

ARE MANUFACTURED USING
WOOD FROM SUSTAINABLE SOURCES

WOOD-BASED PANELS

previously discarded wood materials (such as wood chips, sawdust and particles)
are re-used to create high quality products.

INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES SEEN ACROSS
THE WOOD-BASED PANEL INDUSTRY

THANKS TO THE

is recognised as a role model for the circular economy

IN THE WOOD-BASED
PANEL INDUSTRY

THE CASCADING USE OF WOOD

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An integral part of this, the wood-based panel industry assures
significant employment, especially in rural areas.

IS THE EU'S FIFTH LARGEST
MANUFACTURING SECTOR

THE EU FOREST-BASED INDUSTRIES

by extending the life of the stored carbon. Increasing the volume of wood panels in use
can be part of an active carbon management programme.

WOOD PANELS CONTRIBUTE
TO CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

THANKS TO THE CARBON SEQUESTERED IN THE WOOD BY THE GROWING TREE,

Latest News

Pablo Figueroa López (Chairman) and Veronique Hoflack (Vice-Chair) at the EPF AGM, June 2024 in Riga.

Events

Videos

EPF 5 Strategic Directions

Publications

NEW WoodPoP Policy Paper
NEW Circular Choices: Strategic role proposed for the forest-based bioeconomy sector in the 2024-2029 EU mandate [Executive Summary]
EPF Annual Report 2023-2024 [Table of contents] [Order Form]
Circular Choices for a competitive EU Bioeconomy: Growing a circular future [Executive Summary] [Full Version]
FactSheet: EPFs 5 Strategic Directions
EPF Advocacy Leaflet
EU Forest-based Industries 2050 : How Storage, Sequestration and Substitution (the 3S framework) make a positive climate contribution equivalent to 20% of all EU fossil emission
Action Guide on Formaldehyde signed on 28 Nov 2018 in Lisbon

Catalogue “Tackle Climate Change: use wood” Plant a second forest (EN)
Tackle Climate Change: use wood (EN,FR,ES)

SAVE THE DATE

25-27 June 2025 in Berlin, Germany

4 highlight projects

EPF and partners work together on EU projects towards common goals that bring benefit to wood-based panel producers.

Shaping a major hub of the sector for the New European Bauhaus

Developing innovative circular products and minimising the environmental impact of the EU flooring sector

Exploring smart technologies to recycle post-consumer waste wood back into fibreboards and into novel building products

Cross-sectoral Coalition for Circular Choices for the EU’s Bioeconomy

Wood-based panel industry in Europe

EUR 25 bn turnover every year

100,000 jobs

300 million tonnes (10% to 20%) of CO₂ reduced emissions in Europe if full potential of wood (sink and substitution effects) were to be used in buildings

4m³/sec excess of growth of forests annually compared to harvesting in Europe thanks to sustainable management

What is a wood-based panel?

Wood-based panels combine wood in different forms (fibres, sawdust, chips, flakes and veneers) into sheets of differing thicknesses and constructions. Formed under heat and pressure typically with the addition of a synthetic adhesive (some fibreboard products utilise the natural binders found within wood), panels are engineered to provide a wide variety of strength and other physical attributes that enable them to satisfy a wide variety of end uses particularly in the building products and furniture industries.

The broad categories of wood-based panels manufactured by European Panel Federation members include:

Within these broad categories, there are a multitude of value added variants available with enhanced characteristics which is why today wood-based panels are used extensively in the home, in modern furniture and in construction. Although often hidden beneath coatings, veneers and other coverings, or embedded in the structural fabric of a building, wood-based panels are ubiquitous in our society.

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